Directions for Linguistic Ethnography Paper

            This project will give you the chance to research how language is used in real-life situations, in a way that reading books and studying grammar cannot. You will get the chance to think critically about the ways in which language can be a tool that either empowers or disempowers. You will express your thoughts clearly, using the grammar, vocabulary and organization that we have worked on this year.

            In this paper, you will present your observations in five-paragraph essay format. Please choose one of the following thesis statements.

1.     Overall, the ways that language is used at my school serve to empower me.

2.     Overall, the ways that language is used at my school serve to disempower me.

3.     In some contexts, the ways that language is used at my school empower me, while in other contexts, they disempower me.

In your three supporting paragraphs, provide at least three examples from your research that support your thesis statement. For example, if you argue that language use at SCH is empowering and disempowering at the same time, you might write two supporting paragraphs about empowering situations and one paragraph about a disempowering situation. Perhaps in one paragraph, you might choose to discuss how you sometimes feel able to express yourself in ways that monolingual people, (people who can only speak one language,) cannot, by switching back and forth between languages in order to use words that are unique to each language. Conversely, in another paragraph, you might choose to explore times when you feel you are not able to express yourself because using Chinese might cause others to react negatively in a certain situation. Be sure to use direct quotes from your classmates to support your statements. Finally, be sure to wrap up your thoughts with a conclusion paragraph.

Deadlines:

• Nov. 25: show research notes
• Dec. 9: 1st draft due-- turn in to Ms. Baker and give one copy to a classmate for peer editing
• Dec. 11: complete peer editing
• Dec. 16: final draft due

  
**Late policy: For each day an assignment is late, five percentage points will be deducted from your final score.

Grammar	Vocabulary	Organization	Complexity	Required Elements
3: Few (5 or fewer) minor grammatical errors that do not interfere with comprehension	3: Includes 3 or more new vocabulary words from vocab workbook. Uses almost all words correctly, with 1-0 words used incorrectly. Words are precise and clearly convey meaning.	3: Includes intro paragraph with thesis sentence, three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. Examples strongly support thesis. Tight cohesion: uses transitional words and phrases and other cohesive devices.	3: Varied sentence structures and lengths. Includes simple sentences, compound sentences, (which use FANBOYS,) and complex sentences, (which contain dependent clauses.) Contains 1-0 run-ons or fragments.	3: Contains 6 direct quotes from classmates, using proper punctuation. Incorporates examples from at least 3 of the assigned research topics in supporting paragraphs.
2: Some (10 or fewer) grammatical errors that somewhat interfere with comprehension	2: Includes 2 new vocab words from vocab workbook. Uses most words correctly, with 2 or fewer used incorrectly. Words are mostly precise, with some vagueness that may impede expression.	2: Follows five-paragraph structure but does not fully develop all paragraphs. Examples support thesis. Shows some cohesion but may contain 1 or 2 jarring transitions.	2: Somewhat varied sentence structure and lengths. May rely heavily on simple and compound sentences. Contains 2 or fewer run-ons or fragments.	2: Contains 5 direct quotes from classmates, with 1 or 2 minor errors in punctuation. Incorporates examples from at least 3 of the assigned research topics, but some examples may be under-developed.
1: Many (11 or more grammatical errors that interfere significantly with comprehension	1: Includes 1-0 vocab words from vocab workbook. Uses 3 or more words incorrectly. Words are often imprecise, and this vagueness impedes expression.	1: Shows some elements of five-paragraph structure but some paragraphs may be omitted or under-developed. Examples weakly support thesis. Lacks cohesion; many jarring transitions that interfere with comprehension.	1: Little variation in sentence structure and lengths; relies heavily on simple and compound sentence. May contain few (2 or fewer) complex sentences. Contains 3 or more run-ons or fragments.	1: Contains 4 or fewer direct quotes from classmates, with several errors in punctuation. Incorporates examples from 2 or fewer of the assigned research topics. May have underdeveloped examples.