?Sample essay
The remainder of this essay crafting tutorial is according to a short sample 'divorce essay' (about 1,000 words).
To finish all belonging to the associated tasks, it is easiest for those who have the sample essay in front of you.
A major change that has occurred on the Western family is definitely an increased incidence in divorce. Whereas inside of the past, divorce was a relatively rare occurrence, in recent times it has become extremely commonplace. This change is borne out clearly in census figures. For example thirty years ago in Australia, only a person marriage in ten ended in divorce; nowadays the figure is in excess of a single in three (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996: p.45). A consequence of this change continues to be a substantial increase while in the amount of one parent families as well as attendant problems that this brings (Kilmartin, 1997).
An important issue for sociologists, and indeed for all of society, is why these changes in marital patterns have occurred. During this essay I will seek to critically examine plenty of sociological explanations to the 'divorce phenomenon' and also consider the social policy implications that each individual explanation carries with it. It will be argued that the most beneficial explanations are to be found in a broad socio-economic framework.
A particular type of explanation for rising divorce has focused on changes in laws relating to marriage. For example, Bilton, Bonnett and Jones (1987) argue that increased rates of divorce do not necessarily indicate that families are now far more unstable. It is attainable, they claim, that there has always been a degree of marital instability. They suggest that changes around the law have been significant, considering the fact that they have provided unhappily married couples with 'accessibility to some legal alternative to pre-existent marital problems' (p.301). Bilton et al. therefore believe that changes in divorce rates can certainly be most appropriate explained in terms of changes on the legal structure. The problem with this type of explanation however, tends to be that it does not consider why these laws have changed inside primary put. It could be argued that reforms to family law, in the process since the increased rate of divorce that has accompanied them, are the product of added fundamental changes in society.
Another type of explanation is an individual that focuses precisely on these broad societal changes. For example, Nicky Hart (cited in Haralambos, 1995) argues that increases in divorce and marital breakdown are the result of economic changes that have affected the family. A single example of these changes is the raised material aspirations of families, which Hart suggests has put pressure on each spouses to become wage earners. Women as a result have been forced to become both of those homemakers and economic providers. According to Hart, the contradiction of these two roles has lead to conflict and this is the main cause of marital breakdown. It would appear that Hart's explanation cannot account for all cases of divorce - for example, marital breakdown is liable to occur in families where only the husband is working. Nevertheless, her tactic, which is to relate changes in family relations to broader social forces, would seem to be to be alot more probing than a single that looks only at legislative change.
The two explanations described previously mentioned have very different implications for social policy, mainly in relation to how the problem of increasing marital instability would be dealt with. Bilton et al. (1995) offer a legal explanation and hence would see the solutions also being determined in such a domain. If rises in divorce are thought to be the consequence of liberal divorce laws, the obvious way to stem this rise is to make them less obtainable. This solution, just one imagines, would lead to some reduction in divorce statistics; however, it cannot really be held up as a genuine remedy to the problems of marital stress and breakdown in society. Indeed it would appear to be to be a remedy directed further at symptoms than addressing fundamental causes. Furthermore, the practical experience of social workers, working within the area of family welfare suggests that restricting a couple's entry to divorce would in some cases serve only to exacerbate current marital problems (Johnson, 1981). In those cases where violence is involved, the consequences could be tragic. Apart from all this, returning to additional restrictive divorce laws appears to be to be a alternative very little favoured by Australians. (Harrison, 1990).
Hart (cited in Haralambos, 1995), producing from the Marxist-feminist position, traces marital conflict to changes around the capitalist economic strategy and their resultant effect for the roles of men and women. It is difficult to know however, how like an analysis may possibly be translated into practical social policies. This is merely because the Hart program would appear to require from the number one position a radical restructuring with the economic model. Whilst this may be desirable for some, it seriously isn't achievable while in the existing political climate. Hart is right however, to suggest that considerably marital conflict might be linked in some way to the economic circumstances of families. This is borne out in several statistical surveys which demonstrate consistently that rates of divorce are higher among socially disadvantaged families (McDonald, 1993). This situation suggests then that social policies must have to be geared to providing aid and security for these forms of families. It is minimal cause for optimism however, that in recent years governments of all persuasions have demonstrated an increasing reluctance to fund social welfare programs of this kind.
It is difficult to offer a comprehensive explanation for that growing trend of marital breakdown; and it is even alot more difficult to acquire solutions that may ameliorate the problems created by it. Clearly though, as I have argued within this essay, essentially the most useful answers are to be found not in just a narrow legal framework, but within just a broader socio-economic just one.
Finally, it is worth pointing out that, whilst we may appear to be living in the time of increased family instability, research suggests that historically, instability may have been the norm rather than the exception. As Bell and Zajdow (1997) point out, inside the past, solitary parent and step families ended up a lot more standard than is assumed - although the disruptive influence then was not divorce, but the premature death of an individual or equally parents. This situation suggests that in studying the modern day family, a particular needs to employ a historical perspective, such as the possibility of exploring to the past in searching for ways of dealing with problems inside current.
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1996). Divorces, Australia. Canberra: Australian Government Printing Provider.
Bell, R. and G. Zajdow (1997) Family and household. In R. Jureidini, S. Kenny and M. Poole (eds). Sociology: Australian Connections. St Leonards. NSW: Allen and Unwin
Bilton, T. K. Bonnett and P. Jones (1987). Introductory Sociology. 2nd edition. London: MacMillan.
Haralambos, M. (1995). Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. 3rd edition. London: Bell and Hyman.
Harrison, M. (1995). Grounds for divorce. Family Matters. No 42 pp 34-35.
Johnson, V. (1981). The Last Resort: A Women's Refuge. Ringwood: Penguin.
Kilmartin, C. (1997). Children divorce and one-parent families. Family Matters. No. 48. ( For sale On-line )
McDonald, P. (1993). Family Trends and Structure in Australia. Australian Family Briefings No 3. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies. best website to buy essays