How to figure out drawing area when you have sheet size and scale numbers?

I am having trouble putting sheet size and scale together to find out the drawing area. For example, if the scale is 1"=2" and the sheet size is 17"x11" what would the drawing area be? Thanks for any explanations.

You should be drawing your objects in model space at full size and using a paper space layout with a viewport or viewports as the case may be.

Yes, draw in model space. I plot on a 11x17 sheet. Use 1:20 scale, 1/2" = 10'