REBECCA G. ADAMS
Practice Prompt: Opinion about Definition of Friendship
What does "friendship" mean to you?
Writing Prompt #1: Definition of Friendship
The purpose of this writing exercise is to help you begin thinking
about friendship and the distinctions among opinions, theoretical concepts,
and facts. Write an essay discussing how friendship is defined. Include
your own opinion about what friendship means, a discussion of the of the
ways in which theorists have distinguished between friendship and other
forms of social relationships, and a factual description of what researchers
have found about how people define friendship.
Writing Prompt #2: Integrative Conceptual Framework
The purpose of this writing exercise is to give you an opportunity
to develop a theoretical explanation of a research finding. Select one
dyadic friendship process (e.g., satisfaction, social support, attraction)
or one structural characteristic of friendship networks (e.g., size, density,
homogeneity, hierarchy). Discuss how this characteristic varies according
to gender, class, race, or age. Give both a dispositional and social structural
explanation of the finding.
Writing Prompt #3: Placing Friendship in Context
The purpose of this writing exercise is to give you an opportunity
to develop a contextual explanation of your own observations regarding
friendship. Describe a dyadic process or structural network characteristic
of the friendships of students at UNCG. Develop a contextual explanation
for your observation. What aspects of UNCG explain the pattern you have
observed?