Investigative Field Essay
In College 8 Core, you are studying pressing environmental issues from all around the world. For this assignment, you will consider one closer to home–your home, in fact. Think of a specific issue in the area you come from that has some significance in your hometown–anything from growth & greenbelt issues to toxic waste to pesticide drift–whatever you think is important. Make sure that the issue you choose is quite concrete–topics such as “development” or “pollution” in general are much too big to research in a few short weeks. We will brainstorm some key search words in class. If you need an idea, go to your local newspaper's website, click on the archives, and type in key words such as “environmental impact,” “toxic,” “pollution,” “development,” “environmental illness,” “cluster,” “occupational illness,” and so forth until you find something. Ask your family and community members to talk with you about recent and current environmental issues generally and local ones specifically
To research the issue, look at the archives of your hometown newspaper–probably on the web or on microfiche in your local library–and identify at least three sources (people on various sides of the issue) that you can call or visit for interviews. Print what you find from these archives and call your sources for interview appointments. Next, do a web search (and/or ask your sources) to find websites that discuss the issue–opponents of a particular development project, for example, might have a site, or some city agency might have put one up that refers to it. If you don't find websites, ask your sources whether there are documents that might be pertinent–e.g., an environmental impact report, a study from the National Institute of Health–and where you can find them. If no one will talk with you about the issue and there are no documents or websites, you will need to change or widen your topic. See me for help getting gears in motion or switching gears, if needed.
The paper that you will produce is a field research essay of 8-12 pages, a standard form of college writing. It is different from a library research essay in that it uses primary sources - people, documents, newspaper articles, websites, flyers and pamphlets, etc. – rather than secondary sources that you might find in a library. It is different from a piece of investigative reporting in that your argument will be explicit. Once you have considered your issue, read any pertinent documents, and interviewed your sources, take a position on the issue and articulate it clearly. Show whom the issue affects and how its effects are differential, explain the background issues and counter-arguments fully and make a set of recommendations. Document your sources using the MLA style, explained in Resources for Writers on College 8 wiki http://ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/index.php/Resources_for_Writers
A good place to look for a topic is on the Where are we Going assignment page, see the additional resources section. Scorecard.org (search by Zip code) and Wiserearth.org (search bt city and maybe topic) are especially useful.
Site Proposal: Due Tuesday, October 21
1-2 pages typed, double spaced
In your site proposal, identify clearly where you expect to do your research and on what issue you plan to concentrate. Explain everything you know about the issue at this point, and provide a detailed description of the location, if you can. Name and describe the various constituencies that are affected by the issue; if you do not know for sure who or what they are, speculate intelligently. Finally, show how you plan to do your research: identify the people you expect to interview, their contact information, and indicate what other sources you know of now.
Purposeful description: Due Tuesday, October 28th
Working from a visit to the site or from your memory, bring to class a one-page description of a site that embodies the issue you are investigating. While your description should be vivid and evocative, it should also somehow evoke or allude to the central argument in your paper.
Background information and paraphrases: Thursday, October 30
Two or three pages of paraphrases, typed
Print out copies of newspaper articles, documents on web pages, newsletter articles, pamphlets, legal documents–anything that you've found so far on your issue. (If you are having trouble finding source material, let me know by Tuesday, October 25th!) Locate the most important information in two or three of those documents and highlight it. Paraphrase this information (cite the source in your paraphrase), leaving only the most important points or the most expressive language in quotes. Bring two or three pages of typed paraphrases to class, in a folder.
Argument: due Thursday, November 6th
Two pages, typed
Please clearly state your thesis and your main premises. Sketch out your argument, and show how your evidence will support your thesis. Note that Tuesday 11/11 is a holiday (NOT Monday 11/10), so if you go home you might want to try to interview people.
Interview questions: Due Tuesday, November 18
Typed, double spaced
List at least ten questions for each of your interviewees. Remember to put two or three “warm-up” questions first to get the interview going; then, come to your main points as quickly as possible without being rude. Avoid questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no,” and think of follow-up questions to ask after your most important ones. Tape your interviews if at all possible (ask permission first).
Investigative essay–first version: Due Thursday, November 13 th
Eight to ten pages double-spaced, typed, plus copies
Considering your background information, your interviews, and your own assessment of what is going on, write a research essay explaining the environmental issue you have been exploring. Refer to the following format, deviating in sequence where it helps your paper to do so and deviating in content only to add more.
Introduction: What is the issue? Why is it an issue? How is it a problem? Whom does it affect? What is stake? Include a description of the place in question. Why is an investigation into this issue important?
Methodology: What did you do to investigate the issue? Whom did you interview, and why? What questions did you ask them, and why? What documents did you find and why are they relevant? Were newspaper reports reliable? Please note that you can make some methodological information or resources available as appendices.
Results: What did you discover? What did people tell you? What are the disagreements or contradictions in what they told you, and how do you account for these? How will your community be affected by the issue you are investigating? Will some people be affected more than others? What did the documents you found reveal? What important insights do you want to share about this issue?
Recommendations: Given everything you have discovered and everyone you have talked to, what do you think should happen?
References: List your sources – live and written – using the MLA format. This is important! I cannot accept work with improper citations and references.
Turn in all your materials with your essay: your proposal, your interview questions, your paraphrases, your background information/printouts, your transcripts, and anything else that was assigned in class. You must organize it, label the different materials, and put it in a folder. Bring essay copies for your writing group.
Analysis and transcripts of interviews: Due Thursday, November 20th
two to seven pages of transcripts, typed
Locate the most relevant sections of your interviews on your tape and transcribe them, making sure that you get important quotes word for word. Bring five to seven pages of transcripts to class. In addition, write a page or two explaining what your interviewees illuminated about the issue, where the contradictions are in their comments and how you interpret those contradictions, what gaps still exist in your research, and how you expect to address these gaps.
Investigative essay–final version: Due Tuesday, December 2nd
8-12 pages typed ; content is the goal, not any specific length
Taking into account all comments from Professors, Course Assistants, Writing Assistants, writing groups, roommates, and friends, revise your paper thoroughly. Note that ELWR appeal papers are also due this day.