Individual identity develops from social structures and peer groups. The document describes how a teenager's yearly summer trip to the beach served as an example of changing focus in identity formation. As a child becomes a teenager, their identity shifts from identifying more with family to identifying more with school and peer groups. Missing this peer group during the beach trip sometimes caused anxiety, showing how important peers become in shaping identity during adolescence.

1. Linking Reading to Writing Writing for Sociology Workshop

2. Social Sciences Looking at the personal and human with scientific detachment. Sociological writing can move between these two poles. Close up or distant, like a scientist.

3. The sociological imaginationTrain yourself to look at things in a new way. When I became a teenager, everything changed. The summer trip to the beach every year was a break from my friendship group. That meant being with just my family which sometimes made me feel nervous, like I was missing out on something. I even missed school. Peer groups Socialisation Identity – sense of self Employment patterns Cultural habits - recreation Schooling Trips to the beach Sociological imagination

4. Distancing – the first step As I grew into a teenager, my sense of self developed and changed. My yearly summer trip to the beach is an example of the changing focus in the formation of identity. At this age, I identified more with a school setting and peers rather than with family. In this light, the trip away was a break from my friendship group, which sometimes created anxiety.

5. Using your reading to write Individual identity is derived from social structure. When I became a teenager, everything changed. The summer trip to the beach every year was a break from my friendship group. That meant being with just my family which sometimes made me feel nervous, like I was missing out on something. I even missed school. Identity - Your reading P. 105 Identity - Your text (voice)

6. Your Sociological Voice Combine your reading with your writing THEORY FIRST method TOPIC SENTENCES One of classical sociology’s core claims is that individual identity is derived from social structure (Bessant & Watts 1999, p. 105) .

7. Introduce -Elaborate – Show - Close When a child becomes a teenager, their identity develops. X’s account of their yearly summer trip to the beach is an example of the changing focus in the formation of identity. At this age, X identifies more with a school setting and peers rather than with family to the extent that a break from their friendship group created anxiety. Peers and school become more important in creating identity as we grow into young adults.

8. Writing task: SELF and the GROUP Think of a time when you changed your behaviour to conform to expectations of others. Describe the situation in detail. How old were you? What type of group was it? How did you feel at the time? What was the result? Re-write your text using the FIRST STEP – the sociological imagination. Writing Topic (60 minutes)