The proposal for your critical essay can be quite short, but it does need to convey important information. Draft the proposal in the form of an email to Prof. Pinsker which includes the following details:
- Two or three sentences summarizing your topic, which should be either a particular chapter or theme from The Education. You can refine what you’ve already done for the abstract of your Annotated Bibliography assignment, or you can try striking out in an entirely new direction. Just remember, that you have to complete this essay assignment by December 5, 2014.
- Two or three research questions which suggest how you plan to tackle this topic in a 7-10 page critical essay (for guidance about this see the handout on research questions under the Writing Resources tab)
- Brief list of primary and secondary sources. Once again, you can cull this list from work you’ve already submitted (from your Biographical Profile or Annotated Bibliography), or you can strike out in a new direction. But don’t just list reference sources or general websites and don’t rely on the text itself (The Education). Show deeper thinking about higher quality sources that have emerged from a strong initial research effort. There’s no magic number here, either, but try to pull together a few from each category. Feel free to explain or annotate them if it helps, but it’s also acceptable, at this stage, to just list them.
Send this email to Prof. Pinsker by Wednesday evening, November 19, 2014.