Perform close reading and literary analysis, conduct investigative research, synthesize research to support an original thesis or argument, and produce an annotated bibliography and research paper. This project is composed of multiple tasks and multiple grades, including a research proposal, a bibliography, a research paper.
-The Research Proposal and Outline :
You need to find at least four sources to complete your research proposal. Write a brief statement of about 100-200 words (one or two paragraphs) in which you indicate the idea or subject you wish to explore, explain how you plan to proceed, and state your tentative thesis (the main point you wish to prove). Include with your proposal a bibliography of at least 3 items related to the topic or useful for your paper (including items on relevant related subjects).
-The Bibliography
When choosing your 5 source materials, remember that books from university and trade presses, journal articles (printed or online), and other scholarly materials (especially recent ones) are helpful to include. Materials that are not acceptable include textbooks, since with few exceptions they are not based on original research, and most websites, which have not been evaluated by reputable scholars before publication.
-Research Paper
In your research paper, you will present the results of your investigation into your literary topic of interest. Your thesis, which guided your research, should be supported by well-chosen citations from your various resources incorporated into a paper that is between 5 and 7 pages long and written using standard APA formatting. Be sure to include a works cited page with your paper.
*Proposal Check List:
TITLE:
• Is the title catchy?
• Does the title reflect the thesis of the paper?
OBJECTIVES:
What do you want to find out through this research? What is your research question?
• Are the objectives clear and focused?
• Are the research questions specific?
• Are the research questions meaningful?
THESIS STATEMENT:
What is this paper all about?
• Does the author describe the phenomenon/problem clearly?
• Does the author explain why it is an interesting/problematic phenomenon?
• Does the author claim the importance/implications of this study?
METHODOLOGY:
How are you going to collect information/materials?
• Does the author know how to collect information?
• Is it a legitimate/reliable source of information?
• Is it a doable research plan?
OUTLINE:
How many sections are there? What does each section cover?
• Is the paper organized in a logical order?
• Are the materials and/or arguments presented in a way easy to follow?
• Is there any missing step in they way the paper develops?
• Is this the most effective way to present the materials/arguments?
Sample Proposal
TITLE:
e.g., Phonological patterning of English loan words in Tongan.
OBJECTIVES:
What do you want to find out through this research? What is your research question?
e.g., To devise a set of rules that will account for the forms of as many of the loan words as possible, and to discuss hypothetical reasons for the departures from the rules.
THESIS STATEMENT:
What is this paper all about?
e.g., “From the time of the Tongans’ first contact with English-speaking people, there has been a need to borrow English words for the new things encountered, such as items of material culture, personal names, and social and religious institutions. Used by generally monolingual speakers, the borrowings have been adapted to fit the Tongnan phonological system. The phonemic shape of a Tongan word borrowed from English should be predictable from the shape of its model.”
METHODOLOGY:
How are you going to collect information/materials?
e.g., use the Tongan dictionary (Churchward 1959) as a main source of information.
OUTLINE:
How many sections are there? What does each section cover?
e.g.,
1. Introduction
2. English and Tongan phonemic system
3. Equivalence rules
3.1 Phoneme-to-phoneme rules
3.2 Phoneme-to-syllable rules
4. Discussion
5. Directions for further study
The question first appeared on Write My Essay
