This will serve as a comprehensive plan for successfully completing your final
project. Your proposal must include the following elements organized in their own sections with
subtitles:
250-word abstract (40 points) – Describe what you plan to write your final paper
about. What specific archives or primary sources do you plan to explore? What are
the stakes of this research project? You can discuss why this project is meaningful to
you or what inspired you to pursue your particular topic.
At least 3 project objectives (20 points) – What are the goals of your project? Please
outline them clearly and succinctly. Bullet points are fine for this part of the proposal.
At least 4 planned research sources (20 points) – Tentatively, what research will
inform your project? List at least 4 sources of information that you will either directly
reference as part of your project, or will inform the work you do in a less direct way.
These sources can include peer-reviewed journal articles, archival materials,
testimonies, interviews, books, government documents, etc. List each source and
provide a brief description.
Timeline (20 points) – Break down the steps to achieving your project into a set of
tasks. Be sure you are at minimum keeping up with the basic tasks outlined in the
syllabus and how they are paced (refer to the weekly course schedule: picking
primary/secondary sources, outlining, writing body paragraphs, writing the
intro/conclusion, peer-review, etc.). The tasks you outline here in your project
proposal timeline should be even more detailed than these. After you’ve figured out
what your tasks will be, set specific due dates for them in a detailed timeline. It will
be up to you to stick to the goals that you set, so they should be achievable and
tailored to your personal situation. Don’t forget to update your personal calendar with
the due dates for these project tasks in addition to outlining them here in your
proposal.