Your Field Essay will then combine certain elements of both the traditional White Paper and Ethnographic Map of Field Essay. It is meant to provide a thorough understanding of your field, examine the issues currently in the field, and explore the culture, sociology, and practices of the people involved in this field. This paper will view your field as its own culture–how do people behave in this field? What are the “cultural” expectations and adaptations? How does location or region affect these cultures? Examine how your field of study is developed into a means of study, while also being a collective group of people who engage and further the field.
This essay is due Sunday, April 28 by 11:59 PM to Moodle via the Turn-It-In link. ***
Prompt
Choose a specific topic within your field of study to explore more deeply through further research. Write a 1500–2000 word essay that communicates a broad but well-researched and extensive understanding of your field of study.
Essay Requirements
– A minimum of 1500-2000 words.
– Essay includes a minimum of 5 scholarly sources. 2 of these sources should be from the database or from the LSU Libraries (print or digital sources), while the other 3 can be credible web sources.
– Acceptable scholarly sources include books/book chapters, journal articles, periodicals, news articles, or government documents.
– Make sure the sources you use in this essay demonstrate college-level research skills.
– You may also use credible web sources, such as the Library of Congress, the National Archives, foundation websites related to your topic. Be extremely careful when doing this, as if you use a non-credible source as one of your main sources, this will negatively impact your grade.
– If there is a source you think is vital to your argument but are afraid it is not credible, use it as an additional source instead of one of your main sources.
– Make sure not to distort your sources or take them out of context.
updated March 2024
English 2000 // Watts Spring 2024
– Don’t forget about the resources in the library! You already have some background using them during your independent research, but they are still there to be helpful as you progress through your research.1
General Outline
– Introduction
– Field Background, History, and Context
– Field Overview
– Overview, Key Concepts, Educational & Career Pathways, Significance & Relevance
– Ethnographic Study
– Consider your field of study as a culture and/or community by exploring
the socialization practices, social organizational values, language and communication practices, technology uses and application, economic trends, and globalization
– Current Conversations
– Current trends, debates, issues, or challenges
– Problem & Solution
– Explain a problem related to the culture of the field and propose a solution
– Conclusion
– Summarize main points and relate to larger ideas
Notes:
1. Avoid using first and second person in this essay.
2. If you have significant issues or it is clear you did not use the resources available
to you (Purdue Owl, Library Resources, Moodle Resources) you will lose points on this assignment.
1 See the Field Essay tab in Moodle for more resources about completing this assignment & the
