Sociological Theory Wiki Project Assignment Guidelines (260 points possible)

1. Each student is expected to create a Personal Wiki Page, providing a bit of information about yourself and other interests you might have.  Experiment with the different features of the wiki--add external links, internal links (when appropriate, provide a link "back" to a previous page--in this case "Class Roster." Also create "template pages" for your 4 upcoming wiki essays and make links to them from your personal page and links on them back to your personal page and the roster). Add a few images--especially a picture of yourself. Update this page throughout the semester.  Make sure to link all individual work here throughout the semester. When you are ready, make your name on the wiki's "Class Roster" page a link to your personal page (for help creating a personal wiki page, see Prof. Keel's Panopto tutorial, "Creating a Personal Wiki Page" in the Wiki Help folder of the class MyGateway site--in the Assignments and the Help and Resources areas). You can also find some basic tips and guidelines for working in a wiki, here.
• Name your page (and all pages you create) using your last name first, and then a brief description.
• Your personal page should be completed by Wednesday, February 6, 2013- by 11:59 PM. 20 points possible for superior work. See grading rubric for your personal page at #7 near the bottom of this page.
• Be sure to complete the "Email Feedback Consent." You can find the email feedback consent "test" in the "Assignments" area of MyGateway. Until you give consent, you will have to visit Prof. Keel or a TA to receive full feedback on your wiki work.


2. Each student is responsible for making four (4) contributions to the "Sociological Theory Wiki Project."
• Each contribution should be a focus on the ideas, concepts, and insights of one of the theorists or theories from the specified chapters.
  • Students are expected to provide detail and explanation going beyond what is available in the assigned textbooks and lecture notes.
  • Students must choose a topic and develop a "wiki essay" (using text, images, and hyperlinks) linked appropriately from the Sociological Theory Wiki Project "Class Roster and Contributions" page and their own personal page.
  • On the roster page, use the numbers after your name to create links to your contributions, or feel free to replace the number with a one or two word description of your contribution. If your contribution is not available via hyperlink from the roster page, it will not be evaluated. There is a Panopto tutorial available in the "Assignments" area of our class MyGateway site ("Wiki Help" folder): "How to make a link to an existing wiki page."
  • All pages you create should be named beginning with your last name, and then a brief description--you will be subject to penalties for not following this protocol.
• If you are interested in what I expect, here are some sample first wiki contributions from fall 2008. And here is another (contribution 3) from FS09 and a contribution 4 from FS09. Finally, here's a more recent example from SP2012 and here is basically a perfect example of what I'm looking for from FS2012 (you'll need to log on to "roksworld" to access both of these).
• Wiki contributions must be the equivalent of 750-900 words (about 3-3.5 pages). See the grading rubric for your wiki essays at #6, below.
• Be sure to complete the "Email Feedback Consent." You can find the email feedback consent "test" in the "Assignments" area of MyGateway. Until you give consent, you will have to visit Prof. Keel or a TA to receive full feedback on your wiki work.


3. Dues dates are posted on the "Assignments, Readings, and Course Schedule" and here:
   1. Contribution 1 (focus on themes from chapter 1 or 2) on due by Monday, February 18 by 11:59 PM.
   2. Contribution 2 (focus on themes from chapter 3, 4, or 5) due by Thursday, March 14 by 11:59 PM.
   3. Contribution 3 (focus on themes from chapter 6, 7, or 8) due Thursday, April 18 by 11:59 PM.
   4. Contribution 4 (focus on themes from chapter 9 or 10) due Thursday, May 9 by 11:59 PM.
4. A minimum of four (4) "wiki comments" (minimum 125 word--constructive critique) made on contributions of other students for each round of contributions: (2.5 points each, 10 points per round) 40 points total.
• Comments are due within one week of the contribution due date (except for those on contribution 4--due Sunday, May 12, end of day).
• Students must email Prof. Keel with the names of the students on whose work they commented and include the text of the comments in the email (no attachments). If email notification is not made, comments may not be evaluated.


5. Be sure to correctly cite all information used from research resources (in-text citations and a list of references for each page) using the ASA manuscript submission guide (local copy with web citation guidelines or a full version of the ASA Style Guide). Additional assistance with referencing online resources can be found here. Also, remember we are undertaking an academic activity, so please refrain from using opinion, unreliable or invalid resources, sensationalism, and other non-academic practices. See academic integrity statement and Turnitin information.
6. Grading rubric (click for even more detail) for the wiki contributions (50 points possible):
• Statement of purpose-- problem, concept or issue to explore: 5 points
• Details and explanations of key points and concepts related to class discussions and reading (you need to display your understanding here--Critical Thinking--not simply regurgitate what we all have read AND you need to demonstrate how this material fits into the historical tradition of sociological theory): 10 points
• Annotation, integration, and appropriate use of relevant outside resources (3 per contribution): 5 points
• Content thorough, comprehensive, and complete (Critical Thinking--I am looking for you to take the basic information we cover in the course, develop it in new ways, apply it to contemporary situations, and/or relate it to the work of other sociologists not necessarily covered in the course): 15 points
• Use of wiki features (hyperlinks, images, navigation, etc.--must have a link to the roster, links to other students' pages writing on similar topic): 5 points
• Grammar, spelling, and overall mechanics (no contractions, etc.): 5 points
• Proper citations and bibliography: ASA manuscript submission guide (local copy with web citation guidelines or a full version of the ASA Style Guide). 5 points
• Be sure to complete the "Email Feedback Consent." You can find the email feedback consent "test" in the "Assignments" area of MyGateway. Until you give consent, you will have to visit Prof. Keel or a TA to receive full feedback on your wiki work.
7. Grading rubric for the personal page (20 points possible):
   • Content: 5 points (minimum of 125 words)
   • External Links: 3 points (minimum of three, with annotations--integrated into your text)
   • Existing Page Links: 3 points (minimum of 5-one must be to the roster, and you need to create your essay 1-4 pages and link to them and from them back to your personal page and the roster)
   • Images: 3 points (minimum of 2, 3 would be better--integrate into text)
   • Spelling and Grammar: 3 points
   • Wiki Design/Overall Presentation: 3 points
   • Be sure to complete the "Email Feedback Consent." You can find the email feedback consent "test" in the "Assignments" area of MyGateway. Until you give consent, you will have to visit Prof. Keel or a TA to receive full feedback on your wiki work.

Personal page: 20 points; four (4) contributions to the Sociological Wiki Project, 50 points per contribution: 200 points total; and comments on other students' contribution pages (minimum of four (4) per round of contributions)--2.5 points each, 40 points total. Overall total: 260.

Outside Sources: Peer-reviewed sociology journals (other peer-reviewed social science/humanities journals may be acceptable--ask if you are uncertain), original work by the theorists--not included in the class reading assignments, and other primary source documents, articles and books. Other textbooks--especially introductory texts, encyclopedias of any sort, Wikipedia, online dictionaries, sites like "answers.com," blogs, etc. can be used but will not be accepted as "outside sources" and should not form the basis for your essay. And, don't use "outside sources" that simply repeat information we have in the text, lecture notes, and develop in class discussion--the point here is to go beyond these basics. Before using information found on external web sites, please review the guidelines found at: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webcrit.html to insure the information is reliable.  Better yet, try looking for research and information from the libraries database system (http://www.umsl.edu/services/library/databases/databases.html), it's a wealth of academic research at your fingertips.

Integration means developing ideas from your outside sources, applying them and using them in creative ways that display your understanding of the key concepts and theories we are studying. I am looking for Critical Thinking.

URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/3210/3210_wiki_work/3210_project.html
Owner: Robert O. Keel: rok@umsl.edu
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 5:39 PM

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