scale:

• Your essay should be 2500-3000 words (about 10-12 pp. with a normal font/margins) and consult at least 5-7 sources. You are free to choose the topic, and I strongly encourage you to consult with me on it via email or in office hours.
• I’m also open to your proposing an alternative format: for example, a website or other multimedia digital object. In this case, the project should require a comparable amount of work to this kind of essay, to be worked out individually in consultation with me.

quality:

• Consult my handy one-pager laying out expectations for excellent essays.
• If you’re doing an alternative project, again, we will work out expectations individually
• I’ve compiled a long list of potentially useful cites here: I may tag some sources with your individual names to help you find relevant stuff for your projects.

deadlines:

• proposal due 4/11 on the blog:
  • 10% of essay grade: if it’s late, it’s a zero
  • max 1000 words
  • careful description of a topic with a clearly defined objective or research question
  • brief mention of a few relevant sources you’ve found
  • here’s a good example: note that there’s a clear question, a gesture towards some sources, and some sense of what arguments might develop. Yours doesn’t have to look like this, but it’s a useful example.
• annotated bibliography due 4/18 on the blog
  • 10% of essay grade: if it’s late, it’s a zero
  • MLA format for citations
  • after each citation, a few sentences explaining what the source argues and why it’s relevant to the topic
  • here’s a good example of what I expect: note the careful descriptions of each source, the use of proper MLA citation format, and the (optional but useful) riff at the end on other relevant aspects of her research, including consulting a librarian (which I strongly recommend!).
• optional submission of draft due 5/6 via Google Docs (preferred) or email.
  • you may submit essays to me at any stage and in any state up to this date, but I will not read anything submitted after this date!
• essay due 5/13 in class
  • brief (5 min) presentation on topic to peers in class
  • submit essays via paper or email as you see fit: I prefer Google Docs but will accept files in nearly any format.

I’ve created a running list of ideas for final projects. I’m jotting them down as I think of them (or you suggest them in class); feel free to withdraw or deposit new ideas: here’s the Google Doc, which you can view on this page or freely edit if you click here.