Skill Five: Writing Your Thesis Proposal

OK, folks, here we are. Now that you have read, analyzed, and dissected everybody else's, you get to see how much fun it is to put your own together and have it read, analyzed, and dissected by the instructors and the class.

Your prososal should be in the form of a research proposal, as we have seen and evaluated in Skill 3. The text should be a maximum of ten double-spaced pages in length (sometimes six to eight is enough; whatever you do, don't pad, since if you were writing for a real fellowship committee, certain members might have to read fifty or even a hundred of these, so they will appreciate conciseness). You should append to this text a revised and expanded version of your annotated bibliography.

Schedule

W May 19: Class discussion on bibliography and tables; around this time you still be reading, and preparing to write.

M May 24: No class--you should be well into your writing.

W May 26: No class--you should have finished your first draft and be revising and polishing

During this time when you are writing, we will be available for extra help (Harrell will be gone until May 23, but available after that), and you should also consult with your adviser during this time. If the professor you have chosen does not have time to consult with you, you are best advised that this is probably not a good person to have as your adviser.

Friday, May 26: Two copies of a draft of your proposal are due, emailed to the instructors and to the class. You must have them in on time, no exceptions--if yours is not there by 3:30 you get a 0.0 for the quarter. This is the way research proposals work in the academic world. Remember that your computer's problems are none of our business, so that if you are unsure about your computer or your access to a university computer, get done early so you have a few hours to make mistakes or borrow another computer and still have the thing done well before the deadline.

Wednesday, June 2, 1:30-5:00: The class will present oral summaries of their proposals. These must be limited in time, since we have so many of them. So practice ahead of time with a clock or stopwatch. There will then be an opportunity for the class to ask one or two questions. This will be done in conjunction with ANTH 491

Monday, June 7: Final Draft due emailed to Harrell and in Newell's mailbox by 3:30.

Class schedule
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