HUSL 6372

Notes on Final Paper

This is a 20 (or so)-page research paper.  It is a synthesis exercise, an opportunity to pull together the tools the class has given you and use them to study a topic related to women, writing, and/or the creation of cultural value in the U.S. that is of particular interest to you.  In addition, you need to demonstrate that you have mastered the secondary sources related to the topic and have an original contribution to make to the field. 

1.  Look over your reading and class notes to get a sense of which genres/issues/questions interest you most.  Frame some questions you'd like to investigate further.  This will probably be a specific "case study" of particular a particular author, book, or kind of book, but you may want to write more theoretically about issues related to gender and literature in the American context.

2.  Make a research plan and see what you can find related to the topic.  What sort of research does answering the question call for?  What sort of secondary sources will you need to consult?  Do you need to get reviews of a book?  A biography of the author?  Research on education or literacy levels?  Research on a particular historical period or set of readers or writers?  MLA bibliography will probably be of most use, although some people will find historical indexes helpful.  Ideally, what you find will give you ideas to respond to, question, challenge, or extend�which will help you focus your topic.

3.  Formulate a working thesis, an argument or position that requires defense or support (i.e. a reasonable person could disagree with you on this).  As you go through texts and articles you found useful while writing the paper, you may realize you want to refine or change the argument in some way.  (Go ahead and do it).

4.  CHECK -- the purpose of most academic papers is two-fold.  They (1) demonstrate you know what has been said about this topic in the past and understand it; (2) show that you have an original intervention or contribution to make.  (You should do both). 

Due Wed. 26 Apr. by 4:00 in my office

3-page prospectus and bibliography � Due Wed. 15 March at start of class

Will:

(1)  explain your topic

(2)  establish the general contours of the scholarship on your topic

(3)  explain your original intervention or argument about the topic

(4)  take up a few key issues or debates you will need to address to make your argument.  

Purpose:  forces you to start the project, gives me something concrete with which to raise questions, steer you toward other sources, or push your argument in certain directions. 

Helpful Guides to Academic Writing/Prospectuses:

http://www.meaning.ca/articles/print/writing_research_proposal_may02.htm

 (a social science guide to prospectuses, but helpful nonetheless --thank you, Sarah)

Booth, Wayne, et al., The Craft of Writing (esp. part II)

Prospectus Assignment (courtesy of Jennifer Parchesky, English Dept., ASU)

The prospectus (a.k.a. proposal or abstract) serves at least two purposes.  First, it is likely your clearest formulation thus far of the overall argument you intend to make and its significance, context, and approach�as such it can serve as a mini-draft that will help keep you focused on the big picture if you get bogged down in the details of drafting.  Second, it is to some extent a promotional document, intended to explain not only what you are doing but why some audience ought to be interested in it.  This is often precisely what you need to submit as an �abstract� for a conference paper (often for a paper you have not yet completed).

Length: 250-500 words (please use format for official written work as described on syllabus)

The prospectus should include (order of items may vary, or use the order given, though of course in paragraph form with appropriate transitions, etc.):

1)      A clear statement of the problem, question, or issue your essay is intended to address.

2)      An explanation of the context for and significance of this issue�Why is this a debatable or important question?  For whom?  Is this a matter of confusion, heated debate, or something people haven�t even thought to ask?

3)      Your working thesis, preferably highlight by words such as �I argue� or �It is my contention that��or if you really hate the first person, �This essay suggests��  (Also, note that in general you want to use the present rather than the future tense, thus suggesting that the essay is already written or at least that you know what it will argue.)

4)      A brief description of your approach, methods, and/or primary texts, foregrounding what makes your essay a unique contribution to this issue.  (this may come before your thesis or after it)

5)      A brief overview of the structure of your argument.  This should not be an outline of your topics or sections but rather an outline of your major supporting points (see CR 187-188 for a good example of this distinction).