Instructor: Tika Lamsal
English 102. Second Essay (Assignment Sheet)
For this project, you will conduct primary (first-hand) research on a
(sub)culture, group, or community—one that you are interested in, in which you explore
an unfamiliar territory of the (sub)culture, group, or community from an etic (outsider’s
or non-member’s) point of view. Visit a site or subculture you might choose to research:
a tattoo parlor, the lobby of a nursing home, a community theater, a convenience store, a
fingernail salon, a group of pheasant hunters, workers on break, an airport check-in
counter, a study group, a student club, a religious group, a group of employees on
campus, a sports team, a Sunday school, a health club, a dance training center and so on
(see Blackboard –Course Documents-for more subculture topics). If you are
interested in producing a digital or multimodal work out of this fieldworking, let me
know so we can figure out how to integrate such works in the assignment. You can also
integrate photographs, podcasts, or any videos that you think will be relevant to the work.
Write a three-to-four-page paper in which you describe and interpret a
subculture and/or a certain aspect of your fieldsite. Take fieldnotes while you study your
artifact and site (see pp. 78-83 for fieldnotes). Describe details of the subculture and/or
site you have chosen by observing people or cultural practices related to this subculture
or site. Also, explain how your positions might affect what you will see at your fieldsite,
and how you are going to mental check (see yourself as an outsider as others see you)
them during your research process. You will need to do some careful thinking about what
you know and what you think you know about yourself and your site. Use the following
questions to guide your investigation:
 What is the subculture/site like? What are its cultural practices?
 How do your positions influence your fieldwork?
 What are your reasons for choosing this subculture? What are your research
questions that guided you to do this research?
 What assumptions, myths or stereotypes are associated with this subculture or
site?
IMPORTANT: Before you make any initial observations, freewrite about your concept
of the community/group. The preconceived notions that you have about the
community/group will make it more difficult to approach the community/group with an
objective mind. If you admit your preconceived notions at the outset, you’ll be more
successful in distinguishing observed facts from stereotypical ideas.
Goals
The assignment is designed to help you:
 Understand how to plan and conduct first-hand research and follow-up when
necessary
 Critically examine norms and cultural stereotypes associated with difference
(others)
 Arrive at original conclusions and insight into group identity, ideology, and
beliefs rather than simply reproducing others’ ideas
Required Format
 Use MLA style (See Blackboard – Course Documents – for the sample MLA
paper)
 3-4 pages
Support and Resources
You will be provided with sufficient support during the process of this
assignment. We will discuss in class (based on daily reading materials from book and
Blackboard postings) all the necessary research strategies for fieldworking. For those of
you who need support to choose your topics (or subcultures), I have posted more
subcultures/sites information with examples in Blackboard (see Subcultures under Course
Documents). University Writing Center would be a great resource for you to get support
for brainstorming your topics, reviewing your essays, and for any other help about
writing your research paper. It has facilities for both virtual response and walk-in
appointments (visit the Writing Center website or call them at 8522173). You can also
meet with me any time during my office hours (see details about my office and time on
the syllabus) if you want to discuss any issues regarding assignments.
Evaluation Criteria
Content and Rhetorical
The essay presents sufficient information about the
Knowledge (35%)
subculture/site through your observation of people’s cultural
practices, rituals, insider activities, language variations,
cultural artifacts belonging to this community. The paper
includes an analysis of some general assumptions about the
subculture/site, and clarifies your positionality as a
researcher. The essay develops a narrative that considerably
focuses on the subculture and consistently underlines a
theme to help identify them as a distinct community with
their subcultural identity. The discussion informs the
audience and keeps them engaged, while providing
sufficient background knowledge and explaining with
details unfamiliar terms and ideas.
Organization (35%)
The introduction clearly states a tentative thesis (giving an
idea of what the essay is about and how you plan to forward
your main idea), and research questions that guide your
research. This section also introduces the subculture/site by
vividly describing it. Each paragraph is clearly written and
has a strong topic sentence. Transitions are used to guide the
reader, and analytic section headings are used to show the
clarity of ideas. The conclusion includes a reflective
paragraph in which you analyze the challenges you face,
and assess your strengths and weaknesses as a researcher.
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 and Mechanics
The essay is free from grammatical errors that interfere with
(10%)
the readers’ ability to understand the document.
Due: for peer response (Feb. 21), revised draft (March 6)