S. Rose

English 680 Writing Program Administration

Fall 2005

Mini-Ethnography of a WPA as a Writer

Some Notes on Expectations for those of you doing a "Mini-ethnography" of a WPA: (one of the course projects options)

Initial Data Gathering

1. Your focus should be on the WPA's writing activities, though you may want to do some observation of the WPA's other activities in order to understand the rhetorical situation(s)

2. Discuss your purpose and approach with the WPA and determine what writing you will examine and how (and when) you will collect it. If necessary, establish when would be a good time to observe the WPA.

3. Plan to examine at least 10,000 words initially; you will probably closely analyze about a quarter of this.

4. Plan to spend at least an hour in discussion with the WPA in order to understand the WPAs' construction of the various rhetorical situations addressed.

Write-Up (Draft)

5. Your write-up should include the following parts (1000-1500 words)

1. Brief explanation of your choice of subject and approach to collecting data
2. Initial analysis and classification of WPA's written texts
3. Tentative thesis/hypothesis characterizing WPA's writing
4. Speculation on ways your observations could contribute to better understanding of writing program administration
5. Suggestions for one or more ways in which the project might be extended (comparison, elaboration, etc.)

Follow-up

6. Give the WPA subject a copy of your draft for review; if appropriate, meet to discuss it.

7. If appropriate, revise write-up.

8. Schedule a presentation to the class or prepare a web document (if choosing this option).

9. Final draft of the mini-ethnography is due with the course portfolio. I encourage you to allow me to review a preliminary draft.

10. In a brief cover memo, suggest changes to this assignment in the future.

What questions do you have about this assignment?