16-Research Paper Proposal Post

A complete draft of your final research paper proposal and annotated bibliography due in print form at the beginning of class on April 30th.  You will exchange papers in class and use an editing sheet to comment on each others’ drafts.  A revised version of your proposal (3-4 pages typed with section headings) is due at the beginning of class on May 5th.  During class on May 5th, you will make a brief presentation of your question, your plan for answering it, why you think the paper would be interesting and/or important, and what the most interesting and/or useful source you found was.  Before class that day you should also have posted your question, plan and statement of interest/importance to the class blog.  Do not use the Leave a Reply box below but the New Post link in the blue area at the top of the page. Also remember to check paper proposal (under Assignments) and your name (under People) in the category boxes to the right of the posting area. 

Your final research paper proposal will have to include:  1)    a research question and short statement of why this question is interesting and/or important; 2)   a thesis; 3)  an introduction and statement of what you will argue/the position you will take; 4)  a plan for how you would use your sources in developing and supporting your argument; and 5)  an annotated works cited list (in MLA, APA or Chicago) with at least three peer reviewed scholarly articles or material located with a library database (like old newspaper reviews), three books, and three other sources of your choosing.   Under each Works Cited item you will include a brief account of what they say, how you will use them, their reliability, and the perspective from which they are written.  To see the proper format for citing articles you find in online databases (provided by the library or other services) see: 
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s2.html#31 for MLA and 
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c09_s2.html#20 for APA. 

Your bibliography should include a detailed account of the reliability of the sources you found and their usefulness in answering your research question (what they say specifically and how you will use them).  Also include an account of how you found your sources (library database, LOC subject heading, search engine, etc.).  Include at least three books (specific chapters or sections), three web pages or other soureces, and three articles from refereed journals (or other items you found with the library databases).  Follow Diana Hacker’s model for MLA citations (unless you have been trained in another format in a course in your major).  Put your annotations in a paragraph under each citation entry.