RESEARCH PROJECT GRADING
15
May 2007
The Final Research Project will be graded
in six stages, weighted according to the course grading
schedule (see the Syllabus for details). Deadlines for the various stages of
the paper are indicated in the Course Schedule.
The six stages of the project are:
- The Paper Proposal includes
the selected topic (text, site, or other negotiated focus), thesis statement,
an abstract of 100–150 words, and a tentative bibliography (e.g.,
6–7
journal or encyclopedia articles and 6–7 monographs or commentaries;
no Internet sites)
- Either a topic-sentence outline of the paper
(undergraduates) or an annotated
bibliography (graduate students)
- A full-length rough draft which will be read
and will receive substantive comments from the Instructor
- A revised draft of the paper which will be read
by the Instructor and another seminar participant; the student participant will
make written comments on the paper using the Peer
Review Worksheet and following the guidelines
for feedback. This draft then may be amended and will be the basis
for a brief oral presentation to the seminar. Undergraduates may be matched with each
other for these Project Critiques if they prefer; just let me know.
- The oral presentation of the project (10–15 minutes, timed), response to peer critique,
and Q&A with the seminar participants
- All these stages are designed to lead to
a Final Paper (corrected and revised), which will be read by the Instructor
and graded according to the criteria listed
on the pertinent Critique Form (see the Syllabus for the exact information).
The basic outline for the research project
is as follows:
- an introduction including the
thesis statement and a brief "history of research"
- The body of the paper (see the Syllabus
for the exact description of the assignment)
- a conclusion summarizing how
you have proven your thesis, and what avenues for further study remain;
- a critical bibliography of
items relevant for your research.
Consult the following page for a plethora
of resources for writing assignments.
