Essay 1: Understanding and Observing a Community Stanford CC II

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Understanding and Observing a Community

This essay will focus on a topic of your choosing that relates to a community. In order to write an effective argument, you will need to engage in a thought process that includes some critical thinking and analysis. First, you will decide on your topic and then you will need to find a way to enter the conversation. Next, you will need to think about what sources you can use to help support your argument. Finally, you will compose an essay that weaves your understanding/experience with outside source material to help establish your credibility as a writer on the topic.

Assignment: For your first essay, you will observe a community and the kinds of communication that those community members compose or employ. That means that you purposefully will watch a community of people communicating. Choose one community and observe the kinds of communication that exist. How do these people incorporate communication into their community? What purpose does communication serve? Choose your observation community thoughtfully since you will be using this same community for Essay #2, and you will have the option to use this community for the Research Essay. Your observation notes can be used as one primary source.

What is community? Sharon Crowley and Michael Stancliff, the authors of Critical Situations, define community as “the place where our strongest commitments lie” (9). Your community is more than just the neighborhood where you grew up. You’re a part of many communities: an employee at Starbucks, a Humane Society volunteer, a fan of Maroon 5, a nursing major, a Democrat, a Republican, etc. Think of all of the

Essay 1: Understanding and Observing a Community Stanford CC II

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communities that you don’t belong to as well because sometimes observing a new community allows us to be objective and see people and their communication in a new way. The expectation is that you will observe a community that carries broader significance in a wider community.

What is communication? The discipline of communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and

across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media. The discipline promotes the effective and ethical practice of human communication.

Communication is a diverse discipline which includes inquiry by social scientists, humanists, and critical and cultural studies scholars. A

body of scholarship and theory, about all forms of human communication, is presented and explained in textbooks, electronic publications,

and academic journals. In the journals, researchers report the results of studies that are the basis for an ever-expanding understanding of

how we all communicate.

What is argumentation? Because a good conclusion does more than just summarize what you already wrote, think about all of this: After considering who is communicating and where and when (and you speculate about why), become aware of your research question and argument. You’ve made an observation, and you’ve come to a conclusion, right? Once you’ve finished your observation and look through your notes, you’ll draw conclusions about this community—that’s your argument. Now, you need your readers to believe what you saw and to come to the same conclusions that you did. What does your observation suggest about this community specifically, communication, or society and culture more generally? How does your position as a community member or non-member influence your perspective and interpretation?

Getting Started:

Freewrite Exercises

Use freewriting to help determine the facts, meaning or nature of the issue, the seriousness of the issue, and the plan of action.

1. What do you want to write about? 2. Make a list of communities, which community do you think you are most interested in? 3. What types of questions can you pose that you think others will find important too? 4. What do you think you know about your topic? 5. What type of experience do you have with your topic? 6. What type of argument can you make about your topic? 7. What about that community do you want to focus on? Why? 8. What type of sources can you use to support your argument?

Essay 1: Understanding and Observing a Community Stanford CC II

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Format: MLA r Include a header (i.e., your last name and page number in the upper right corner

of every page). r Include a heading (i.e., your name, my name, the class, and the date on the

upper left side of the first page of the essay) r Use Times New Roman font in 12pt. r Set line spacing at 0pt. r Double space your essay.

Your essay should:

q Include a clear thesis, point, or focus. q Be organized with an introduction, body, and conclusion to structure the essay. q Incorporate 1-2 credible sources. q Be comprised of at least 3-4 pages. q Demonstrate your ability to use grammar, punctuation, and formatting suitable for college.

Closing Letter: Along with this essay, please include a paragraph or two that will serve as a reflective closing letter. This is a letter to me directing my attention to specific portions of your essay and explaining your composing process. You may want to consider what worked well, what could have been more successful, what you’re most proud of, any unforeseen complications that arose while completing your project, or any remaining questions that you may have. Consider specific writing concepts that we’ll discuss all semester: introduction, conclusion, thesis, transitions, focus, details, etc. Within your cover letter, you should also discuss the success of each workshop, respectively: Who was most helpful? Did anyone fail to participate? This should be the very last page of your essay. Not many other instructors will require a closing letter. This is my thing. I like to be informed when assessing your essays. J

Learning Outcomes: r Effective Communication (Written/Oral

/Reading/Listening) r Information Literacy r Critical Thinking r Global and Diversity Awareness r Civic, Professional, and Ethical Responsibility

r Rhetorical Knowledge r Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing r Knowledge of Composing Processes r Collaboration r Knowledge of Conventions

***Remember:

ü When saving your essay, please choose you must use Google Docs. ü Please title your document using your last name. Ex: CStanford_Essay1.doc ü Submit your closing letter and essay as one document. Your closing letter should be the last page.

Essay 1: Understanding and Observing a Community Stanford CC II

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