SOC151 Introduction to Sociology Assignment Questions | CU

Assessment Schedule

Your semester mark will consist of a continuous assessment mark (CAM)and one exam covering the whole semester's work.

Your CAM constitutes 60% of Your Semester Grade and will be made up in the Following way: 

Class test (20%): 19thMarch 2025 
Class essay (20%) 5th May 2025 
Tutorial submissions (20%): Four (4) tut submissions (2 from 
Terms one and 2 from Term two. (see dates below). 

TOTAL: 60% 

Please note that your CAM constitutes a HIGHER percentage of your final grade than your exam. This means you need to work consistently well throughout the year to achieve a good grade. It also means that you have many opportunities to improve your mark if you do not do well in a particular assignment. 

Tutorials are an important component of your CAM. Sometimes it is your tutorial grade that determines if you pass or fail, or get a first or a lower second. So these are an important component of your CAM. 

b)Final exam: 40% - 27th May 2025

Supplementary exam: TBC

Tut assignments: (20%): Four (4) Tut assignments per semester -2 per term (see tutorial programme for topics & dates)

 Class Test 

Both the class test and final exam will consist of multiple-choice questions (MCQ), true and false statements, and linking one part of a statement with another. Please note that MCQs are not as easy as they demand careful reading of the questions. During the tutorial sessions, we will discuss this in more detail so that you are prepared for this demanding form of assessment. 

If you do not pass the final exam, but you do achieve 40% and above in your CAM, you will be eligible for a second chance to write an exam using writing a Supplementary Exam.

If you pass your CAM, but do NOT pass your final (or supplementary) exam, you will fail the module. CLASS TESTS and EXAMS are done online. Access to these will be in the TESTS/QUIZ tab on iKamva. 

2. Tutorials

You have all chosen or have been placed in a tutorial group that meets on a particular day in a particular period according to the university timetable. A tutorial group is a group of 20 -30 students who will complete a tutorial programme, key topics or themes from the curriculum, more interactively and intensively. Each tutorial group has been assigned a tutor with whom you will work this semester. Once you have chosen/been assigned to a group/time, you may not change your tutorial class. 

Tut groups will meet face to face. 

Participation in tutorials is compulsory, and attendance will be taken. Attendance in tutorials is part of what makes you ELIGIBLE to write your final exam. 

Tutorial Schedule for Semester One

There are four (4) tutorials this semester. Three tutorials will take place in term one, and three will take place in term two. Each tutorial consists of doing a preparatory reading, participating in a 45-minute discussion, and completing a tutorial assignment by the submission dates provided. All tutorial assignments have to be uploaded onto iKamva on the Assignments tab. The average of your tutorial grades will constitute your tutorial mark. 

Tut Two assignment: Using our social imagination to understand broader societal influences. 

• What is a personal trouble? Define and describe the concept, and then select and discuss an example from a South African context. Ensure that you select a different example from that used in tut 1. [4 marks -400 words]
• What is a public issue? Define and describe the concept, and then provide and discuss the related public issues to the personal trouble discussed in question one. [4 marks -400 words]
• Explain how the entire society in which one lives is a potential cause is for one's successes or failures. [2 marks -200 words] 

Total Marks: 10 

Please write your answers using Times New Roman, font size 12. 
Harvard Referencing -please check resources on iKamva for input on referencing styles. SUBMIT 14thMarch 2025 

Term Two

Tutorials 3 & 4 -Socialisation

In these 2 tutorials, you will be required to analyse the process of socialisation and the activities of the agents, particularly the family, the education system and the hidden curriculum. You will also focus on learning about gender roles. To do this, you will need to: 

• Watch the video on what socialisation is.
• For the 2 homework assignments, you must write paragraphs in response to the questions below. Please consult the X-kit excerpt on how to write a paragraph for assistance. Use the prescribed articles as well as other readings/references. Both the in-text and reference lists at the end of the assignment should be included. There is a resource on how to reference using the Harvard style in the RESOURCES tab, as well as attached to the assignment submission. 

Tut Three assignment: Exploring socialization through the lens of sociological theory 

Socialisation refers to the ways that we learn the ways and beliefs of the family, community society that we live in. We can say that our identities, what we think, how we behave and how we see our place in society is formed by the 'lessons' that we learn as we grow up and interact within the different organizations in society -our family, our school, our church/mosque/schul/any religious structure and our community more generally. Having said this, we as humans are the 'products' of our society, and our position within that society gives us greater or lesser freedom or power. 

As sociologists, we also ask ourselves to consider to what extent we have 'free will'? What kind of agency, or ability to make our own choices, or change the way society is structured, do we have?

When we discuss socialisation, we are exploring two fundamental debates within sociology -the nature/nurture debate (are we born this way/do we learn to be this way?), and structure/agency debate (how much are we the 'product' of our society/how much choice, free will or agency do we have?). 

Critical skills: Please see the resources embedded below to assist you with your tutorial submission. 

• Summarising and paraphrasing
• Writing a paragraph
• Critical thinking
• Referencing (in-text and end text) 

Tut Three Submission: [Please refer to the assignment tab for the submission] 

Critically discuss the processes of gender socialisation that you underwent within your family, and how you responded to these. Within your answer, define and describe what is socialisation (primary and secondary) is, what gender socialisation is (ie what is gender? and what is gender socialisation?), and how you were taught to be a boy/girl/other?. How 'free' were you to 'choose' your gender identity and how you live this gender (gender performance)? What were some of the consequences (praise/control) within your family for your 'choices'?[5 marks = 500 words] 

Please ensure you have discussed the following concepts within your answers: socialisation (primary and secondary); gender (definition, and gender socialisation); nature and nurture; agency and structure (different institutions/organisations such as the family, school, religious organisations, media, etc), sexism and patriarchy. You should also refer to one of the theories of socialisation within sociology - Cooley's looking glass self, Mead, or Bergman and Luckman's social constructivism. [5 marks = 500 words] 

Total Marks: 10 
Please write your answers using Time New Roman, font size 12. 
Harvard Referencing -please check resources on iKamva for input on referencing styles. SUBMIT 25thApril 2025 

Tut Four assignment: Essay construction and discussion of the topic 

This tutorial will unpack and discuss the assigned essay question. It will also focus on the key steps and issues to bear in mind when writing an essay. This will include the structure of an essay, how to construct an argument, and referencing requirements. 

Tut Three Submission: [Please refer to the assignment tab for the submission] 

• Compile a perfectly formatted bibliography (Harvard) listing readings that you could use for your essay. [10 references = 10 marks]
• Ensure that you include journal articles, book chapters and online references in your answer.

No form of plagiarism will be tolerated, and it will be severely penalised(even in cases of a low similarity index on Turnitin). 

Tips on how to avoid plagiarism: 

• Construct the arguments in your own words and provide the in-text referencenext to the argument (at least one reference per paragraph unless you are providing your own argument in the introduction, conclusion or in the body of the essay).
• If you want to use the direct words(quote) from a source, make sure that you place them between double quotation marks without any unnecessary spaces (the double quotation marks signal to Turnitin that it is a quote, but only if done correctly). Use quotations sparingly; in fact, you do not have to use quotations at all, it is optional. Provide the reference directly after the quote.
• Use the similarity index report on Turnitin to help you avoid plagiarism. If your similarity index is higher than 20%, there is an excellent chance that you have committed plagiarism. Even if you have a low similarity index, there may still be sentences that are too close to the original wording. 
• Read the Faculty of Arts Handbook on References uploaded on iKamva under the 'Resources' tab. You have to use the shortened Harvard technique. It is preferable to always include the page numbers in your in-text references, and not only with direct quotes as suggested in this booklet. You have to use both in-text references and end-of-essay references.
• Do not use random online sources that you found on the internet; you are expected to use the provided sources and academic texts that you have sourced on Google Scholar or in the library.
• Do Not Copy or Reference Lecture Slides. You may use them to organise your thoughts or to understand the issues better.
• Do not repeat the assignment topic in your answer.
• Check the assignment checklist provided next before you submit your assignment.