The purpose of this essay is to apply CW Millss Sociological Imagination concept to explain a personal
situation. The essay will demonstrate the students ability to use sociological concepts & theories learned in
the course to describe a personal situation. The topic is left to the students discretion.
The Essay paper should have the following 5 content areas:
1. Introduction: In this first content area, write a paragraph introducing CW Millss concept of sociological
imagination, and give a general overview of how you will be applying it to the personal situation that you will
discuss in your paper.
2. Personal Explanation: In this second content area, describe your personal situation/topic. Based on
whether the situation is a current one or a past one, describe how you dealt or are dealing with it. You can also
pick a situation from a persons life who is closely related to you or whose experience affected you. You should
know the person well enough to write the essay.
Describe what caused the problem, who were involved, what were others and your roles in the situation, and
if a resolution was reached. This section is all about your account of your situation and should be no longer
than four paragraphs (3/4 1 page).
3. Sociological Imagination:
In this third content area, analyze your personal situation by applying sociological imagination, i.e., examine
how society and social forces affected your situation. This section should be the most substantial portion of
your essay. You should use terms and concepts from at least 3 different chapters from the textbook, and one
sociological theory.
4. Data/Stats:
Utilize at least 2 statistics or research studies from the textbook or outside sources such as the Galen College
online library. The references should be scholarly and should be relevant to your situation (E.g., Inclusion of
divorce rates in the US if the topic is on Divorce; inclusion of poverty rates, crime and victimization rates, or
suicide rates if the topic is either on Poverty or Crime). Citing at least one outside source is required.
