Ashley Laurent
Writing for Social Sciences
Professor Skelly
12/20/2021
In this class, my development as a writer has helped me reach the goal of a social scientist. My writing has improved in areas of clarification on ideas, implementing my perspective, and my use of sensory details. As a social scientist, I am meant to play a part in these areas. Many of these writings assigned have made my writing stand out., Although what I would say has shown my writing improvement in order is the Introduction Letter, Peer Interview, Sense of Place, and the Transcultural Interview.
The first assignment given in this class was to figure out what is a social scientist through an MLK speech. I stated that “A social scientist examines social issues usually within a group to cultivate a better world. By dealing with these issues, their main goal to trust mankind with society can be ensured.” I first I thought about how complex the role of a social scientist especially when it came to writing essays but it’s the opposite. We’re allowed to freely write in the way we speak. The only “complex” part is making sure the questions given are answered fully to bring a certain point across. The point would relate to social issues and the fact we were given the freedom to write it how we please while meeting the requirements, allowed us to easily get our points across. In the Introduction Letter, we get to choose an artifact and test the role of a social scientist. I used ideas from the MLK/Brainstorming exercise while incorporating the idea of a social scientist. In my Introduction Letter, I stated that inclusiveness within the topic allows scientists to branch out on many ideas. Curiosity in the way groups or individuals make decisions, react to change, or use their power is all a part of social science. Being behind the scenes of social sciences brings excitement to the many perspectives we can encounter. The excitement does not come from finding new things but finding an understanding of what is currently happening. We would be able to see old methods in a new way we have never seen before. The thing that confuses me about social science is persuading at least the majority to agree with suggested cultivations to place in this world. How do you influence a large group of people to change what they are used to? People have different morals that they abide by. It would be hard to encourage change. Referring to separate groups of people, as individuals, we all have differences.
In the Peer Interview assignment, I had to interview my subject, Gabby. “The focus should be on a single aspect of the subject’s personal or professional life and is based on an interview with that person.” My rough draft wasn’t the best. I answered the question required for the assignment, but I lacked going in dept on the subject and giving my perspective. After submitting my rough draft, my classmates help me realize the areas I need to touch upon. “I do have more questions about Gabby’s life in Guyana compared to the US.” “There is good background information, but I want to know more about Gabby’s comparison between life in Guyana and the US.” These were some comments made on my rough draft. I had an understanding of the assignment and implemented the required questions but it lacked a clearer explanation on the subject. I stated on my reflection that, As a social scientist, I feel this is a great start to taking on the role. I feel like I asked enough questions and learned plenty, but we didn’t get to go in-depth about each other. I learned about her story but I think I could improve on learning more about her personality. What I would have done differently is possibly get to talk to her more because she has to work throughout the day and is really busy. Although, I’m glad we had the chance to speak and learn more about each other.
I feel like after the Peer Interview assignment I tried to focus on clarifying or elaborating on ideas of mine and others. This leads me to the Sense of Place assignment. In this assignment, I had to take notes on any place and I chose City College. After taking these notes, I have to write an essay that will “Explore, from your own perspective and basic research, a history of the two avenues of interaction (place affecting people; people affecting place) and consider which avenue is more widely traveled.” I found it amusing that as I was focusing on my clarification and sensory details, I lacked focus on my perspective. Some feedback from my professor was, “Although you did include many great visual details, I wanted a little more about the significance of this place at the end as well as your background as the observer.” I lacked information on my background perspective and failed to reflect on it.
Moving on to the writing that I feel implemented all the areas I was lacking on is the Transcultural Interview. “For this assignment, you will interview someone (a friend or acquaintance) who comes from a culture that is different from your own about a social, political, economic, or cultural issue of your choice. The goal for this assignment is to conduct an intimate inquiry into how one’s cultural background shapes one’s perspectives and worldviews. Your interview will be semi-structured:” I feel what made this assignment great was that the person I interview is a close friend of mine. It was easier to ask in-depth questions without my subject or me feeling uncomfortable. The comments of my rough draft stated that “I like how you gave your own thoughts on each topic and I love your transitions. It made it easy for me to follow along.” “although you briefly mentioned your culture, I would love to see more of your own perspective as the interviewer and ways that your cultures differ from one another.” After I read through them, I implemented those ideas and improve my rough draft essay into my final one.
Overall, in this class, I learned many things and I loved that we were allowed to write how we talk. It makes my writing more genuine and easier to write in my opinion. I think we all achieved our role as social scientists.
