1. Raise a significant issue and discuss its significance
2. Establish the project's historical and geographical context
3. Propose an appropriate, level 3, working research question about the issue, referring to people or phenomena in the period covered in MMW 13 (1200-1750 CE)
4. Propose your working answer to the question-your working thesis
5. Explain the connection between the question and the thesis
6. Show how you plan to support the thesis, providing enough evidence and explanation to show the value and validity of the project and how the evidence supports the thesis
7. Raise potential counterarguments, summarizing the evidence for them, and proposing your rebuttal
8. Provide factually and culturally accurate information
9. Draw on a variety of scholarly sources, including a peer-reviewed journal article
10. Properly cite sources for all information, ideas, and words that came from any source, and list all works cited in MLA format
11. Provide photocopies of all cited sources, correctly highlighted and labeled, paper clipped together, and presented in the order of the Works Cited
12. Write in stylistically effective and grammatically and mechanically correct prose
13. Adhere to "MMW Guidelines for Papers" and the writing assignment guidelines.
Prospectus Workshop Questions, MMW13
As a group, please discuss each of the following components about your sample prospectus:
Research subject: Is it clear and concrete? If it seems vague, explain why.
Historical period: How many years does this project cover? Does the author provide a reason for focusing on this period in particular?
Geographical region: How extensive is the region (city, country, or larger)? Does the author explain why he/she is looking at this region in particular?
Question: Does this seem to be a level-three question? Why or why not?
Answers to the question: Do the thesis and all counterarguments respond to the same question? If not, how might they be changed so that they do?
Evidence: Is each answer supported by at least some evidence? Does all of the evidence seem relevant to the points it is meant to support? If not, explain why not.
Significance: The statement of significance should explain how this project and thesis help us to better understand the topic. Comment on how well the statement of significance does this.