How to Structure Your Ethnography Introduction: While research papers can be very challenging to write, one of this biggest

hurdles that writers face is figuring out how to organize their ideas. Although each of you will compose a dramatically different ethnographic study, and accordingly, will need different narrative structures in order to achieve your goal, here are some points that everyone should consider when composing their essay. Please note: While there are five points listed here, your essays does not need to be and most likely cannot be formatted as a five paragraph essay since the topical scope of the essay is simply too large. 1.) Introduction: When opening any essay, it is pivotal to create a clear focus for what you are trying to address. Although there are many ways to achieve this goal, as you compose your introduction, consider how addressing the following points could improve the clarity of your piece: Introduce your central topic What central idea, question, or prompt are you responding to? o Within the AROTC many ideas are stressed as more important than others one in particular being the role of leadership and its importance. How do leaders engage with literacy within the AROTC in order to lead affectively? Set the tone How do you want your audience to feel about the topic you are engaging with? o On the battlefield stress, anxiety, depression and many other feelings kick in. Its important to stick with your team you have been training with and follow the direction of your leader. o One of the most important decisions within the decision making process according to CPT Daniel Morgan is Always maintaining an offensive spirit. Look for the enemies to shoot at you, shoot back, and kill or capture them. Bold leaders are dangerous and that is what you want in them as you fight this fight. State your purpose (see Moodle for a more elaborate explanation of purpose statement o The purpose of this essay is to view AROTCs leadership roles under the microscope and examine how it engages with literacy. I will reach this purpose by using interviews conducted with cadets as well as observations of AROTCs classes in order to describe the AROTCs leadership roles effectively. In doing so, others can gain more understanding on the importance of leadership within the army but also how it can be useful in everyday life. All the while, engage your audience - Explain the importance of this topic and of your essay. o The qualities AROTC prefers in their leaders arent just relevant to the AROTC but, can be the foundation for a great leader in many different fields of leadership.

2.) General Context:

Rather than jumping into your purpose immediately, consider how you can ease your reader into the conversation you are trying to engage by providing them with background context, history, and information (for example, the history and origins of fire fighting). As you decide what context to include, consider the following points?: What is the history or origin of the field that this community is engaging with? o The University of North Carolina At Charlotte was first founded strictly as a military academy and then later down the road became a university. - What conversations, questions, and ideas have other researchers found important? o Some of the main conversations within AROTC deal with stress levels imposed on cadets and leaders within the AROTC. How to deal with this stress is important especially if you are a leader who constantly has to make stressful decisions. - How do these questions and topics connect to or inform my central purpose? o How leaders deal with stress is important to the role of leadership. Leaders who simply cant tolerate high levels of stress are not cut out to be a leader within the AROTC. - What does my reader need to know in order to understand this topic the same way that I do? o The Reader must know what literacy is and the different forms of literacy. They should posses some knowledge regarding AROTC not necessarily detailed knowledge but enough to explain the goals of the AROTC. Remember that good research pieces should provide all of the information that a reader needs in order to understand the topic being discussed. 3.) Context About Your Site: Aside from general context, a good ethnographic piece also provides through descriptions of this specific discourse community being discussed, and attempts to explain how/why this group is unique. As you consider your discourse community, think about how you can address the following points: - What is the history of this specific community, and what is their central goal? o The central goal of the AROTC is develop competent and confident leaders imbued with warrior ethos, grounded in field craft, and skilled in leading soldiers, training subordinates, and employing and maintaining equipment.( Introduction msl 1) - How can I describe the members of this community? o Members of this community represent the AROTC in every action and decision they choose to make. They live by a code of ethics and morals with which reflects character and integrity from each of the cadets. There are different levels of command within this community; cadets abide by these levels through showing respect and following the orders of higher ranking officers. - Does the environment play a pivotal role in this community? o The environment is very important and plays a pivotal role within this community. All military operation planning requires information regarding the terrain, weather, and the time of day. Even the minutest environmental factors can affect military operations. (Terrain Analysis) What knowledge, skills, or language do I need to illuminate for my reader? o Communication is one of the primary qualities of a leader. Being able to communicate a purpose as a leader is important in completing tasks affectively. Being able to convey -

messages affectively is very important and leaders within the AROTC use specific methods to maximize the comprehension of messages. It is important to focus your message: make sure that the intent you wish to create is clear to the reader or audience of your message Ensuring that one breaks through the noise which is everything that interferes with the original message being conveyed to the intended audience. You dont want to use complicated words, it is important that the use of simple words is utilized frequently Use words that you would use when interacting within a conversation opposed to the words used within an essay. What do I need to convey in order to set up the discussion of literacy in this community? o Communication skills and importance o Leadership and issuing orders and commands o The importance of reading messages as well as maps o Being able to analyze the terrain and read instruction manuals o Affectively being able to navigate the land How do these points tie back to my central purpose? o Communicating in stressful situations where time is of the essence deals with literacy as well as possessing the proper leadership characteristics in order to convey the order properly. o Leaders are often issued orders and must be able to gather the intent of messages so they can act on the order. o Leaders use literacy skills in the form of map reading to their advantage when navigating an unfamiliar area. o When a leader is ordered to reach a certain objective with his troops he must be able to properly analyze the terrain in order to navigate the land and reach the designated objective.

4.) Engage your purpose: While the bulk of your ethnography will consist of you addressing your central purpose, how each person does so will vary dramatically depending on what it is that they are trying to achieve. As you move into addressing your purpose and engaging your analysis, consider the following points: What do I need to convey/discuss in order to achieve my central purpose? o Literacy is involved with leadership through communication, map reading, reading manuals, analyzing terrain, and issuing orders. How can I use observations to illustrate/explain/analyze literacy acts? o During my observations I viewed cadets within a class setting that dealt entirely with literacy. Subjects were read about and analyzed from in combat point of view by an experienced veteran within the army. How can I use interviews to provide knowledge, insight, and commentary from insiders?

Through my interview I learned that it is important to address higher ranking officers in a way that shows your respect towards their authority. There is also what would be viewed as a hierarchy within the AROTC among cadets. How can I use secondary sources to establish credibility, reinforce my claims, and demonstrate that I am contributing to the conversations about my discourse community? o In other leadership roles lie the same basic principles of leadership as those of the AROTC. How can I use images, diagrams, visual artifacts, and examples of texts from your site as aids within my piece to expand the scope of my analysis or provide reference points for my reader? o By showing particular symbols involved and the visual aids needed in order to properly perform tasks

5.) Conclusion: Although you can end an essay in many ways, the main idea that you want to consider when composing a conclusion is how you can bring closure to the conversation that you are engaging. Rather than simply ending the paper, consider how you can reflect on what your discussion has been learning up to, why your research is important, and how your reader can use the information that you provided. How can I emphasize the importance of this conversation and of my central purpose? o These leadership characteristics and requirements are not solely important to AROTC but, can be helpful within leadership roles of various groups and communities. The understanding of how literacy ties into leadership within one community can help you formulate thoughts regarding other discourse communities involving leadership. How does my research create a new understanding of this community? o There is a lot more to being a soldier than strength and brute force. Being able to perform literary acts is definitely a characteristic of a well trained soldier. Everything from communication to navigation is performed in a strict organized format that maximizes efficiency and minimizes potential error. Are there additional ideas or questions that can be pursued based off of your research? o An additional idea that could be based off of leadership within the AROTC could be the importance of team work and team building skills within the AROTC What can my reader actually do with this information and how can it benefit them? o This paper should have provided you with a more detailed account of what goes into becoming a leader within the AROTC and the importance of literacy within that role. Being capable of understanding the literacy within the AROTC will also allow you to use

examples and make comparisons upon encountering other discourse communities involving literacy. Remember: No matter how you choose to do it, the conclusion of your ethnography should provide a sense of closure for your study and allow your reader to reflect on what they have read after they are done reading your study.