A field of study sequence designed at the University of Iowa to introduce the research paper to freshman rhetoric students encourages them to view themselves as interpretive anthropologists entering a strange culture and exploring their declared majors or areas of special interest. Each student is responsible for (1) writing an essay in response to a journal article pertaining to a chosen field; (2) preparing an oral report on "something new" happening in this field to reinforce an understanding of expository discourse; (3) identifying some controversial issue or problem in the field and seeking a solution; (4) analyzing the process used to arrive at the solution; (5) keeping a journal of observations and research; and (6) selecting a culminating "self-assignment" in which to create individual ways of becoming familiar with the people, ideas, and practices of the chosen field. For this final phase, students actually participate in their field of interest through a self-directed project. The experience in the field at this early stage allows and affirms the validity of the student's questions and ideas before too much dogma precludes them. (AEW)