This is a primary research assignment. You will: 1.) Choose a community to which you belong. 2.) Identify the literacy practice of the community.

Community Literacy Writing Project

 

So far this semester, you have worked toward increasing your writing proficiencies through visual analysis. Now, you will complete primary research in order to apply the same type of critical thinking to a specific community. We tend to think of literacy as reading and writing, but in current scholarship, the definition of literacy has been expanded to incorporate the learning of basically anything from another language to learning how to use a computer.

 

For this project, I would like you to investigate a literacy practice unique to a community. Preferably, you will pick a community to which you already belong, since there can be some ethical issues with speaking for a community to which you are an outsider. (If you are interested in investigating a community to which you do not belong, schedule a meeting with me quickly, so that I can discuss how to mitigate the outsider-narrative problems.)

 

Learning Outcomes:

●          Analyze, evaluate, document, and draw inferences from various sources.

●          Identify, select, and analyze appropriate research methods, research questions, and

evidence for a specific rhetorical situation.

Requirements:

·      3-5 pages.

·      Proposal and Interview Questions

·      One image that defines the literacy of the space included in proposal

·      Two documented interviews of members of the community

·      A copy of interviews

·      A compelling thesis that reveals the literacy practice of your chosen community

·      Strong organizational structure

·      Audience appropriate language

·      Careful proofreading and MLA formatting

Assignment:

This is a primary research assignment. You will:

1.)  Choose a community to which you belong.

2.)  Identify the literacy practice of the community.

3.)  Determine what you think defines the community. How long has the community existed? For what purpose do you participate in it?

4.)  Choose two members of the community and conduct interviews, after receiving permission.

5.)  Analyze your interviews. Compare the responses you receive with your own experiences. Use your conclusions to write an argumentative essay about the literacy practice of your chosen community.

o   Be respectful.

o   Be respectful! (It bears repeating.)

o   Never enter into a situation that could be potentially harmful to you or the community.

o   Always get written permission for your interviews.

o   Enjoy your primary research process.