Describe an alternative way of writing the passage that would capture the same information but that would be more respectful.

A key practice in the social sciences is writing about people. When doing this, it is important to write in a way that respects the people you are writing about. The book, Forces of Habit, is a useful introduction to the history of drug use. However, it includes many references to people that may not be considered respectful. Below are some guidelines about good and bad practices when writing about others.

Include the passage in quotes and explain why you think the passage violates respectful writing. Refer to specific examples from the passage and discuss those examples in reference to the guidelines below. Be sure to cite the passage you use from Forces of Habit in APA style.

Describe an alternative way of writing the passage that would capture the same information but that would be more respectful. This should include a re-write of the passage placed in quotes. Justify your proposed changes by referring to the guidelines below.

It’s better to choose a shorter passage and focus in-depth on that rather than choosing a longer passage.

Use the guidelines listed below to support your argument about why certain phrases are disrespectful and why the re-written phrases would be more respectful. Don’t just say something is derogatory or offensive. Justify why it is disrespectful or respectful with solid reasoning.

Guidelines

Avoid making generalizations about groups of people (e.g., drug users are unable to control themselves, immigrants are lazy). Generalizations are rarely true.