We begin this semester by considering the various meanings of ‘literacy,’ thinking about what we know, of what it means to know what we know, and of how we know and use what we know. Our readings have included an examination of learning and literacy both as ideas and in context with cultural values. We read and wrote about these concepts, looking for ways in which human ideas and understandings of self and self-definition have grown and developed over time, both within individual lives in a narrative essay and in greater societal trends by considering learning and social values though an object analysis. We are seeing that at least part of the ways that we define self are culturally connected and expressed, and we’ve looked a bit at the continual development of these basic ideas and ideals. In addition, through our course materials, we have explored what it means to gain skills and abilities, and how we change as what we learn changes us and our perceptions.
Participation in professional activities also involves acquiring new ways of thinking and communicating, and often, new conceptions of self and identity. To say, “I am a doctor” or “I am an engineer” can mean much more than to simply state what you do to earn a paycheck—these statements also mean, in some sense, that not only do you identify with a professional identity, you also operate within it—that is, you ‘are’ an engineer, but you also ‘do engineering.’
Much like the nature of changing literacies we have already studied, in every discipline of study or work, the nature of learning, communication, and even literacy itself is different. That is, each discipline you might study and each career field you may enter has its own ideas of literacy—its own ways of presenting and analyzing information, its own ways of building knowledge, its own ways of presenting knowledge in written forms. What counts as knowledge and knowing, what rhetorical traditions are used, and what sort of written products are produced within each field vary widely and wildly. Upon entering college (or a profession), you may have no idea what your field’s particular methods and traditions might be, no clue of what it means to become a participating member of that field, no sense of how to ‘do engineering.’ So, now that you know something of how literacy and cultural analysis work in general, we’ll begin to explore how they work in the world of a specific professional field.
Project 3 will focus on building your own understanding of how literacy (again, broadly taken as reading, writing, and production/use of information) is created and operates within a discipline (or profession) of interest to you. By synthesizing information which already exists about your discipline of choice and your insights, (research!) you will also develop experience with research writing in an academic context. The essence of research is to learn. It can seem natural to approach research from a dispiriting angle: “What do I need to do to complete the assignment?” rather than the productive “What do I want to discover?” but virtually all actual, ‘real-world’ research derives from the latter question, no matter the field.
What can you learn about the literacy of your discipline?
I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?
THE PROJECT:
In this project, ask yourself that question: what can you learn about how literacy works in your specific field?
First, decide on a field. Then, collect informative materials. Research your discipline and how literacies work within it. Last, write a source-based essay which combines and presents what you’ve discovered. Your aim will be to share your discoveries with a specific audience—other freshmen who might be interested in that same field. You will learn through your research, and your audience will learn as well, through your essay.
A few suggestions to start work:
1) As we’ve discussed, and will continue to discuss, rather than deciding on a direction for your essay at the start, do your research first, and let it guide you to your final product.
2) You may have difficulty finding much material that specifically discusses what sort of writing and communication occur in your field. If this is the case, I suggest you compare the materials you uncover in research—your interview, scholarly article, and professional/trade article—for writing styles, purposes, and delivery. Consider each kind of source as we have in RAIDS analysis, and use this approach to see if you can learn more about the kinds of writing which happen in the field and why/where these kinds of writing are used, as well as the kinds of information that your field considers.
3) For this project, you should be most concerned with describing the nature of literacy in your field—especially (but not limited to) what kinds of writing, communication, and information use happen in Engineering, for example. Some information on the field itself and some on your sources will likely be necessary, but keep your focus on the literacies used within your field.
You already have experience with many elements of this assignment. As you did in the Cultural Artifact Analysis, you’ll work with artifacts to draw conclusions about cultural values and practices. In this project, the ‘artifacts’ will be academic and professional texts as well as background information, and the ‘culture’ will be a disciplinary or professional culture. There is, however, one new element: you’ll perform a one-on-one interview with a member of the disciplinary or professional community that you have chosen.
In terms of research, the project will require at least three separate kinds of sources:
- Inclusion and consideration of material from one trade (or professional) publication
- Inclusion and consideration of material from at least one scholarly article
- Inclusion and consideration of material from at least one personal interview you hold. Start thinking of your connections now. A parent, friend, employer, professor? Start with the people you know.
GOALS and PURPOSE:
- To learn about how writing and literacy works in a particular discipline or profession
- To demonstrate for others new to a discipline how literacy is valued and practiced in that discipline or profession
- To learn the hows of research writing and gain practice locating, evaluating, and synthesizing source materials for an original research project.
AUDIENCE:
- Option 1: Write as though you are sharing this information with other MSU First-Year Writing students who are considering your career field. Consider this move especially: will you write colloquially or instructively? Both? Will this matter?
- FORMATTING and PROCEDURE:
- 5-7 pages (or approximately 1500 words)
- 1 inch margins
- Times New Roman 12 pt. or comparable font
- Double spaced
- Observation of MLA Citations ( ) in text and in the Works Cited page.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]