Your "Class Project" consists of (1) a focused informal Presentation to the class, and (2) a formal written Group Term Report (Term Paper) on what you discovered / learned in your research.
Your Term Paper is basicaly a ca. 12 - 15 well-written paper
on your Group Research Report (Term Paper), suitable for presentation to your peers in one or more of your professional organizations.
It is a formal written report of your Group Research Project,
to a different audience (your classmates), and with a different style (formal) than your Group Research Project Presentation (which is to an audience of the members ot he class, presented with a different style (informal).
s2018 Your Group Research Presentation materials are due by the day you give your Presentation in class. Group Research Presentations begin Week 13 Day 24, Wednesday, 11 April 2018.
AVISO: Late Term Papers will not be accepted unless (1) arrangements for an alternate date have been arranged in advance, or (2) medical emergencies or similar extraordinary unexpected circumstances make it unfeasible to turn in the assignment by the announced due date. Why?
Your overall Project addresses two separate and distinct audiences . . .
Your audience for your Presentation is your classmates, (not the prof), presented with a different style (informal) than your written Research Report.
Your audience for your written Research Report an audience of the members of a Student section of one of your Professional Organizations--like the American Anthropological Association [AAA], or that Central States Anthropological Society [CSAS], or the Society for Applied Anthropology [SfAA]).
Purpose ("rhetorical situation")
To let them know what you were working on, and what you found out, and what might be interesting to look at in the future
Style
for the Presentation, it may be informal
for the Paper, formal academic
Length of Written Report
12 - 15 well-written pages, including one title page and one Works Cited (or References) page
NOTE: Folks who look mostly at web sites and/or sources like Wikipedia sometimes find it difficult to write 8-10 pages of quality text. If you find that you are in that position, try researching the topic in a book focusing on your topic. Many are recommended in the class WebPages.
caveat: if you include a number of long quotes, then your paper should be proportionately longer
double-spaced
with one-inch margins all around
with body type font 11 or 12
illustrations, tables, figures, diagrams . . . may be included, but must be properly placed and cited
Using Wikipedia, Desk References, Encyclopedia, Non-peer-reviewed Media, and Similar Sources
It is fine for you to begin a project by consulting with Wikipedia (and similar on-line sources of encyclopaedic-type information) but you should be aware that the Wikipedia entries are open-source and are not checked and verified in the same manner as other reference materials.
And sometimes the entries are confusing (have a look at "Macedonia," for example).
And Wikipedia, should you use it, should only be a starting point.
For a college research paper you should also have a look at other references, either traditional materials from the library, or on-line materials from sources like UMD E-Journal Locator, JSTOR, etc., or books and manuscripts On-Line. That is to say Wikipedia and the other reference-type sources listed should not be your only source of information. And you must add your own evaluations, comparisons, development, criticisms, critiques, and the like to any reference materials used. Simply cutting and pasting information from sources is not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of either a required or extra-credit research paper.
Your paper should reflect a synthesis and evaluation of materials researched.
Your Group Research Project"consists of a focused group report (term paper) and a presentation on what you discovered / learned while working on the paper. It is recommended that you do your term paper and your class research presentation on the same subject.
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This proposal
can be fairly simple, and informal, including . . .
a basic informal statement of one or more topics that you are interested in writing about . . .
there is no minimum length, but most people submit two or three paragraphs
one paragraph should include including basic information the topic itself
one paragraph should include information about why you are interested in the topic(s)
and a third paragraph, or section, of your informal proposal should include
three or four sources (or more), and statements about why you think those sources might be helpful in researching the topic(s)
It may be more elaborate if you wish.
But this proposal may also be simple and informal
do try to work an analytical section into your final paper that reflects the four-fold nature of anthropology
Audience: Classmates
Purpose: To get started thinking about . . .
the subject you might want to look at for your Term Project
Format: This proposal statement can be in informal format, but if you use a formal format, use any standard format and citation convention (APA, MLA, Turabian-Chicago . . . ). Don't make up one of your own. and citation convention (APA, MLA, Turabian-Chicago . . . )
doublespaced
with one-inch margins all around
with body type font 11 or 12
illustrations, tables, figures, diagrams . . . may be included, but must be properly placed and cited
each team should compile and submit a single copy of an initial Annotated Bibliography of sources related to its chose project
each team member should contribute one or more print sources (journal article or book or chapter of book), and one or more web sources (web sites or electronic documents accessible via the web)
each entry should be annotated to include a summary of the kinds of information the source contains, and how it might be useful for your research this semester (see details below)
for information on Promissory Abstracts see Maxine Hairston and OWL below. . .
12 - 15 well-written pages, including one title page and one Works Cited (or References) page
NOTE: Folks who look mostly at web sites and/or sources like Wikipedia sometimes find it difficult to write 8-10 pages of quality text. If you find that you are in that position, try researching the topic in a book focusing on your topic. Many are recommended in the class WebPages.
caveat: if you include a number of long quotes, then your paper should be proportionately longer
double-spaced
with one-inch margins all around
with body type font 11 or 12
illustrations, tables, figures, diagrams . . . may be included, but must be properly placed and cited
The "working bibliography" for your project is a simple list of references—sources that you think will be helpful to in putting together your paper and your presentation.
At the start of your project it is probably a good idea to have 6-10 sources that "look pretty good" and as if they might be useful to your project.
At the beginning, and for the list you turn in during Week 6, you do not have to do anything more than list the resources that you think will be helpful to your project and that you expect to use for your paper and/or your report.
Once you begin looking at these materials, you may want to start annotating them—that is, beginning to make notes about how they might actually be used in your paper and/or presentation.
And you might start noting additional references from your original list of items.
For details on evaluating the items on your initial "working bibliogaphy",
and on the process of annotating your working bibliography (your simple list),
see the resources available from . . .
And your sources may include any or all of the following kind of items . . .
For your paper you should also use traditional library materials, and, where appropriate, interviews and videotapes.
traditional library printed materials (books, journals, magazines, government reports, microformat materials . . .)
Note how things are the same and how they are different. In a logical comparison / contrast would be with / between "X" of Y.
Women
Men
Item # 1
similar
different
similar
different
Item # 2
similar
different
similar
different
Item # 3
similar
different
similar
different
Item # 4
similar
different
similar
different
Item # N
similar
different
similar
different
Emic / Etic
Required Section(s):
After you have described what you have read or seen you must include in your paper / presentation one or more detailed paragraphs indicating your own personal response to and evaluation of the materials (required)
Put your paragraph(s) summarizing your paper here.
Put a transitional statement here.
Body
[Give this section an interesting subtitle, something other than "Body"]
Describe and discuss your chosen topic(s) here. Use some form of organizational structure. The "Journalist's Questions," Who,What, When, Where, How and Why are often helpful. A time sequence is also useful.
Use the Paradigm Online Writing Assistant if you do not have much experience writing college papers.
The Writers' Workshop offers free one-to-one writing support to all members of UMD's campus community. Sessions are held synchronously online or in-person with a graduate student or faculty consultant. Feel free to bring any writing project at any stage in the writing process. To make an appointment, visit d.umn.edu/writwork or stop by the Workshop’s front desk located on the second floor of Martin Library and visit with the helpful staff.
Students in this class have permission to see a Writers’ Workshop consultant for assistance on exams, and all written projects.
Tutoring Center
The Tutoring Center on the second floor of Martin Library offers free tutoring sessions for this course. Your tutor will be a high-achieving student trained to assist you. To learn more about the Tutoring Center, find the tutor(s) qualified for this subject area, or reserve a time with a tutor, please visit the Tutoring Center website. The tutors look forward to working with you!
Research Help is a service where librarians provide guidance, support, and instruction on how to find and use information. You can meet with a librarian when you’re not sure how to get started with a research project, when you’ve hit a wall in your research, or your usual process isn’t working. You can chat with a librarian 24/7, schedule an appointment with a subject librarian, email, or drop-in during the day.
Use of AI-content generators for assignments in this class
When I taught Advanced Writing for the Social Sciences here at UMD, for over twenty-five years, my rule of thumb advice to students was to plan to spend 60% or more of their time and effort revising drafts (for academic type writing).
In 2001 Wikipedia appeared on the scene and very quickly became a useful tool asa starting point for many academic projects even though as an open-source resource the Wikipedia entries are not checked and verified in the same manner as other traditional reference materials.
Spelling and grammar checkers arrived on the general scene and helped with spelling and grammar checking, but, as you no doubt have discovered, they continue to require human editing.
And, of course, before that we had a selection of excellent Encyclopedia offering good starting points for many projects, the most popular being The Encyclopedia Brittanica.
And long before that there were libraries--since at least the days of Alexandria in Egypt, in the third century B.C.
The bottom line . . .
Today the evolution of research resources and aids continues with the relatively rapid appearance of ChatGPT and other automated content generators.
As many folks have already found out, they can be very useful as starting points, much like their predecessors. But, from the academic point of view, they are still only starting points.
Professors nationwide are for the most part advised, and even encouraged, to experiment with the potentials of ChatGPT and similar apps.
In this class it is fine to experiment, with the caveat that all of your written academic work demonstrates that your personal efforts—including content development and revision—reflect your personal originality, exploration, analysis, explanation, integrating and synthesizing of ideas, organizational skills, evaluation, and overall learning and critical thinking efforts.
That is to say you may experiment with the AI tool to do tasks such as e.g, brainstorming, narrowing topics, writing first drafts, editing text, and the like. AI-generated works should in no case be more than that.
In the end you need to become familiar enough with the various subjects, peoples, and places discussed in this class to research a topic and problem-solve on your own, and carry on an intelligent conversation about them in modern-day society . . . a conversation that goes byond your voicing an unsupported opinion.
For the record, what follows is the official UMD Academic Integrity Policy. Note that "unless otherwise noted by the faculty
member" this is the default policy.
"UMD’s Academic Integrity policy covers any work done by automated content generators such as ChatGPT or other generative artificial intelligence tools unless otherwise noted by the faculty
member. These tools present new challenges and opportunities."
"Within the confines of this
class The use of AI-content generators is strictly prohibited for any stage of homework/assignment
(e.g., draft or final product). The primary purposes of college are developing your thinking skills,
being creative with ideas, and expanding your understanding on a wide variety of topics. Using
these content generating AI tools thwarts the goal of homework/assignments to provide
students opportunities to achieve these purposes. Please make the most of this time that you
have committed to a college education and learn these skills now, so that you can employ them
throughout your life." -- Jennifer Mencl, UMD Associate Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, 10 May 2023
. "Academic dishonesty
tarnishes UMD's reputation and discredits the accomplishments of
students. UMD is committed to providing students every possible
opportunity to grow in mind and spirit. This pledge can only be
redeemed in an environment of trust, honesty, and fairness. As a
result, academic dishonesty is regarded as a serious offense by all
members of the academic community. In keeping with this ideal, this
course will adhere to UMD's Student Academic Integrity Policy, which
can be found at [http://www.d.umn.edu/conduct/integrity/Academic_Integrity_Policy.htm].
This policy sanctions students engaging in academic dishonesty with
penalties up to and including expulsion from the university for repeat
offenders."
— UMD Educational Policy Committee, Jill Jensen, Chair
(08/16/2007)
The instructor will enforce and students are expected to follow the University's Student Conduct Code [http://www1.umn.edu/regents/policies/academic/Student_Conduct_Code.html].
Appropriate classroom conduct promotes an environment of academic
achievement and integrity. Disruptive classroom behavior that
substantially or repeatedly interrupts either the instructor's ability
to teach, or student learning, is prohibited. Disruptive behavior
includes inappropriate use of technology in the classroom. Examples
include ringing cell phones, text-messaging, watching videos, playing
computer games, doing email, or surfing the Internet on your computer
instead of note-taking or other instructor-sanctioned activities."
— UMD Educational Policy Committee, Jill Jensen, Chair
(08/16/2007)
Failure to comply with the above
codes and standards when submitting an Extra Credit paper will result in
a penalty commensurate with the lapse, up to and including an F final grade for the course, and, at a minimum, a reduction in total
points no fewer than the points available for the Extra Credit project.
The penalty will not simply be a zero for the project, and the
incident will be reported to the UMD Academic Integrity Officer in the
Office of Student and Community Standards.
A Note on "Cutting and Pasting" without the Use of Quotation Marks (EVEN IF you have a citation to the source somewhere in your paper)
If you use others' words and/or works you MUST so indicate that with the use of quotation marks. Failure to use quotation marks to indicate that the materials are not of your authorship constitutes plagiarism—even if you have a citation to the source elsewhere in your paper/work.
Patterned failure to so indicate that the materials are not of your own authorship will result in an F grade for the course.
Other instances of improper attribution will result in a 0 (zero) for the assignment (or a reduction in points equal to the value of an Extra Credit paper), and a reduction of one grade in the final grade of the course.
All incidents will be reported to the UMD Academic Integrity Officer in the
Office of Student and Community Standards as is required by University Policy.
© 2013
- 2018 Timothy G. Roufs
for information on how to cite
items from the web. 
