The mini proposal culminates your learning in 6540. The proposal writing process can be a model for a thesis proposal or simply an article sized research project. There are three relevant links on the syllabus for this assignment, but here I would like to spell out the key steps.
Assignment timing clarification:
Nov 20: Due: a brief description of your preferred proposal topic. Create this as a google doc that slightly expands on the topic that you chose from those posted in #1 below. We will discuss these in class. See the updated course schedule.
Nov 27: Due: draft 1 of your proposal + in-class 5 min presentation. Write this in the same google doc from last week. Presentation #1 of your proposal.
Dec 4: Due: draft 2 of your proposal. Final presentation for 1/2 of proposals.
Finals week: Due final draft of your proposal. Final presentation for other 1/2 of proposals.
- Propose three options (feel free to indicate your preferred option, and to develop that option more). Those proposals should be about 1 paragraph, and are informal, but should be as informative as possible so I can help you chart a good initial path. Where do you submit these, and what should they look like?
- What do I mean by three different options? Some people might have three different topics of interest. But most folks will likely have one main research area of interest. For these folks the strategy should be to articulate three different ways to approach the topic, or to frame the sample, or to employ alternative methods. This would let me give you better feedback on those alternatives.
- Go to the google spreadsheet and see examples from earlier years, and to compose and enter your proposal ideas. Here is the link to do that: Describe possible topic ideas
- Compose draft 1 of your research proposal. After settling on one topic (and getting feedback from me, posted to that same spreadsheet) you should begin crafting a research proposal. I have described the basic sections and provided a link to a successful example from an earlier year. The example is the final draft, so it is a bit longer and a bit more developed than your first draft is likely to be. Nonetheless is demonstrates style and quality that I expect to see in your work.
- Draft one assignment description; example of final draft
- Once you have settled on the version of your topic that you prefer, you need to start writing your proposal right away. I want you to use google docs to write the proposal so that two of your peers can give you feedback on it. These peers should have edit and comment access to your document.
- Help each other write better. We will discuss this in greater detail on Tuesday, but you should work to read and understand the work of your peers and help them make it better. Here are three easy ways:
- Every paragraph should have a thesis, and every thesis should be expressed in a thesis sentence. Usually, when we write we are creating some new ideas, and we do not initially know our thesis until after writing the paragraph. So, for a friend, you can help them by trying to distill a thesis sentence from their paragraph.
- Reflect on the goals of academic writing and help your friends write more directly and clearly. One way to do this is to simply the construction of sentences. Another is to make the organization of the paragraphs better reflect the organization of their thesis. In the first case, you can offer a rewritten version of a sentence. In the second you can suggest a renumbering of the order of the paragraphs.
- Refine single sentences for clarity. Find a sentence where you think you understand the intended goal of the sentence and help it accomplish that goal with greater clarity. Oftentimes this means employing a simpler construction and using a more active voice.
