Skill Two: Finding a Research Question

Now that you have a general idea of what academic writing is like, your next task is to get ready to do some. This means you have to choose an topic that is both interesting and manageable. Interesting refers to questions 2, 3, 4, and 8 on the content page, while manageable refers to questions 5, 6, and 7. At this stage in the process, you won't necessarily be able to prove that your topic stands up to the criteria for good academic writing, or that you can find enough sources to be able to make your point. But you should be thinking about how to meet these criteria.

On Monday, April 19, your one page, preliminary research plan is due by 9:30 a.m, emailed to the class.You should print out everyone else's plan before class, and bring it to class.

Preparing this preliminary plan may require some library work, but more importantly it requires thinking about what is interesting to you, how you can find out about it, and how an argument might be made about it. Think particularly about topics with which you have some personal experience, or where you have special access to data. At this time, if you have not done so previously, you should approach a faculty member to be a tentative advisor for this project. Please consult with one or both the instructors as to who the most suitable advisor might be for your particular project.

The written preliminary plan should include a provisional title; a thesis statement; brief descriptions of what you want to do, how you want to do it, and why you think it is interesting, and the name of your intended advisor. You should also attach the advisor's note indicating that s/he is willing to advise you with this project.

Schedule

M April 19: We will select half the preliminary plans for class discussion.

W April 21: We will discuss the other half of the preliminary plans.

Class schedule
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