A writing about your major

Purposes:

• To give you specific insights about the kinds of writing required in a particular discipline
• To give everyone a better sense of the varieties of writing common in other disciplines
• To help make contacts with people in an area that interests you

Length: 3.5 to 4 pages, PLUS a Works Cited page, PLUS two samples of writing in your field (only the first page is necessary).

Mandatory Interview: You will conduct an interview for this essay. You must quote and cite the interview subject within the essay. Use this opportunity to learn much more than you are required to pass on to your classmates about the different types of writing in your field; scope out the territory of your future, with particular attention to reading and writing.

While researching this essay, you should consult as many sources as possible (e.g. professionals, scholarly and professional organizations, journals, magazines, newspapers) to find out what you will be asked to write as you continue up the academic ladder in your field and then as you try to earn a living in it. Quantity of sources is important as well quality. You must have 3-4 sources, one of which is your interview.

If you haven’t yet declared a major, you can use this assignment as a way to scope out a major you’re interested in and get a concrete sense of the work you will do if you pursue that major.

As you review the different types of writing evaluate how the types of writing are different in purpose, audience, genre, stance.

Notes:

• You only need one interview for your essay
• Your interview can be conducted in person, by phone, or via email
• Your interview subject must be a working professional in the field of your major, not a fellow student, graduate student, or someone who only does the job casually
• The more credentialed your interviewee is, the better
• The interview should be incorporated into the essay using quotes, summary, and paraphrasing, not as a back-and-forth transcript
• Your writing samples only need to be one page each (the first page if longer), must be different, and must accurately represent what writing is done as a part of the career
• The samples should be ones you’ve researched and found. Your interview subject should NOT be providing them for you
• This paper shouldn’t be a monumental task; you’re going to get through this!
• Acceptable submission types are .doc, .docx, and .rtf. No PDF files. As always, don’t forget that late work is not accepted