Thesis statement: Dia de los Muertos or The Day of The Dead is a holiday filled with fun festivities

ANTH 1100: Cultural Anthropology

Fall 2021

Fieldwork Project

Assignment: Write the )inal paper

Submit your paper through Blackboard by December 12th, 2021 at 5:00pm

Assignment: Consult the notes and narrative descriptions you prepared in earlier stages of
the project. Write a term paper that draws upon your )indings to write an anthropological
report on the subject at the center of your research.
5-6 pages.

You might wish to incorporate information drawn from a few published sources, but you
are not required to do so. If you do draw on published materials, you must cite all of your
sources. Use whichever citation style you )ind most comfortable, but be consistent with
your citation style. If you use published sources, you must include a bibliography. [The
bibliography does not count toward the page limit.]

Follow these steps to compose a successful term paper:

First, make sure that you have a clear topic.
• Your topic is probably very close to the idea that you proposed earlier in the semester, so
you should begin by reminding yourself of the topic that you initially proposed.

• It’s okay if you want to change your topic at this stage, but you should only do so if you
feel that the information you have gathered does not provide good insight into the topic
you initially proposed.

• If you do change your topic, make sure that the new topic you choose is closely connected
to the information you gathered during your interview.

Second, make sure you have a strong thesis statement.
• Remember, a thesis statement is not the same thing as a topic. A good thesis statement
makes a claim or argument about the topic of the paper.

• If your topic is “remote of)ice work,” then a good thesis statement might be
something like, “The shift to remote of)ice work during the COVID-19 pandemic has

caused a change in how people conduct casual of)ice chitchat.” This is a good thesis
statement because it makes a speci)ic claim about the topic you have de)ined.

• Your thesis statement should be clearly stated in your opening paragraph.

Now, use the body of your paper to defend your thesis statement.
• Use the information that you collected in earlier stages of this research project to make
clear, speci)ic arguments that support your thesis statement.

• Dedicate at least one paragraph to each argument that supports your thesis statement.
• A good paper will include several distinct arguments.
• You should only include arguments and information that supports your thesis statement.
• If you have information that is not relevant to the arguments that you are making, then
you should not include it in your paper.

Next, check to make sure that you have used information you collected during your
research.
• If your paper is not supported by the information you gathered during earlier stages of
this project, then it will not be a successful paper.

• Each argument should be supported by evidence you have gathered.
• If an argument is not supported by your evidence, then it does not belong in your paper.

Then, write your conclusion.
• Your concluding paragraph should bring all of your arguments together in support of
your thesis statement.

• Give the reader a clear understanding of the arguments you have made and how they
support your thesis statement.

• Check to make sure your conclusion actually supports your thesis statement. If it does
not, then you will need to adjust either your conclusion or your thesis.

Finally, review your paper to make sure you have followed academic best practices.
• Do not use someone else’s words or ideas without clear attribution. If you have
incorporated someone else’s words, you must use quotation marks to show that they are
not your own words. If you have quoted from a published source, you must use citations.
Any unattributed use of someone else’s words is a form of plagiarism, and it will result in
a score of zero on this assignment.

• Follow the formatting guidelines found at the end of this assignment sheet. You can use
the same guidelines for all of your college courses.

• Check again to con5irm that your arguments are well-supported by the evidence you
have gathered during your research and that you have provided that evidence whenever
it is relevant.

• Check again to con)irm that you have a strong thesis statement, and that your
conclusion supports your thesis statement.

Paper Checklist:

Before you submit, do the following.

Ask yourself:
• Is the thesis statement clear? Does it provide an answer to the question you want to

address?
• What are the main arguments? Do they support your thesis statement?
• Have you included appropriate sources? Do they support your own arguments?

Have you provided citations?
• Have you given your reader a reason to care about your topic? Have you identi)ied

and communicated the broader signi)icance of your topic?

Consult a friend:
• Find someone who does not already know very much about your paper. Ask that

person to read the paper carefully.
• Ask your reader to identify and explain your thesis and your main arguments. Does

your reader’s description match your goals for the paper?
• Ask your reader to identify points of confusion. Ask for feedback about what sort of

information would help to clear up that confusion.
• Ask your reader to identify the broader signi)icance of your paper. What makes your

topic something that people should care about?

Copyedit your paper carefully:
• Good organization, good grammar, and correct spelling help your instructor access

your ideas. Maximize your grade by making your ideas as clear as possible.

Formatting:

Unless your instructor speci)ically tells you otherwise, there are several formatting
guidelines that you should always follow for every paper you write in college:

• Include at the top of the document:
o The title of your paper/project
o Your name
o The date
o The course title & number

• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch.

• Include page numbers in the bottom right corner

• Check your font
o Use a standard font, usually Times New Roman
o Use 12-point font.

• Use double-spacing.
o Double-spacing does not apply to the information in the header.

• Cite all sources
o Include full bibliographic information for all sources