Guadalupe Longino

Professor Doutherd

November 14, 2017

RA Essay Draft 3

There are many different forms of writing. Writing can be easy to some and

difficult for others, however different types of people compose pieces differently according to

their interest. Ultimately, there has been situations in my career as a student that have shaped the

way a piece of writing is composed. I have written several pieces based off of my previous

experiences. This is how I have been able to complete my writing assignments. During my senior

year of high school I was assigned my first research paper. At first, I was intimidated by this

assignment because I did not understand what my teacher was asking me to do. The research

paper I was assigned had a different structure from what I was used to, but the teacher allowed us

to choose our own topic to research. Choosing my own topic of interest facilitated the research

paper because it became easy to compose since I was able to use my previous experiences in

order to complete this piece. The topic of my choosing was Latinxs Immigrating to the Land of

the Free. The essay was made up of five different sections, and each section required different

ideas. The first section of this assignment was What I Know, and that part was easy for me

because I was able to use my experience as a source. The second section was What I Want to

Know, the third section was The Search, and the fourth section was The Search Results,

and this three sections all correlated together. Lastly the fifth section was What I learned, and

this section allowed me to reflect on all parts of my writing piece.

 The need for this research paper to be assigned was to help me and my classmates expand

our writing abilities. I was assigned this research essay in order to inform my teacher and peers

of a topic that they were probably unaware of. Another reason I was assigned this essay was to

help me become familiar with the different types of texts I will be exposed to during college in

order to help me enhance my writing and research skills.

The exigence for writing this research paper did not personally influenced me but was

imposed onto me. I had no idea how to compose a research essay but I knew what I wanted to

write about within this essay. What lead me to write about Latinx folks immigrating to the U.S.

came from my own experience as an immigrant to this country. This allowed me to have a reason

to expand on this issue and address the seriousness and dangers immigrants face when

immigrating to a new unknown land. The need to choose a topic for this research essay also

came from my intrigue of wanting to know more about this issue. I was curious to know how this

issue has affected minorities in the U.S. and be able to incorporate my experience as a Latina

immigrating to the U.S.

Since it was my first time writing a research paper I did not know how or where to start.

The most significant restriction I had in order to complete this assignment was being able to

condense my information to a fixed page limit. My teacher was very clear on how long this

assignment should be, therefore I had to follow the guideline and meet the page limit. Since this

was a paper made up of five different sections and it mostly revolved around the third section,

The Search, it was difficult for me to begin writing because I became bombarded with a lot of

information which made me be cautious of what to include and at the same time meet the page

limit. This writing assignment challenged me to take many factors into consideration. One of the
factors I had to carefully keep in mind was the page limit, and at the same time be sure to include

the most significant information. Along with the information I was including I had to keep in

mind my audience and be careful not to make them become uninterested. As a writer, sometimes

constraints can be difficult to address because there are guidelines we must follow.

After being able to figure out how to work through these constraints, I now had to make

sure the information in my writing piece was coherent and well delivered to my audience. In

order for this to be effective I had to follow the format of the research essay as well as the

guidelines my teacher required. This research paper was directed to my teacher and classmates. I

wanted my audience to become aware with the difficulties immigrants face when they begin their

journey to come to the United States. I wanted my audience, if applicable, to relate to my paper

and know that there are many just like them. I also wanted to inform those that believe

immigration is a easy process to understand the reality of it. Aside from getting my message

across my audience I also wanted my piece to be be validated by my teacher and maybe used as

an example format for future students in her class.

As a sociology major I have become aware of what my main interests in this field are.

My interest for sociology comes from my need to help my community and other deprived

communities of people of color (POC) rise up. I want to be able to figure out ways these

communities can obtain more opportunities than they are given simply because they are viewed

as a minority in this country. Lastly, I want to learn more about how different communities in

different parts of the world navigate spaces as a group.

The writing style in sociology does not seem as complex as other formats I have written

in before. I know that most of the writing pieces are based off of research which seems to be
simple to compose. As stated by Professor Migliaccio, the primary way writing is [used] is to

convey ideas, whether its to students, other social scientists, or the general populace. Its the

primary way knowledge [is shared], findings, and/or information. Social scientists use writing to

display connections between theories, challenge theories, or extend theories. Its a primary form

of communication, and the best way to locate new findings and discussions in the field. This

brief summarization of what the role of writing in sociology seems simple but in reality its much

more complex due to the fact that most of these pieces will be based off of research. Research in

this field requires a lot of time and dedication because it allows the writer to either become an

authoritative person or someone inexperienced or unaware with the topic theyre conducting

research on.

Most of the writing formats in sociology are research reports. In sociology students are

expected to write in ASA style. In Keith Grant-Davies article, he states that teaching our

writing students to examine rhetorical situations as sets of interacting influences from which

rhetoric arises, and which rhetoric in turn influences, is therefore one of the more important

things we can do. This falls in within the writing style in sociology because it is encouraging

educators to invite students to explore different tactics that will allow them to become a great

critical thinker when responding to different texts. It is also stating that students must allow their

experiences have an input in their writing pieces. The most important aspects for a writing

assignment in sociology is research, collecting data, interviews, personal experiences (journal

keeping), and being able to be a good analyzer. Most of the formats for writing in sociology are

based off of sections. For example, a report that is composed of fill in the blanks for each

section of the assignment.

 As students, many are unaware of how their past writing assignments can be beneficial to

their future one. There is also students that are not familiar with the writing structure their major

requires. When the writing assignment was first chosen, it was unclear to know that it will be

fitting to the writing style sociology requires but getting knowledge about the role of writing in

sociology, the writing piece seemed to be fitting. The writing assignment chosen was a research

paper from high school. The format was similar to a report, and it was made up of five different

sections. These sections were all key elements in completing this assignment and they all played

a different role that challenged the student to explore different writing tactics in order to

successfully complete each section. In the first section of the research essay, the student was

required to reflect on their past experiences in order to begin their search. The second, third, and

fourth section allowed the student to identify the motive for wanting to write this piece, as well

as being able to conduct a search and reflect on the search. Despite this writing assignment being

fitting it is still necessary to learn the appropriate format for writing in sociology. Some of the

approaches that are being lacked on is the way information needs to be organized, delivered to

the audience, become a more reasonable critical thinker, and analyze new information.

Writing comes in various forms but it is ones own personal experiences that make up the

style of these writings. The situations a person finds themselves in are already serving as sources

for their next writing assignment. Students must be able to critically analyze these situations, and

understand where they are most fitting within their educational sphere.