I would like for you to write a short paper (2-3 pages) analyzing the language of an identity group to which you belong or in which you are interested.  To "analyze the language" of an "identity group" means, simply, think about how the group defines itself; determine what words or terms the group uses to name itself and others in the world, what kinds of stories the group members tell, and how the terms and stories of the group shape the thinking and the actions of group members in the world.

• To begin working with this topic, think about the groups to which you belong.  These could be family groups, religious groups, social or political groups.  Gender and race can also function as identity groups, as can ethnicity, nationality, and geographical regions.  For example, "southerners" in the United States tend to form an identity group that is distinct from "northerners."  Similarly, sports fans that affiliate their identities with particular teams-- "Gator fans" or "Bulldog" fans, for example-- constitute identity groups.
• Work into your paper by free-writing a bit about the identity groups to which you belong.  How does your affiliation with these groups shape your thinking, form your relationships, or direct your use of your time (for example, do you go to meetings? watch events?  Hang out with your group members?)
• After free-writing about the identity groups to which you belong and the ways in which your affiliation with them affects you, jot down some notes about the kinds of things your group talks about.  Include things such as common stories that the group tells, themes that are common to group discussion, words or terms that group members use to discuss themselves or others in the world.  For example, southerners might commonly tell stories of "Yankees" that "can't drive."
• Once you have spent some time free-writing and brainstorming your group identities and the language of these groups, carefully observe your next interactions with the group.  Add specific comments, terms, stories, or patterns of speaking to your notes.

Once you have thought through your topic and gathered your data, you are ready to draw some conclusions.  Develop a thesis statement that sums up the conclusions you have come to about what the group's language says about how the group defines itself and its relation to the larger world.  Use your notes and your free writes to help you develop an outline for your paper.  (Refer to http://www2.gasou.edu/facstaff/lamy/teaching/1101/writwork.html for thesis development help.)