Paper#3 (WRA 1004)

Writing Situation: In our class exercises, you explored anartifact that represented an important aspect of your home culture;in your last paper, you analyzed your translating processes, inmoving from one language or culture to another.

Nowyou will turn your attention to MSU culture: something that isstill in the process of becoming your “home.” Your paperwill explore an aspect of culture here at Michigan State Universitythat you would like to understand in greater detail.

Touse an image from class, MSU culture can seem like aniceberg—where you see only the surface, but 7/8s of the“iceberg” is beneath “water,” beneath what wesee. This project invites you to explore some part of MSU culturethat you know very little about. Your job is to learn more about thisaspect of MSU culture (through interviews, surveys, web searches, apopular article, a scholarly article)—so that you come to adeeper understanding of why this culture does what it does, how itdoes it, and how it thinks about and responds to students.

RhetoricalPurpose: to demonstrate to others your growing knowledge of MSUculture, in a way so that others, especially students, can benefitfrom what you have learned.

LearningGoal: (1) inquiry into the “hidden” conventions andpractices of a culture that is relatively new to you; and (2)practice locating, evaluating, and synthesizing source materials foran original research project.

Audience:other students who can benefit from what you have learned about thisaspect of MSU culture.

Parts

• Interviewnotes/Survey samples, along with field notes from observation
• Field &interview notes
• Dialogicnote-taking (on at least one article, either popular or scholarly,related to your topic—will work on this at the library)

• Rough draftsand final draft (4-5 pages), including a visual
• Reflection(in class pm 11/2) – what I used from my research and why;what was most / least helpful to my paper’s purpose and how