Assignment Guidelines for Final Ethnography

ANTH 1001
Due Date: Monday, May 7
Final: Ethnography of NYC
The final project marks Part II of the two part process of completing your
INDIVIDUAL ethnography of some aspect of New York City. It is the continuation and
realization of the project proposal that you submitted in mid-March.
The final ethnography is a standard research paper. State your hypothesis/thesis
statement and back it up with supporting arguments. Your ethnography must
have a strong theoretical component, and it must incorporate three in-class
articles, three outside pieces, and the findings from AT LEAST three research
sessions. You can use elements from your proposal in your final, however keep in
mind that they are two different assignments, structured in two very different ways.
The proposal explains your hypothesis and how your research might contribute to
that hypothesis. The final ethnography is MAKING AN ARGUMENT. You are
taking a stance. You are making a thesis statement and backing it up with various
kinds of evidence.
The Assignment:
1) In the introductory paragraphs:
a. Identify your thesis statement (this is the same as your primary
question in the proposal, only instead of the form of a question, it will
take the form of a statement, a declaration).
b. Identify how you are going to go about supporting your thesis
i. Identify your various supporting arguments (this relates to your
supporting questions)
c. Identify why this question is worth answering
i. Explain why you are interested in the topic
ii. Explain why investigating the question(s) is worth the effort
d. Identify your research plan
i. Identify your three research sessions
ii. Explain why you chose the research methodologies that you did
iii. Identify any problems that arose and how you attempted to
remedy them
2) In the body of your essay:
a. Support your thesis
i. Make connections to your minimum 3 in-class and minimum 3
outside materials
ii. Make connections to your minimum 3 research sessions
iii. Make connections to theory
iv. Basically, convince me that your hypothesis is valid
3) In the concluding paragraphs
a. Wrap up the paper

b. Explain where we go from here

i. What additional research needs to be done?
ii. How might we, society, utilize your research
findings/conclusions?

Form & Style Instructions

Form

of the Ethnography of NYC:

Must be typed, using 8 x 11 unlined, white bond paper
Must be double-spaced with 1 margins all around
Must be stapled in the upper left-hand corner. No paper clips, tape, or torn &
turned corners.
Must be in a 12 point, readable font (Times New Roman, Ariel, or Courier)
A cover page is unnecessary. Your name, the date, and the title of your
proposal should appear at the top of the first page.

Citations/Bibliography:
Cite your sources within the essay in MLA, APA or Chicago style
Include a bibliography!
Bibliographic sources must be alphabetized
Length of Ethnography:
5 full pages (this does not include the bibliography). Nothing (except the
bibliography) can be written on a sixth page.
Expanding upon the Midterm Proposal:
AGAIN, this assignment is different from your proposalI want to see that you
have developed and structured your ideas beyond those you examined in
your midterm.
Thus, YOU WILL RESUBMIT YOUR MIDTERM WITH YOUR FINAL
PROJECT. Do not revise your midterm; just staple it to your final once it is
complete.
Proofing the Review:
The paper must be free of spelling and grammatical errors. If you are having
trouble with this, or anything else related to grammar, organizing/structuring
the paper, etc., please see me and/or schedule an appointment with one of
the Writing Fellows
Expressing, Explaining, and Defending Your Opinions:
You are not graded down for expressing and defending your honest opinions,
or for including personal, self-reflexive material. Your views are your own. Be
sure, however, to state your opinions in clear, concise sentences and in wellorganized paragraphs. Consider the ethnography as your best attempt at
making a compelling, strong argument for your overall project and you
opinions. Opinions and observations that are particularly incisive, astute,
original and well-supported are hallmarks of the superior paper.
What You Are Turning In:

Along with the final project itself (with a bibliography), you must re-submit
the midterm (the project proposal) that you originally submitted to me. I
want the one that I graded with my comments on it. You must also submit
the peer review of your own project, the one your peer completed of your
final project. I am looking at this (1) to ensure that everyone adequately
completed their peer review, and (2) to ensure that you took both your peers
and my comments seriously. This is not to say that you must make every
change suggested, but that you are thoughtful in the final product that you
submit to me.