Instructor: TikaLamsal

English 102. Third Essay

In this assignment you will interview the insiders/informants from the subculture you researched for your second essay. This assignment will help you learn to listen and record the perspective of your informant.Prepare for your interview by conducting background research and field observationsand by writing interview questions. Make sure to test your interview equipmentand rehearse your interview questions with a research partner. You may wish to use acultural artifact to help focus your interview. After the interview, you will transcribethe recording(See Cindie Marshall’s interview (pp. 238-40), and A Successful Interview (pp. 226-28) in the book for good examples of interviewing people). Finally, you will write a three- to-four-page paper in which you:

-describe your informant

-present dialogue (mostly through your interpretation and narrative)

-draw connections between the interview findings and the subculture

-attach a one-page excerpt of the interview transcript

-attach a glossary of terms (if you find terms or expressions typical to the subculture)

Once you have conducted and transcribed the interview, consider the followingquestions:

  • What insider phrases, jargons, or occupational terms does your informant use?
  • What words reappear? What are the language variations?
  • What do you learn about the subculture from the words you’ve recorded?
  • What technologies, oral literacy practices, or writing practices does your informantuse?
  • Does your informant use stories, jokes, sayings, or proverbs? For what purpose?
  • Does a theme emerge in your interview?

Write your analysis, reflections, and research into this paper. Use at least two in-text citations and Works Cited (either from academic Websites or from Journals/Books related to your topic) in your paper. Atthe end of your paper, offer a reflective paragraph about what you learned aboutyourself as an interviewer.What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? What assumptionsor preconceptions did you uncoverthrough the process of interviewing?What might you do differently next time?

Required Format

Use MLA style: Title your paper; Include Works Cited page; Use 12-point font (Times New Roman); Leave 1" margins on all sides of the paper; Write 3-4 pages

Goals:

This assignment is designed to help you

  • Develop research skills outside of the library
  • Gain more knowledge of your research community
  • Find a living source for your research, bringing life to your subject matter
  • Understand your research topic from someone else’s perspective

Evaluation Criteria

Content (20%) / The essay establishes background about the topic and describes the informant(s) clearly in introduction. The discussion shows that you have gained sufficient knowledge about the community/subculture by identifying subcultural practices and cultural artifacts that help define its identity as a subculture. The essay also analyses insider phrases, language variations, stories, and rituals that are typical to the subculture of your informant(s).
Use of interview questions and techniques
(30%) / The analysis of the interview is well presented with paraphrasing and indirect reporting of the findings. (There may be few short quotations of informants’ response to support your ideas, but NOT piling up of the whole question and answer form of the interview) The essay shows that you have made interview preparations by identifying well-thought questions and doing background research on subcultural issues and identities about the informants, following the interview strategies given in Chapter 5 of the book.
Organization (20%) / The essay has a clear introduction with the description of the informant(s), with a clear statement of thesis, giving a sense of what the essay is about and what the major interview findings are. Each paragraph contains one main idea, and appropriate transitions and analytic section headings are used to connect main ideas. There is a good connection between interview findings and the subculture/community in a way to suggest some identifying values about the subculture. The conclusion branches off of the main analysis by reflectively assessing your strengths and weaknesses as a researcher, and by making recommendations for future research.
Use of Sources (20%) / The essay correctly paraphrases, summarizes, or quotes from at least two research sources. The paper includes a correctly formatted source page (MLA).
Grammar & Mechanics (10%) / The essay is free from grammatical errors that interfere with the readers’ ability to understand the document.

The paper is due on: March 27 (for peer response), and March 29(for revised draft)