Dani Anderson/Elise Browchuk

10/30/2016
ENGL297
Proposal for Ethnographic Research Project:
Introduction (Summary):
Our ethnographic research project will dive into the operations and writing behind
Todays Rituals contributing blogger, Angelica Cook. Cook travels all over the world for
her career in professional writing to capture undocumented cultures and landscapes.
Alongside Todays Rituals, Cook organizes and runs educational events surrounding the
expression of culture and giving deeper meaning to the common things in life in modern
society. By interviewing Cook about her career and passion for writing we hope to gain a
greater sense of the professional writing industry. As we are both interested in lifestyle
writing as well as travel writing, our goals include learning what it takes to succeed in an
industry like travel blogging, what skills may be required, how intense the work is, and
the benefits and drawbacks of committing to such a career. Furthermore, we hope to learn
about Cooks experiences while blogging for Todays Rituals and hear stories about her
findings on her extensive traveling experiences. Todays Rituals is a large proponent of
learning by means of sharing stories and experiences, so we hope to complete our
research and meet our goals through our interview with Cook.
Quick Questions:
1. Age, Hometown, Current hometown, Alma Mater, Major
2. Previous employment
3. Job description/title at Todays Ritual
Research Questions:
1. What is a typical day of blogging like? What does it involve?
2. How often and where do you travel?
3. What has been your favorite and least favorite thing about blogging in the 21st
century?
4. Where was the coolest place you traveled to and why?
5. What is your favorite social media app? What social media app do you use most
for your job?
6. What got you interested in blogging?
7. Please describe your writing style and methods of research.
8. How do you convert what you observe into writing that others want to read?
9. What is the workpace atmosphere at Todays Ritual like? How are the
relationships between your co-workers?
10. Are there any restrictions for what you can and cannot write for the blog?
11. How did you come to write for Todays Rituals?
12. Would you consider blogging/writing for National Geographic, Discovery, GoPro,
etc. if given the opportunity or would you rather stay with Todays Rituals? Would
it be possible for you to do both, and if you could, would you?
13. Have you had a hand in the making of any of the events? If so, what was that
like?

14. How do you think blogging has made you a better writer? A better person?
15. Are there any skills you need that arent typically thought of when considering
writing professionally (ex. Math skills, organizational skills, graphic design
skills)?
16. What advice can you give to young professionals looking to succeed in the
writing industry? Is there anything that you think would give them a leg up into
making professional writing/travel blogging a career?
Research Subject:
Our research subject is Angelica Cook, and she is the sister of one of Danis closest
friends. Angelica used to live in the United States, and she studied abroad in Chile, where
she traveled to other countries in her free time. After she graduated, she and her family
moved to Australia, where she explored more of the southern hemisphere. In the
following year, she and her brother, Alex, went on a backpacking tour around Europe and
Southeast Asia, and it was on this trip that she ran into the woman in charge of Todays
Rituals, who offered her the job as a travel writer. Angelica is very free-spirited, wise,
fun-loving, and reflective, and these traits often punctuate her writing. She reflects some
of our own traits, which is part of the reason we were drawn to interview her and find out
how she has made a career out of writing.
Angelica works for a travel writing blog called Todays Rituals. The blog is very openended, and she can write about nearly anything she wants, but it is usually centered
around personal growth or unique experiences, including personal fears when traveling. It
makes sense for us to study Angelica because we are interested in professional blogging,
travel blogging, and lifestyle writing, particularly for magazines. Angelicas job reflects
both of our interests, and hopefully it will give us some insight to what we want to do, as
well as what job opportunities are available to us.
Data Collection Methods:
We are conducting an organized Skype interview with Angelica Cook as our
method of research and developing a personal connection with someone in the
professional industry in which we hope to be employed. We are in connection
with her via Facebook as well.
By giving not only extensive responses to our questions, but also providing
examples and sharing life experiences, Cook can help us learn more about
professional writing. The answers Cook provides us with will be the foundation of
our ethnographic research project, therefore we must ensure that the questions we
ask are both thought provoking and clear.
Additionally, we will make sure to follow the social media outlets run by Todays
Ritual to gain a greater knowledge about their audience and image.
Data Analysis:
Using the responses and overall observations from our interview with Cook, we will
analyze our findings with ethos, pathos, and logos in mind. Confirming the credibility or
ethos of our source/subject by understanding the groundwork and commitment needed to
become a professional writer will be a key topic of our project. Our questions aim at

uncovering Cooks career path and her advice for pursuing a career in the magazine,
online blogging, or newspaper industry. We will also look at the pathos of Cooks career
path and her personal relationship with writing and blogging. Cooks mindset and advice
to us as aspiring writers will develop the pathos portion of our research. Keeping in mind
that a lot of her blogs are personal and carry her tone and voice, her work is admirable
based on its honesty and integrity, and it inspires us as well as her readers to be reflective
in our own lives. This honest style is what makes her work so unique and inspiring.
Finally, our analysis will focus on logos by comparing Cooks career with that of other
professional writers. An important part of our research will be conducted to finding out
why Cook writes for Todays Rituals and where she predicts the future of her career will
lead to. Often times employees enjoy working for a specific company for reasons that go
beyond his or her job descriptions, these reasons will form our analysis from a logistical
standpoint.
Schedule of Work:
Work:
Contact Angelica about setting up interview

Completed By:
October 12th (already
completed)

Conducting interview

October 30th

Transcribing interview

October 30th

Collecting writing sample

November 6th

Analyze social media component

November 6th

Compose progress report/final

analysis/summary of finding

November 13th

Draft of ethnographic report

November 22nd

Revise ethnographic report

November 29th