Writing in Anthropology A Brief Guide

Writing in Anthropology: A Brief Guide applies the key concepts of rhetoric and composition-audience, purpose, genre, and credibility-to examples based in anthropology. It is part of a series of brief, discipline-specific writing guides from Oxford University Press designed for today's writing-intensive college courses. The series is edited by Thomas Deans (University of Connecticut) and Mya Poe (Northeastern University).

Shan-Estelle Brown is a medical anthropologist and assistant professor of anthropology at Rollins College. Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher in the AIDS Program at Yale School of Medicine.

Chapter 1: Thinking and Writing Like an Anthropologist
Instead of Anthropology, Think Anthropologies
How Writing Happens in Anthropology
Genres of Anthropological Writing
Expectations for Anthropological Writing

Chapter 2: Writing Critiques, Response Papers, and Book/Film Reviews
Critiques
Compare/Contrast Papers
Response Papers
Book/Film Reviews

Chapter 3: Navigating Field-Based Assignments
Understanding the Assignment
Managing the Data
Entering the Field
Collecting Data and Taking Detailed Notes
Conducting an Interview
Being Reflexive
Write the Ethnography

Chapter 4: Reviewing the Literature
Finding a Promising Topic
Searching for Articles
Looking for Relationships and Patterns
Setting Inclusion Criteria for Choosing Articles Relevant to Your Topic
Reading to Extract Key Information from the Articles You Choose
Developing Your Argument
Structuring the Review

Chapter 5: Writing Research Papers
The Critical Research Paper
Formulating a Working Thesis
Composing a Strong Introduction
Filling in the Body
The Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion (IMRD) Report Format

Chapter 6: Editing for Style
Guidelines for writing about race, ethnicity, and special populations
Special concerns for writing with numbers
Writing about time
Address gendered language
Using "I"
Be concise
Master active & passive voice
Choose the most precise verbs
When to use present, past, and future verb tenses
Employ Precise Transitions
More Ways to Improve Flow
When possible, make elements parallel
Check the length of sentences and paragraphs, but also aim for variety
Use jargon judiciously
Recognize commonly misused words
Use precise terms to signal the relationship between elements

Chapter 7: Citing your Sources
Two ways to mishandle sources: fabrication and plagiarism
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting Sources
AAA/Chicago Style Source Documentation


Appendix: Guide to Peer Review in Anthropology