Proposal

Proposal (due January 22 at noon, workshop January 23 in class)

This 500-750 word document (roughly 2-3 pages, double-spaced) is designed to get students thinking concretely about their research projects. This document should include:

• your research question(s)
• explanation of why the question is significant (the “so what?” explanation)
• preliminary/possible answers to the research question(s)
• relationship of the project to broader historiography or historiographies and discussion of what unique contribution this project might make to them
• description of the planned primary sources you will consult

Here is an example of a proposal, and another one. Please note that they are longer than the 2-3 pages you will be writing for next week. You can also disregard the bibliographies for now - bibliographies will be required at the next stage for the prospectus.

Be sure to submit your assignment no later than noon on Monday to ensure your peers have time to read and comment on your work before class on Tuesday.

Preparing for the Workshop:

• Read and leave written comments on the proposals submitted by your peers before class on Tuesday (Peer Reviews should appear under the Assignments tab once the assignment has been submitted).
• Comments should be constructive and focus on the clarity of the answers to the questions posed above. Note what has been done well, as well as anything that might be missing or that requires clarification. You may also want to offer resources the author might want to consult, or framing they may want to consider.
• We will go over the proposals as a group in class on Tuesday and you will have an opportunity to respond to comments and ask clarifying questions.

Share the proposal with your faculty advisor. While you will be receiving feedback from me as well as from your peers, you will also need your faculty advisor's expertise in your field. They can alert you to potential issues and direct you to resources you may need to consult.