Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology

ANTH 1100: Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology
Guidance on Writing a Proposal and Research Paper
Step 1: Read one of the two ethnographies listed in the syllabus.
Step 2: While you read it, try to find something that interests you, such as one of the
subjects we dealt with in class, e.g. “Culture and Meaning”, “The Meaning of Progress and
Development”, “Patterns of Family Relations”, “The Cultural Construction of Social Identity
and Hierarchy”, “Death and Burial”, or the like. These are of course only very broad themes,
and you can of course choose a sub-section, for example subsistence patterns, the difference
between rich and poor, or anything else that really interests you.
Step 3: Collect bibliographical notes re literature you want to use to cover your subject:
a) Check the bibliography at the end of the ethnography,
b) Go to the library (if possible) to find out whether you find adequate literature (books
or articles) that can potentially help you write your essay,
c) Search on JSTOR (www.jstor.org) – an excellent source to access academic articles.
d) “Google it up,” however, this is the last resort you want to use. If you find a good
entry (such as on Wikipedia), use their bibliography rather than their texts.
You must have at least five (10) bibliographical entries. Make sure that you
concentrate on books and peer-reviewed academic articles. Also, see to it that the entries
are not too old (except you find a substantial work that is still very important) and –
again – make sure that you do not lean on the internet (Google).
Step 4: Create a PROPOSAL, where you outline your thoughts, i.e. what you want to
write about. No need to work with headings and subheadings already at this stage, and no
further details or references at this point. Make sure that your title is reflecting exactly
what you want to write about. Most importantly, include your bibliography.
Step 5: Hand in your proposal and wait for your instructor’s feedback (next week).
Step 6: RESEARCH PAPER: Incorporate my feedback into your proposal and begin to
write your essay. Make sure that you have a neat title page (course title, course number,
your name and student number, date of submission), an introduction (in which you
formulate your thesis/main thoughts), a clear line of argumentation/listing of evidence,
and finally a conclusion, in which you wrap up your final thoughts and incorporate your
own ideas and thoughts. Write at least 4 pages of text – but not more than 5 – and
reference every idea/thought you took from others with a proper bibliographical notation
in the text, for example … (BUMANN 2005, 145). Any pictures must be referenced as
well. Make sure that you have a good bibliography, as I will focus my evaluation on it.
My last advice: you might want to give your research paper to a friend/sibling to have a
read-through to get some overall feedback whether your essay is “readable” (in terms of
spelling/grammar), “makes sense” and whether it is generally interesting to read or not.