Introduction
Social class inequality is an important topic to understand in order to fully comprehend the dynamics of our society and how inequalities are formed. In this blog, we’ll break down how to write a social class paper. This can be helpful for anyone in high school or college who is struggling to find a good topic for their paper. The first step is defining what social class is and understanding that it has three levels: upper, middle, and lower. Next, you will want to explore the different ways that social class has affected your life by exploring your family’s history as well as considering your own experiences with privilege or lack thereof. You’ll then need to choose one event or factor out of these various topics (e.g., education, income, occupation) that best relates to your research statement and discuss it thoroughly. Finally, you will want to consider other factors that can contribute to inequality such as race, gender, sexuality, etc., and include them in your essay if they apply!
1: What is Social Class?
Social class is defined as “what people are/are expected to be,” and it can refer to people’s economic, social, and political statuses. For example, upper class may be considered those who are better educated, have more money, and live in a more affluent environment. On the other hand, middle class is those who have average educational attainment and have similar economic statuses, but may also have a lower income than the other classes. Lower class is the lowest socioeconomic status and can be compared to working class people. It is important to define what the various classes are and how they relate to one another so you can address the points you want to make in your essay.
2: How Social Class Has Affected Your Life
Remember, the most important part of this paper is to decide what you want to find out. You could examine three different factors in your paper (e.g., your mother’s parents’ education and income, your own family’s occupation and education level, and so on) or you could combine multiple sources into one that is more compelling.
More info on this topic is below:
We could look at several factors and explore their impact on the outcomes of our lives.
3: How to Choose a Topic for Your Essay
Once you have determined the theme that you want to explore for your social class paper, you’ll want to begin researching to determine which event or factor best fits your topic. Read news reports or books to see the top three social issues that impact social class. Search online for the specific articles you have in mind that pertain to your topic of interest. Most likely, you won’t find the exact topic that you are looking for right away, but the article you found will give you an idea of what type of event would be considered “social class inequality.” If there is not a written article that directly pertains to your topic, then you may want to choose another event such as mass incarceration. You may want to read more about mass incarceration to find out the history of how it came about.
4: Other Factors That Can Contribute to Social Inequality
Social class inequality often acts as a lens to view the world. After reading this article, you will understand how to analyze social class inequality and how to write a persuasive essay which brings awareness to the world. When writing this essay, you should write based on your personal experience with inequality. Here are some other factors that may also impact social class inequality:
Race: race is one of the most important factors that can influence social class. If you’re an African-American woman, you will likely face social class inequality based on the different circumstances you face.
5.1: Race and Discrimination
What racism looks like to me (based on my experiences)
What the Freedom Movement was and how it has shaped America’s racial history
The impact that racism has had on my life
Why racism is bad for society
What white people can do to show solidarity with people of color
5.2: Economic Inequality
What an increase in social mobility would look like
What the benefits of economic inequality are
The effects that America’s economic inequality has on race relations
The effects that it has on women
5.3: Sexism and Sex Discrimination
What sexism looks like to me (based on my experiences)
What the effects of sexist policies have on women and children
5.4: Gender and Discrimination
Take a close look at the privileges of both women and men. Which of these has affected your life the most? What factors can be attributed to discrimination against women? What are the most important gender roles and opportunities in today’s society?
5.5: Disability
Have you ever had a disability or some sort of health issue? If so, how has it affected you in your daily life? How can it have an effect on society?
5.6: Gender Bias
A problem with gender is that people don’t often recognize and acknowledge men and women have different interests and life experiences. How can we encourage people to recognize and acknowledge both men and women have unique experiences?
5.7: Sexuality and Discrimination
A paper on inequalities should also include an examination of discrimination and sexual orientation. For an essay to be strong, it must expose the readers to different viewpoints and combine them to make a compelling point. In order to cover these topics thoroughly, you need to have a sufficient amount of time for research and writing, so plan for a 30 to 45 page paper. Make sure you include information on discrimination and sexual orientation from several perspectives, such as minority groups, the LGBTQ community, people who have experienced both kinds of discrimination, religious organizations, and so on. This is a fairly lengthy topic, but if you take the time to create a good, thorough paper, it will be worthwhile.
6. Conclusion
Once you’ve broken your paper down, you’ll need to address the three main aspects of the paper: A.) defining who you are and your social class; B.) your life experiences and how they relate to class; and C.) the intersectionality of your life experiences. In the conclusion, you’ll want to briefly state why you chose the issue you did and why your opinion is how you see it, as well as summarize your main argument.
Now that you know how to write a social class inequality paper, you can go about practicing the skills that will be necessary in this section. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy this brief blog post!