what is a term paper prospectus

COMPOSITION & LINGUISTICS CREATIVE WRITING ENGLISH LITERATURE The English department at Wichita State University boasts a broad and flexible program of courses that are central to a liberal arts education. The department offers degree programs in creative writing, literature and English teaching, as well as a range of courses in linguistics. English students enjoy many opportunities for personal enrichment and a variety of career possibilities. Students choosing to study additional disciplines find the knowledge and communication skills acquired in their English coursework to be a valuable asset as they seek entrance to a wide range of fields that includes communication, education, government, law and business. » Learn more about English Literature » Learn more about Creative Writing » Learn more about Composition and Linguistics   FEATURED LINKS Placement Exams Writing Center Library Resources Writing Now, Reading Now Series Mikrokosmos Sigma Tau Delta Graduate Teaching Assistantships Find us on Facebook Our LinkedIn profile This site is maintained by Department of English. If you find errors please bring them to the attention of Brian Evans (Brian.Evans@wichita.edu). Friday, March 4, 2016, 3:26:24 AM.
A prospectus (in this class, at least) is a preliminary statement for a paper. It has two purposes - first, to get you to think about your paper before the night before it is due, and second, to let me see what you have in mind so I can help you develop the question you want to ask, and direct you to some resources. The prospectus is brief - a page or so - and contains some common elements: 1. The prospectus needs to contain the topic, the question, and the thesis of the paper. What's the difference?Topic: The topic is the general area you want to write about. Examples of topics are things like: AIDS in America , The causes of the WWI , Dali. Topics tend to be broad, and are like the field in which questions are asked.Question: Topics are not questions. You ask a question within the area of the topic. One topic could have many questions associated with it. For example, the topic AIDS in America could have the following questions: What is the history of AIDS in America? , What is the relationship between religion and AIDS in America? , What are some of the ways that the trauma of AIDS has been communicated through art or music? , and so forth. You can see that there could be hundreds of possible questions.When you get a question, or a few possible questions, you should analyze them. Define the words, even the easy ones. Think about other ways to ask the same question (that is, reword it). Do whatever it takes to become as clear as possible about the question you are asking.It is important to learn to recognize the kinds of questions asked in particular disciplines. In the humanities, we tend to move between and across disciplines, but that doesn't mean that questions don't draw on the resources of disciplines. Philosophical questions are usually different from historical or psychological onesThesis: The thesis is just the answer to the question. Good theses come from.
What is a satisfactory prospectus?   The History honors program traditionally allows the student and primary advisor a lot of freedom to define a topic and frame it appropriately, but the following steps summarize a process that has been helpful to students in HIST 1992.   Remind yourself about what subjects have interested you.  What lingering interests do you have from your previous courses or general historical education?  Inform yourself about possible subjects.  Start reading on your subject to learn about how historians have framed it (secondary sources) and also to look for your own original evidence (primary sources).  If you need a primer on the difference between primary and secondary sources, look at Mary Lynn Rampolla’s book, Pocket Guide to Writing History(New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009). Begin working on your statement of a research problem.  A good guide to defining a research topic is found in Wayne C. Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams, The Craft of Research, pp. 37-74 (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2008).  This book is available as an ebook on Josiah.   You will be far along in your prospectus work when you can summarize your research problem according to the model inThe Craft of Research.  For a prospectus, you may tweak their recommendations by putting them in the future tense and making them more provisional:   TOPIC: “I will study.”  CONCEPTUAL QUESTION: “Because I want to find out how.” CONCEPTUAL SIGNIFICANCE: “In order to help readers understand whether.” While it may seem premature to answer these questions so early in the process, the steps outlined in The Craft of Research are useful because they will help you write a prospectus that is focused and analytical. They also orient you toward an audience who won’t share your ideas about the intrinsic interest of your subject.  Following the exercises in this book, you will.
A research proposal or prospectus serves two general purposes. One, it is a signal to others of your research plans. It is an opportunity for those who must approve of your research, or of funding your research, to consider your plans. The second general purpose is that it is a great opportunity for you to clarify for yourself what your research plans will be and the steps that you need to take to complete the project. Key Components of a Research Prospectus The following is not the only way to structure a research prospectus. As with all aspects of the research process, it is a good idea to be in contact with our advisors/instructors to be clear about their expectations. Component Description Example 1. State your research question. It is a good idea to lead with this. Academic writing is not like writing a mystery novel. Readers want to know what they are reading right away. Why is there full democracy in Ghana but not in the rest of West Africa? 2. Explain why the question is important; relevance to scholarly literature Why do we care? What theoretical, empirical and/or policy contributions will the project make? American policy-makers want to spread democracy. Democracies are more peaceful. Democracy is a good thing 3. Core Concepts What is the core outcome of interest? How do you define, conceptualize and measure the object of your study. What is “full democracy”? How do you define and measure democracy? 4. Working Hypotheses These are possible answers to your proposed research question, which you plan to evaluate for your research project. Full democracy evolves out of the practice of democratic participation. 5. Methods How will you be collecting information and how will you be evaluating your research hypotheses? What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of your approach? In-depth interviews. Surveys. 6. Next Steps What are your specific research plans.
Writing Tips: How To Write an Abstract How To Write an Abstract/Prospectus Abstract vs. Research Proposal (Plan) or Prospectus An abstract usually acts as a summary of work already completed and is used by prospective readers to decide whether or not to read the entire text.Abstracts are usually found immediately preceding a research document (such as a thesis or dissertation), and/or in professional journals and abstract indexes (both online and in hard copy).An abstract should represent as much as is possible the quantitative and qualitative information in the document, and also reflect its reasoning. Social science disciplines that use APA (American Psychological Association) style require abstracts to precede the larger paper (see the most recent edition of the APA style guide, Section 1.07, for more information), whereas humanities disciplines often do not require abstracts.Conference abstracts are used to propose paper topics/panel sessions at professional conferences in your disciplines and require slightly different rhetorical methods (see summary on conference abstracts below). A research proposal (plan) or prospectus usually acts as the first step in producing a thesis/dissertation or a major research project.Its intent is to convince a supervisor or academic committee that your topic and approach are sound, so that you can gain approval to proceed with the actual research and also often so you can gain funding for that research.As well as indicating your plan of action, a prospectus or academic proposal should show your theoretical positioning and your relationship to past work in your research area. It is important that you spend some time thinking and drafting your prospectus/research proposal or abstract since the quality of these documents is often solely responsible for whether or not your paper is accepted to a conference, whether or not your.
The purpose of the prospectus is to decide what you want to write about. A prospectus is a statement outlining the main features of the paper that you intend to write. We want you to write this so we can provide feedback on your planned paper early in the process of writing it. Here's how you should proceed: Decide on a topic that interests you and that is about the use of computers and/or computer applications in some field of interest to you. If you have any questions about the assignment, you are welcome to come talk to us (the instructor and the TAs). Then see what information you can find on that topic. Find out where you can look for references in your major department, the library, and other sources that are appropriate for your topic. Identify your topic and several questions you would like to answer in your paper. What interests you about this particular topic? The more specific you can be, the better. Indicate what you already know, especially if your previous background helped you define a topic of particular interest. Do you know something about how computers are used in your field of interest? Do you know where to look for references? What sources do you think will be the most promising to start with? Remember, you are not doing the research for the final paper yet; you are learning where you can find the material to do the research. If you can, list alternate sources so you can use them if your most promising sources turn out not to be as promising as you thought, or if you need more. You should be flexible in your ideas, because as you learn more about the topic, you will probably want to modify the focus to reflect your new knowledge. But you should have a reasonably good idea about what you want to write. This will help you focus your research. As always, if you have questions, please come and see the instructor or a TA, or send us email. We will do.