Exploratory Writing
How do I know what I think until I see what I say?
- E.M. Forster
Exploratory, informal writing emphasizes thinking and invites reflection.
The primary goal is to discover ideas, rather than to present them. The
point of our exploratory writing is to help you discover a topic for your
research project. You will not need to do research for this exploratory
essay. Don’t worry if you aren’t making clear connections right
now, you can work that out as you do further research.You can write this
essay using a first-person perspective as long as the final product incorporates
your research, or you can choose the more academic third-person. Remember,
this is an exploratory essay in which you are discovering possible topics
for further research. Don't worry if you feel your draft is incredibly rough.
We can work with it as the semester progresses to help you find your focus.
There are many ways to begin exploratory writing. Since this course is concerned
with professional and academic discourse, you will want to focus your topic
around your profession or discipline or one in which you are interested.
There are various approaches you can take. This project doesn't have to
be boring just because you're exploring a discipline or field of study.
Instead you will want to think of these projects as a chance to learn something
new or explore some new intersections relating your topic to a greater context.
Requirements: This should be an exploration of your final research project.
And is a kind of rough draft. However, I still have to evaluate the depth
of exploration and give you a grade. Therefore I have established the following
as criteria for this project:
Thoughtful analysis of topic : 25%
In Depth Research : 25%
Further research possibilities : 25%
In-class Participation/Discussion: 25%
The Exploratory Essay is 15% of your Process Grade
Possible Topics:
Chart your own views of a profession. When I was
younger, I wanted to be a race-car driver but at some point I realized the
impossibility of that happening. What changed? At what point did I change
my path to becoming a professor? You might begin by writing how your views
of a particular profession changed and then research that profession to
see if your views were accurate or not. Would you still like to participate
in that profession? Why or why not?
You might want to focus on how technology changes a specific profession
or discourse. For example, computers in the classroom have changed the ways
in which we teach writing. Therefore I could trace how technology has impacted
composition courses and teaching styles.
You might trace your discipline or one in which you're interested and discuss
how a particular invention or technology has impacted the field of study.
What have been the benefits? The consequences? In what ways was the discipline
changed by the technology? How was the technology introduced to the field?
Was there inital resistance or acceptance to the technology? If you're interested
in criminal justice or law, you might explore the introduction of forensics
to criminology. Or you might discuss the polygraph and how opinions toward
the invention and the field have changed.
Another possibility is to suggest what kind of invention or technology is
needed to further your field or discipline. What might make your job more
efficient? How would the technology change the discipline for the better?
What possible consequences might exist?
Has there been a technology that promised to change
a field or discipline but didn't exactly deliver? You could trace the ways
in which the technology was marketed, what it promised and how those in
the field reacted? Then discuss why the technology didn't deliver what it
promised and how those in the field might feel about the technology now.
Research an expert, or inventor of technology in the field, perhaps one
that is little known and explain how this person impacted the field in question.
What would the field have been like without this contribution? If the person
is not well known, why do you think this is so? Do you think the discovery
or invention would have existed eventually or not? For example, what would
the field of medicine be without Louis Pasteur's contribution of peniccillin
as an antibiotic? Another fascinating person you might research is Ada Byron
Lovelace and her contribution to computer technology and binary code.
What does popular culture say about the field or discipline in which you want to work? Television programs, movies, commercials, advertisements, comic strips, jokes, etc. all make statements about what different fields are about. Some portrayals are stereotypical (consider how the Police Academy movies portray police officers) while others attempt to be more “realistic” (consider the TV show Law and Order). For different reasons, the media represents different fields in different lights in different situations. Your job is to inquire how and why these professions are portrayed in this way. You’ll determine some answers to questions: why your field is represented in this way or what the field is really like. What conclusions you draw will depend on your audience and purpose.
Here are some suggestions on what you might say (thesis) and why (purpose):
Come to some conclusions about why people think
this way about your field (where did these ideas come from and why do they
continue?) Does the idea that waitresses need to be beautiful stem from the
fact that “prettier” waitresses used to earn more tips? Does the
idea that computer people are “geeks” stem from the idea that
they don’t interact with others socially?
Come to some conclusions about how these representations affect your field
as a whole (Ex: do some males veer from being a nurse because of the stereotype
that men are doctors, women are nurses? Do people work to break this stereotype
or ignore the stereotype? Do they relish in the stereotype—for instance
people taking pride in being “computer geeks”)
How might you “recreate” the field in order to break some of these
stereotypes?
How can using pop culture benefit your profession? What kind of impact can television, movies, music and technology have on your discipline? Can you learn anything from pop culture that would help you do your job? For example if you are a social worker or school counselor, how might teen movies or literature give you an insight into teenage life? How might you use movies and literature to reach teens in your work?
How do television shows and movies influence our society's view of what professions should be like? How does the portrayal of professional life influence our views of what it means to be succesful? Do these portrayals affect how you view your own profession? Is there a profession you would not choose because of these portrayals? What kinds of professions do these portrayals value? What kinds of professions do the portrayals ignore or devalue?
You might also explore the ways in which professions recruit employeers. How do companies portray themselves? And in what ways to they exhibit or hide their values?
What can science fiction as a genre teach us about our views of work, class and professions? How is this portrayed in films or literature?