Referential Writing: Cultural Customs
In this unit, you will perform careful research and compose a referential essay (2-4 double-spaced pages) about some custom/practice performed by a culture (or subculture) in the world in the past or present. All students will choose different topics. This essay will still be clear and interesting, but your diction will be more formal and mature than in previous papers, and your tone needs to be objective and open-minded.
You will identify (culturally and geographically) the people who perform this custom/engage in this practice, describe the custom itself, including any preparations, in vivid detail, and explain the reasons/beliefs behind the custom and/or the results.
Because this is a formal research paper, we will review the dangers of plagiarism; standard ways to quote, paraphrase, summarize, and give credit to sources of information. You will use standard format for works cited entries and parenthetical citations. Point of view will be third person unless you have a relevant personal experience to share.
Your audience will be your teacher and classmates. Be sure that your topic and word choice is appropriate to the audience.
We will briefly review MLA Works Cited and parenthetical documentation formats, and we will briefly spend some time in the library for research. Most of your research for this project should be done outside of class.
You will identify (culturally and geographically) the people who perform this custom/engage in this practice, describe the custom itself, including any preparations, in vivid detail, and explain the reasons/beliefs behind the custom and/or the results.
Because this is a formal research paper, we will review the dangers of plagiarism; standard ways to quote, paraphrase, summarize, and give credit to sources of information. You will use standard format for works cited entries and parenthetical citations. Point of view will be third person unless you have a relevant personal experience to share.
Your audience will be your teacher and classmates. Be sure that your topic and word choice is appropriate to the audience.
We will briefly review MLA Works Cited and parenthetical documentation formats, and we will briefly spend some time in the library for research. Most of your research for this project should be done outside of class.