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Writing
and Talking About History > Resources for
Writing Papers > Requirements for a Paper Proposal
Requirements
for a Paper Proposal
Points
to Remember
First Proposal Deadline
Requirements
Second Proposal Deadline Requirements
A
Proposal:
- precisely
defines your topic and the need for studying
it (i.e., it briefly takes apart the topic and
- tells
what one will learn from reading your proposed
paper)
- provides
a thesis/conclusion, however tentative it may
be
- explains
the sources critical to your proposed research,
demonstrating that they are adequate for your
project
Remember:
- that
the thesis of your (3-4 page) proposal is your
research paper's purpose and sources. (THE PROPOSAL
IS NOT A SHORT VERSION OF YOUR RESEARCH PAPER).
- to
narrow and break down your topic and your approach
to it as much as possible. (ONE SENTENCE ON
THE PROPOSED TOPIC IS NOT ENOUGH.)
- Discuss
the issues and questions which you foresee your
paper addressing.
- Form
your developing interpretations and ideas into
a preliminary thesis.
- to
include historiographical comments about your
sources and their relationship to each other.
Such comments, which tie your material together
and, again, demonstrate your competence, must
demonstrate a level of research and thinking
suitable for this stage of your work.
- to
explain why you are using your secondary and
primary sources, to explain which will be especially
valuable, and, perhaps, to explain what important
sources are not available and are likely to
be missing from your paper--and why your topic
is manageable nonetheless.
- Do
not try to cover every source. Provide a useful
view of the critical sources which anyone doing
your topic must look at. Whether or not you
have yet finished your study of them, or you
have yet to acquire them, you should have determined
which are the critical ones.
- In
referring to sources, always provide author
(full name on first reference) and date of work;
generally the full title is also necessary or
useful.
- to
exclude irrelevant information. Since the proposal
is a discussion of sources and not a research
trail, do not include comments about where,
in what order, or how you found sources (e.g.,
in the MWC library or through ILL) or that you
are "still waiting" for ILL to provide
you with a book.
- to
attach to your essay a separate bibliography
(not annotated) that is as comprehensive as
possible. It must be a list of everything your
careful digging (and thinking) has demonstrated
must be looked at, whether or not it is a critical
source. In other words, it must include the
important items discussed in your proposal PLUS
less important but still useful sources that
did not warrant inclusion in your short essay.
- Combine
all sources into ONE list.
- The
bibliography must include six items from scholarly
journals, no more than half of which can be
book reviews.
- not
to include finding aids, such as bibliographies
and encyclopedias.
- not
to use:
-- footnotes or endnotes.
-- first person.
- to
be attentive to verb tense. Using present tense
about your sources makes your proposal efficient
and crisp, as well as consistent and logical.
For example: Smith's The Civil War provides
[not "will provide"] a critical picture
of decision making.
- to
use proper form in the bibliographic entries.
See Turabian, chapters 8-9, 11.
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On
the FIRST proposal deadline listed in the course
calendar:
Turn
in:
1.
two copies of the proposal (essay and bibliography)
either before class or in class (as instructed)
Attach the peer-review form to the front of one
copy.
2.
research log and a copy of bibliography (only)
for Mr. Bales
In class: pick up another student's paper for
out-of-class review.
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On
the SECOND proposal deadline listed in the course
calendar:
Turn in:
1.
one copy of rewritten paper in a two-pocket folder
with:
2.
this instruction sheet
3. original paper
4. peer review
5. checklist (#3 in handbook)
Late penalties for both papers will be levied
against the rewrite.
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