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English 202A
English 202A Writing in the Social Sciences
Course: English 202A -18Time: TTH 2:30 – 3:45 pm
Location: 2 Deike / Instructor: Xiaoye You
Office: Burrowes 135
Phone: (814) 863-0595
Email:
Office Hours: TTH 1:00-2:15 pm by appointment
Course Description
The purpose of English 202A is to familiarize you with ethnography, a type of research increasingly used in social sciences, and to help you learn to formulate ideas and create cohesive pieces of writing from the information you have collected. It will introduce you to a variety of researching strategies from which you should begin to develop your own approach towards research and towards the types of writing that are useful in your future career. The goals for this course include:
- Becoming more comfortable with the writing process (e.g., developing, drafting, editing, revising)
- Learning how to identify and explore issues and questions
- Improving critical reading skills
- Developing and implementing your own research strategies
- Learning how to filter and synthesize collected information for use in the development of a convincing and logical argument
- Learning how to write ethically and responsibly, including using appropriate formats to document a variety of sources
- Becoming more experienced with evaluating the work of others (e.g., through peer critique)
Required Texts
Bonnie Stone Sunstein & Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater. (2002). Field Working: Reading and Writing Research (2nd Ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Joe Glaser. (1999). Understanding Style: Practical Ways to Improve Your Writing. New York: OxfordUniversity Press.
Materials
Many of the materials you will need for this class will depend greatly upon your own choices in the research process. However, minimally you will need a large folder or a binder with notebook paper (for in-class work and taking notes) and plenty of space to store assignments. You should also have a couple of computer disks to store and backup your work.
Course URL
Assignments
There will be six primary assignments and some small exercises throughout the semester:
- Research Proposal (3-4 pages) –10 points
- Observation Paper (4-5 pages) –10 points
- Literature Review (4-5 pages) –10 points
- Interview Report (4-5 pages) –10 points
- Ethnographic Essay (10-15 pages) –20 points
- Field notes (3 sets) –20 points
- Exercises on style – 20 points
All papers handed in should: (a) be typed; (b) be done in black ink on letter-size paper; and (c) have one-inch margins on all sides. Final drafts will be evaluated on the basis of content, organization, vocabulary, grammar, and conventions. The grading scale is as follows,
95-100 points = A 90-94.9 points = A -
85-89.9 points = B 80-84.9 points = B -
75-79.9 points = C+ 70-73 points = C
60-69 points = D 59 and below = F
Plagiarism and Ethics
You must do your own original work in English 202A and appropriately identify that portion of your work which is collaborative with others, or borrowed from others, or which is your own work from other contexts. Whenever you quote passages or use ideas from others, you are legally and ethically obliged to acknowledge that use following appropriate conventions for documenting sources. To borrow someone else’s work without acknowledging that use is an act of academic as well as professional dishonesty, whether you borrow an entire report, a single sentence or an original idea. If you have doubts about whether or not your use of your own or other’s writing is plagiarism, please come to see me and I will be happy to discuss it with you. Following this primary principle: Be up front and honest about what you are doing and about what you have contributed to a project. Any act of plagiarism will result in an F for this course and may lead to disciplinary action by Penn State University.
In addition to following the basic principles of fair use of others’ work, you are expected to adhere to another basic principle: treat others with the respect that you would wish them to grant you. “Others” includes the people you work for and with (classmates and instructor); the people you write to (audience); and the people you write about (your informants). In the classroom, this principle includes not talking while another person is talking and respecting others’ opinions even when they differ from your own.
Attendance
University policy requires that you attend every class. In this class, you are allowed 3 absences before your grade is affected. Please note that I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences, so do not bring me any doctor’s notes, stories, or notes from your mother. If you contract a major illness or have some other significant problem which interferes with your attendance, please notify me as soon as possible, and we will discuss it. I reserve the right to fail any student who has missed 7 or more classes. Being excessively late for class also counts as an absence.
Resources
The UndergraduateWritingCenter, in 219 Boucke, offers free tutoring in writing for students who need extra help. You can make use of their services on your own by dropping in at the Center or by making an appointment to see a writing tutor (814-865-9243).
Course Schedule
Week 1 (Sept. 6, 8)Wednesday / Course introduction
Course policy and schedule
Friday /
Reading: Introduction to fieldworking (pp. 1-7)
Reading and Exercise: Understanding Style (Chapter 1)*Choosing a research topic
Discussion: Possible research topicsWeek 2 (Sept. 11,13,15)
Monday / Reading: Stepping in and Stepping out (pp.7-15)
Discussion: Stepping in and Stepping out
Discussion: Possible research topics
*Writing: “The Uniqueness of My Community”
Wednesday / Due: “The Uniqueness of My Community”
Reading and Exercise: Understanding Style (Chapter 2)
Discussion: Possible research topics
*Writing: Research ProposalConsent Form
Friday / Reading: “Friday Night at Iowa 80” (pp. 24-43)*Choosing Your Field Site
Discussion: Possible research topicsWeek 3 (Sept. 18, 20, 22)
Monday / Due: Research proposal, 1st draft
Reading: Sample research proposals
Peer Review: Research proposal, 1st draft
Wednesday / Reading: “Research Portfolio” (pp. 43-45)
Reading: “Establishing Voice” (pp. 45-51)
Reading and Exercise: Understanding Style (Chapter 3)
Friday / Due: Research proposal, 2nd draft
Reading: “Field Notes” (pp. 79-98)
Practice note taking in class
*Writing: Field Notes
Week 4 (Sept. 25, 27, 29)
Monday /
Reading: “Research Place” (pp. 217-247)
*Writing: Observation Paper
ConferenceWednesday / Conference
Friday / Conference
Week 5 (Oct. 2, 4, 6)
Monday /
Due: Research proposal, final draft
Due: Research consent formReading: “Considering Audience” (pp. 64-68)
Reading: “Considering Voice” (pp. 69-76)
Reading and Exercise: Understanding Style (Chapter 4)
Wednesday /Reading: “Strike a Pose” (pp. 247-263)
Friday /Study Day (No Class)
Week 6 (Oct. 9, 11, 13)Monday / Due: Observation paper, 1st draft
Reading: Sample observation papers
Peer Review: Observation paper, 1st draft
Wednesday / Reading: “Published and Unpublished Sources” (pp. 149-154)
“MLA and APA Documentation Guidelines” (pp. 475-488)
Documentation exercise
*Writing: Literature Review
Friday /
Due: Observation paper, 2nd draft.
Due: Summary
Reading: Literature review samples
Library research
Reading: Summary, Paraphrase, and QuotationSummarize “In Roadville” (pp. 325-331)
Searching for more sources
Week 7 (Oct. 16, 18, 20)
Monday / Reading and Exercise: Understanding Style (Chapter 5)
Discuss practical issues in fieldwork
Conference
Wednesday / Conference
Friday / Conference
Week 8 (Oct. 23, 25, 27)
Monday / Due: Observation paper, final draft
Due: Filed notes (Set No. 1)
Box 6: Sharing your initial notes (pp. 83-85)
Reading and Exercise: Understanding Style (Chapter 6)
Wednesday / Due: Literature review, 1st draft
Peer Review: Literature review, 1st draft
Friday / Due: Literature review, 2nd draft
Reading: “Research Language, I” (pp. 293-303)
Reading and Exercise: Understanding Style (Chapter 7)
*Writing: Interview Paper
Week 9 (Oct. 3, Nov. 1, 3)
Monday / Reading: “Research Language, II” (pp. 304-315)
Reading: Interview (pp. 368-376)
Reading and Exercise: Understanding Style (Chapter 8)
Prepare and peer review 10 Interview Questions
Conference
Wednesday / Conference
Friday / Conference
Week 10 (Nov. 6, 8, 10)
Monday / Due: Literature review, final draft
Reading and Excise: Understanding Style (Chapter 9)
Exercise: Box 23, 24 (Insider terms, jokes, sayings)
Wednesday / Due: Field notes (Set No. 2)
Reading: Sample interview papers
Discuss practical issues in fieldwork
Friday / Reading: “Ralph’s Sports Bar” (pp. 378-391)
Week 11 (Nov. 13, 15, 17)
Monday / Due: Interview Paper, 1st draft
Peer Review: Interview paper, 1st draft
Wednesday / Reading and Exercise: Understanding Style (Chapter 10)
Friday / Due: Interview paper, 2nd draft
Reading: “From Details to Verbal Portraiture” (pp. 409-425)
*Writing: Ethnographic Essay
*Possible sections for the ethnographic essay
Week 12 (Nov. 20, 21, 22)
Monday / Reading: Sample ethnographic essays
Wednesday / TBA
Friday / Thanksgiving (No Class)
Week 13 (Nov. 27, 29 Dec. 1)
Monday / Reading: “Questioning Your Draft” (pp. 425-436)
Reading: “Thickening Your Draft” (pp. 437-447)
Conference
Wednesday / Conference
Friday / Conference
Week 14 (Dec. 4, 6, 8)
Monday / Due: Interview paper, final draft
Due: Ethnographic essay, 1st draft
Peer Review: Ethnographic essay, 1st draft
*Writing: Reflection PaperWednesday / Peer Review: Ethnographic essay, 2nd draft
Friday / Due: Ethnographic essay, 2nd draft
Week 15 (Dec. 11, 13, 15)
Monday / Conference
Wednesday / Conference
Friday / Due: Ethnographic essay, final draft
Due: Reflection paper
Due: Filed notes (Set No. 3)
Course evaluation
Conference
Writing Sample: The Uniqueness of My Community
Directions:
Everyone belongs to a variety of communities. For example, you can be a resident of a small town, a member of a fraternity house, a marching band, a football team, an agriculture interest group, or an ethnic community. Choose a community that you belong to and write a short essay of about 500 words to describe things that make this particular community unique.
Choosing a Research Topic
If you have not yet decided on a topic for your English 202A research, the following writing will help you analyze the options available for you:
1. Make a list of all the topics you would be interested in researching and writing about. Write down anything that occurs to you, even if it seems “dumb” or difficult. You can go through a phonebook to identify interesting subcultures or sites for research.
2. Pick three or four of the topics that seem the most promising to you: Things that are most interesting to you and then follow all of the guidelines we have set for choosing a research topic. Never choose a subculture that you have known a lot about.
3. Take some time to write on each of the three or four topics you’ve selected. Answer the following questions for each topic:
- What would be the advantages of doing this project?
- What would be the disadvantages of doing this project?
- Why am I interested in this topic? What is it/about it that I like?
- What are my preconceptions, biases, assumptions, and prior knowledge about this topic? Would these feelings get in the way of my research?
- What possible people could I interview about this topic? Would these people be interesting to speak with? Why or why not?
Choosing Your Field Site
Picking your field site is one of the most important things you will do in this class. You are choosing a site that will be the topic of your research for this semester; if you choose a site that has a subculture that is fascinating for you, you will enjoy your research. If you enjoy yourself, chances are that you will put more time and energy into your research, which will result in a better grade for you. Follow these guidelines for choosing your field site.
Choose a site you feel a connection with. This may mean choosing a site with a subculture you have had a lifelong interest in, or it may mean picking a site with a subculture you have recently become curious about. You may choose to “step in” to a site that is unfamiliar to you, or you may choose to “step out” of a more familiar site.
Chose a site that you can reasonably “step in” and “step out” of. Sites such as your church, your fraternity, your sorority, or your job will be too difficult to research because you have such strong loyalties and commitments to the people there. You are so much a part of those subcultures that you will not be able to remove yourself enough to write about them. It is also more interesting to find out about something new. Also strong negative feelings about a site can hinder your research. If the subculture at a site makes you very angry, upset, or repulsed, your feelings can get in the way of research.
Choose a site that is easy for you to access. You must pick a site in the State College area that you can access many, many times throughout this semester. You may be interested in mountain climbers or circus clones, but if you cannot easily access these people throughout the semester, you will not be able to complete your research. Also, you may need special permission to conduct research at some sites, such as public schools. If you cannot quickly and easily obtain permission for your research, you will not be able to finish assignments.
Choose a site with a distinct subculture. Sites like airports, malls, and restaurants may cause problems for you because the people who frequent them have no connection to these sites, unless you research people working in these places. The more public a site is, the more difficult it can be to find a subculture. Also, if a site is too private—for instance, a group of close friends or a family—it may prove difficult to research. Ask yourself these questions when choosing your site: Do people at the site share feelings of belonging? Would they identify themselves as part of a group linked to that site? Do they use insider language? If your answers are no, your site does not have a distinct subculture.
Choose a site that you can enter. Some field sites contain a subculture that is so closely knit that you cannot “step in” enough to conduct your research. Such a site might have a subculture that is too private or too hostile for you to talk to people or to just hang around and observe. Make sure your site has people that will be willing to give you information.
Choose a site, rather than a topic. In this class, you will need to conduct field research, which means that you should start with a specific place you are going to research. Having a specific site will give you the opportunity to observe a subculture and interview its members, as well as to conduct library research and develop theories. Simply having a topic will lead you to a typical library research paper, which is not the object of this class.
Choose a safe and legal field site. Some field sites may seem like interesting topics for your research, but illegal or dangerous activities that go on there make your research a hazard. Other sites might be dangerous to visit alone or at night. Think carefully about whether your site is safe enough to visit with no worries. In addition, make sure that your observations of the subculture are legal, (for example, do not choose to observe a bar if you are under 21.)
It could be beneficial to choose a site that relates to your future career. Previous students have had success networking and learning more about a future career by choosing a field site related to that field of study.
Be unconventional and creative. If you have an original idea for a field site that sounds interesting to you, I am willing to work with you if at all possible to make it happen.
Research can be very enjoyable if you are excited about what you are studying—choose carefully, and have fun!
Joe Doe
9999 Dormitory Hall
PennsylvaniaStateUniversity
University Park, PA16802
(814) 555-1212
Date
I give my permission to Joe Doe to use my written and spoken words in his/her research project written for Writing in the Social Sciences (ENGL202A) at The Pennsylvania State University. I understand that I may read and approve the final draft of the materials he/she uses about me in his/her project.
Signature ______
Address ______
Phone number ______
I prefer to use this pseudonym ______
Research Proposal
Overview
One of the most important things you do this semester is to pick a field site for your final paper. Most of the assignments we work on this semester will either contribute directly to your final paper or give you strategies and skills that will be useful for the final project. Because of this, it is very important that you pick a field site and subculture to study that you will find interesting and that is rich enough to build your final project around.
It is important that you follow the guidelines we established in class for choosing a filed site. You must pick a site in the State College area that you can access easily because you will need to visit this site numerous times over the course of the semester. You also must pick the site where the people of the subculture you wish to study will give you permission to hang around, take pictures, conduct interviews, make observations, etc. You MUST visit your field site and/or talk to them on the phone before you finish your proposal. You should not choose a site that is dangerous, difficult to access, too familiar to you, or too upsetting for you. Remember—you need to pick a field site AND a subculture!