Independent Research Study Proposal
Limit 10 students, undergraduate papers, MA theses
The idea is to introduce each student in one group setting, perhaps an evening,to the CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE, to present the rationale and form ofdocumentation, to clarify the necessity of an argumentative thesis as part of theirwork, to provide guidelines on organizing notes and avoiding plagiarism, and togive them one week to consider the topic of their research which would be sentto me and accepted or questioned. Any questions would require an individualsession. Selections will be based on intended senior papers or master´s theses.
First individual session: present bibliography containing at least one primarysource and ten additional sources including both scholarly articles and books.Meeting in the National Library, the American Center, or any Charles UniversityLibrary for anyone having problems locating sources.
Second individual session:: a first draft of their research chapter to be due withina month. Second individual session is to discuss the draft, focusing on how toimprove it.
Final paper. minimum 25 pages. is due in one month. IF possible, I would like to bring the grouptogether to orally introduce their topic and the results, perhaps another eveningsession so that each could have 10 minutes, more if there were fewer people.
I would also welcome individual consultations as requested by students. I think theyshould be graded and granted full credit.