Micro-Ethnography/Spatial Analysis
English 1101
OBJECTIVE: Compose an essay that asserts a hypothesis—or makes a soft claim—about some community or space based on observations and/or interviews of that community/space that you conduct.
- Choose a community or space (familiar or new) in which to conduct observations.
- Spend time observing that space, taking detailed notes about what you see, hear, taste, feel, and smell. Consider conducting interviews of people in the space for additional context. See pp.190-191 and 196-199 of the Guide to First-Year Writing for more information on conducting observations and interviews.
- After observing, analyze your notes/data looking for patterns of behavior, for new, unexpected phenomena, or for some unique or unarticulated connections. Consider conducting secondary research about the space. Generate a soft claim/hypothesis about the space/community. See pp.117-123 for more information about developing thesis statements/claims.
- Write an essay that presents this hypothesis or claim as a thesis statement. Use data from observations/interviews/perhaps secondary research to support this claim. Make sure to acknowledge the limitations/scope of your claim. The essay is not a narrative of your experience of observing. The essay uses details from the observation to persuade readers to accept your claim about the community/space.
For more information about the assignment as well as student examples, see pp. 291-304 in the Guide to First-Year Writing.
Requirements: A three (3) page essay that includes:
- Instructor approval of a space/community to interview
- A thesis statement that makes some soft claim/advances some hypothesis about the space/community
- Detailed evidence to support your claim that comes from your observations and/or interviews (e.g. direct quotes from people in the space, descriptions of scenery or events or occurrences within the space); the essay MAY include, but is not required to, evidence from secondary sources (e.g. articles or texts that provide historical context for the space/community, some critical commentary about it, etc.)
- A coherent organizational structure that supports your claim (includes introduction and conclusion)
- MLA citation for all sources in attached Works Cited page
- Proofreading and MLA formatting
WHEN:
Draft due 10/10 in class for peer-response workshop
Revised draft due 10/15 in class peer-response workshop and conference
Final due 10/15 at Midnight