Research Paper（Anthropology)

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Research Paper（Anthropology)

Term Paper Guide

Anth 3AC

Spring 2018

8-12 pages, double-spaced, with bibliography.

“You will be asked to compare, contrast, or integrate how two or more anthropologists approach a similar research topic.”

Your two texts: pick two texts by anthropologists; the center of your paper will be the comparison of these two texts

· Need to be academic-level texts: either academic journal articles, or books by academic publishers

· Need to be either texts by anthropologists, or texts that anthropologists are likely to read

· On p. 3 of the syllabus: a great list of anthropology journals; any article from any of those journals would be an okay source to use

· Google authors’ names if you’re uncertain whether they’re anthropologists

· If you’re uncertain whether a text is okay, ask Adrian

· A text that we’ve read for class cannot be one of these two texts

· But: you can totally draw on texts from class in constructing your argument about your two texts — in fact, I encourage you to do so (for example: you can’t say that your paper will be a comparison of Weber’s Protestant Ethic and Marx’s Capital — but you are encouraged to draw on Weber & Marx in discussing the two texts that you’re comparing)

· Remember: Google Scholar is your friend!

· Also: there’s a journal named Annual Review of Anthropology — articles in this journal are what’s called literature reviews: rather than making an independent argument, these articles describe the existing academic literature (in anthropology) on a particular topic or subfield. So: if you can find an Annual Review article about the topic that you’re interested in, then this can be a great way to find articles cited in that Annual Review article that you can use as your two texts.

You may use any citation style you want, as long as you use that style consistently. (My recommendation is that you figure out which citation style is generally used in your discipline, and use that style.)

You must cite all ideas that did not come out of your brain. Failure to do so is called plagiarism and is a serious academic offense. Do not plagiarize. We will catch you.

If you’re having trouble finding texts, ask Adrian. If you’re falling behind, talk to Adrian. If you’re confused by your texts, ask Adrian. Either email or coming to office hours works.

I will try to give feedback on drafts received on or before April 17.

Some writing guidelines:

1) Read your articles once in a linear fashion — one word after another. Make sure you understand any new vocabulary. Come see me in office hours if you’re struggling to understand your texts.

2) Re-read your articles with an eye to how they work as wholes. Take notes: What is the main point of each article? How is each article organized? What evidence does the article use? What theories? Is the article successful on its own terms? It might help to do a bubble map of concepts and arguments found in each.

3) Make a chart in which you note similarities and differences between the two articles. Note any patterns.

4) Imagine arguments or perspectives that neither article deploys, but could. How would you make those arguments? What kind of evidence would be needed? Are these questions best addressed with ethnography, or would another method of data collection be more useful? What theories might be useful to model the phenomenon?

5) Try to formulate a thesis that explains the relation between the two articles to concepts that we’ve discussed in class. For example: “While both Marx and Mauss use empirical data to theorize relations of exchange, Marx understands…”

6) Sketch an outline of evidence and arguments necessary to support the thesis formulated in step 5. Remember to imagine your audience as infinitely intelligent and infinitely ignorant: you should be prepared to summarize and explain your articles before you make arguments about them.

7) Turn off your internal censor and write a draft. Just get it all out — word vomit is the goal here! Try to write more than you need to fulfill the requirements of the assignment. That way, you can cut out the less good parts later, leaving only your best work.

8) Read your draft out loud to yourself. Cut out anything that you don’t absolutely need. Clarify the parts where you can tell you don’t make sense. Try to remove every use of the verb “to be” (including “is,” “was,” “are,” etc.), reformulating your sentences if you have to. Make sure your commas, periods, em-dashes, semicolons, and colons are all in their right place. Confirm that the first and last sentences of each paragraph lead logically into their neighbors.

9) Show your paper to an editor whose writing skills you trust. That can be me, a friend from the class, a parent, a tutor, an older sibling. Ask them to go over your article with a fine tooth comb, preferably with you sitting next to them so they can ask you questions as they read.

10) Use your editor’s notes to give your paper a final polish.