LING 322: Varieties of American English (CRN 972)
MWF 11:00-11:50, SCHU 307

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Major Project

For this project, which is worth 25% of your final grade, you will have two options: a presentation (individual or group) or a research paper.

Option 1: Presentation

For this option, you may work individually or with one or two classmates. You will choose one aspect of American English to research and present about. Topics for discussion include, but are not limited to, Creole languages, Native American languages, Spanish (you may narrow to a regional or ethnic variety), American Sign Language, Asian American varieties (you may narrow to one), Ebonics, Adolescent language, Hip Hop language (or another variety connected to popular culture), Cyberlanguage, Medical language (or the language of another field). Topics may not overlap, so have several options in mind on the day you sign up to present. The presentations, which should be at most 15 minutes long, should be presented as a PowerPoint or similar presentation and must be as specific as possible and must include a Works Cited list that includes a minimum of 5 sources, 3 of which must be print sources (you can, of course, include more). Each group member must speak during the presentation. You must pay attention to the time constraints of your presentation, for I will cut you off if you go over the allotted 15 minutes. You will be required to submit a hard copy of the presentation to me on the day you present (3 slide per page is my preference, but you may print it however is easiest so long as I can read the slides). Topic selection and presentation date assignments will take place on Friday, 13 Sept. Presentations will occur between 6 and 13 Dec. (If there are more than 12 presentations, we will start on 4 Dec.)

Option 2: Research Paper

For this option, you will write a research paper in which you explore an aspect of language in the United States. As with the presentation option, you have a wide range of possible topics (see above for a list of some possibilities). You may also choose to explore in more depth one of the chapters that we cover in class or find a topic of your own. If you know that you want to take this option but are not sure about a topic, I recommend that you see me to discuss possibilities. I also recommend that you run your topic by me before you become immersed in your research just in case it is a problematic topic (this is unlikely, but possible). Do not worry if your topic is the same as another classmate’s; for this option, overlap is permissible. The research paper must incorporate a minimum of 5 sources, 3 of which must be print, and should be 8-10 pages long, including a Works Cited page (it may be no longer than 20 pages). The paper may be argumentative or informational. If you wish to discuss your paper with me at any point (including showing me a rough draft), please make an appointment to meet with me in my office. The paper is due on Monday, 9 December by 5. You may submit it as a hard copy or electronically (in Word (.doc or .docx), Rich Text (.rtf), or PDF format).

Regardless of which option you choose for this project, get started with the research early because some resources may be difficult to find and may require you to use Interlibrary Loan. For both options, you may only use 1 essay from your textbook as part of the 5-source minimum (you may use more chapters if your list of sources exceeds 5).

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