Final Paper Exemplar

Students:

Here is a fine example of an introduction for the final paper.

As you can see, it is extremely well-written: the language is SIMPLE, although the ideas are COMPLEX. Always strive for that combination.

Secondly, the student succinctly presents the relevant part of each author's argument, and sets up points of agreement as well as disagreement.

Finally, the last two sentences I feel are outstanding examples of what I mean by offering a thesis statement, and setting up an argument to carry through the paper. The students clearly tells me what we gain by comparing these two authors, and why the comparison is significant.

I wish you all the best of luck finishing your papers-- remember to use as FEW quotes as possible, and a shorter paper is better than repeating yourself just to fill 5 pages!

AC

A Comparison of Wirth and Young on Cities and Community

Intro

Two insightful urban theories considering relationships between community and urban society and are those found in Louis Wirth’s (1938) article “Urbanism as a Way of Life” and Iris M. Young’s (1990) chapter “City Life and Difference”. Both Wirth’s article and Young’s chapter explore the differences between interpersonal relationships found in communities and those found in urban society. Wirth and Young agree on many of the differences between the two. However, while Wirth seems to conclude that the issues presented by the new urban way of life would be improved or absent in community-based society (13), Young concludes that the community structure is not a positive solution, and instead suggests a reform of the decision making structures found at the local, city and regional levels (251). An examination of the basic assumptions that underline the two authors’ arguments reveals that while they are both founded on the assumption that individual’s act rationally and that social structures do indeed affect group behavior, they differ in that while Wirth assumes a conflict based model of social order in the city Young assumes a consensus based model. This comparison serves to illustrate how dependent social theory is upon each of the philosophical foundations it presupposes.