· Term Paper Proposal Example. 13 December, , by Jane Copland. A term paper is a regular assignment for students to research a specific topic of interest. The purpose of the term paper proposal is to outline the structure of the future term paper, providing the key elements that will support the research. The main feature of the term paper proposal is the necessity to constrict the overall area Seminar Paper Proposal In his Divine Comedy, Dante describes the geography of creation in a physically recognizable and immediately understandable manner. In his poem, Hell is fixed in the center of Earth, Purgatory is a mountain on Earth’s surface, and Heaven lies directly above Purgatory. In Paradise Lost For a certain project to be realized, especially if the initiator doesn’t have enough resources, they may want to ask for some help. For certain educational fairs, for instance, since these are an example of an activity where students lack the financial capacity to realize their ideas, Science Fair Proposal Forms should be crafted. It would certainly be of great advantage to include in this
How to Write a Seminar Paper (with Pictures) - wikiHow
Even those students who have already written a case note for a journal write-on competition are often surprised to find it a more difficult process than they had anticipated. While the memoranda and briefs that are typically the focus of the first year legal research and writing curriculum were new types of documents with which most students had little, if any, prior experience, most of our students have been writing research papers for many years.
They thus typically expect that the writing process will be relatively easy and therefore are overwhelmed and frustrated when they discover that it is, in fact, a very time-consuming and difficult process. Teaching students how to write effective seminar papers can be equally overwhelming and frustrating. In the most general terms, the keys to getting good seminar papers from students are:. The following discussion outlines the stages of the writing process for a typical seminar paper and how faculty teaching a paper course might be able to assist students at each of these stages.
Many students, and particularly those who are new to the subject matter of the seminar, seminar paper proposal example, have great difficulty selecting a topic for their papers.
Without clear deadlines and guidance from the professor, some students will delay selecting their topics so long that they do not have enough time to fully research the issue and develop a coherent thesis and they do not seminar paper proposal example enough time to change topics if they discover mid-way through the research process that the topic is too broad or too narrow to form the basis for a seminar paper.
A professor has a variety of available options to make topic selection easier for the students. Some professors offer a list of topics for students to choose from. This can be particularly helpful for seminars dealing with complex or difficult subject-matter with which most students will have little prior familiarity. However, there must be a broad enough range of pre-selected topics for students to be able to find a topic of interest, as the research and writing process can be much more difficult for students who must write about a topic that does not fully engage their interest.
Or, if the list of topics cross-references the syllabus, students can readily look to the readings assigned in the syllabus for the subject matter relating to the potential topic and use those readings to gauge whether or not the topic will be of interest. This option is a good choice for faculty who prefer to have the seminar papers cover in depth something that will be a topic of discussion during the course of the seminar.
If a professor prefers to allow students to find their own topics, students can be greatly aided in their topic selection if they are given a list of, or links on an online course management system to, seminar paper proposal example, helpful sources of current topics in the particular area of law.
Professors can also encourage students to read ahead in the course materials, looking for topics that interest them that may not be covered until late in the course. This option is a good choice for faculty who encourage students to move beyond the topics specifically covered in the course, particularly if the seminar is designed to include student presentations of their papers during the final weeks of the course.
By allowing students to select their own topics, those presentations expand the scope of the seminar, with students becoming teachers of new material that they have researched and considered in depth by the end of the course. Such goals might include:. Once students know what the professor expects the paper to accomplish, seminar paper proposal example, they may feel more confident in selecting a topic.
Students often have difficulty understanding the difference between a topic and a thesis for their papers. Once they have selected their topic, often they will dive into research and sometimes begin writing or even complete a first draft without articulating what the thesis is. As a result, their drafts read like reports on their research or general discussions of a broad topic, and the paper lacks focus and direction.
Professors can help students with this process by requiring students to hand in express, written thesis statements and by providing feedback to students on seminar paper proposal example thesis statements. To qualify as novel, seminar paper proposal example, the thesis must be distinct from what has previously been written on the subject. Thus, if a student has a point she wants to make on the topic at the outset of her research process, an express step in her research process must be to find and review what scholars have already written on the topic.
Discussing this process with students as they begin developing a topic and thesis will help them to anticipate that dead ends and shifts in focus are a common part of the scholarly writing process and to allow sufficient time early in the process.
Students will also benefit if the professor makes it clear that the novelty component of a scholarly paper does not require that everything that the student says in the paper should be something that has never been said before.
In fact, seminar paper proposal example, scholarly papers often build off of work that has preceded them, seminar paper proposal example, adding something to the current discourse in existing scholarly papers and judicial opinions. For example, a paper might note that there is an ongoing debate about a particular issue, describe the main points made by the key participants in that debate, and then go on to 1 offer new criticisms of certain of the arguments that have been made in the debate, or 2 offer new arguments for adopting one or another solution to the problem, or 3 propose an entirely new resolution seminar paper proposal example the problem.
Indeed, a paper might be original seminar paper proposal example pointing out that something is a problem that has not previously been perceived as a problem, or, conversely, that something that has been thought to be a problem is not in fact a problem.
It is often helpful to devote seminar time to having students discuss their draft thesis statements, with the entire class responsible for asking questions about and helping each student refine his or her thesis. Requiring students to write out and submit seminar paper proposal example thesis statement early in the process highlights the need for them to begin the process of actively engaging with the issues.
Professor and peer feedback on their initial thesis statements will help them to focus their research and craft a draft with a strong initial seminar paper proposal example. If it is imprecise, seminar paper proposal example, too obvious, or impractical, the professor can reserve time in the paper conference to brainstorm alternative iterations of the thesis.
Many students begin writing with one thesis in mind but end up convincing themselves as they write that a more moderate, or more extreme, or completely different, position is appropriate. Students should be encouraged to continuously evaluate and adjust their thesis as necessary throughout the research and writing phases of the paper, but they should also be reminded to maintain a consistent stance throughout the paper.
When commenting on their drafts, the professor should watch for and identify sections in which the stance slips from neutral to argumentative, from confident to ambivalent, from analytical to descriptive.
To help students develop their thesis statements, give them feedback on seminar paper proposal example submitted thesis statements or in the seminar discussion that asks them to consider the following:. Thus, your discussion of possible solutions seems disconnected from seminar paper proposal example opening sections of the paper.
Similarly, one aspect of your suggestions at the end deals with transparency by labels — but there was no preceding discussion of a lack of transparency as a problem relating to digitization in the industry, so it seemed to have come out of the blue.
We can talk about how you might focus the discussion as you revise. Although the first year Legal Research and Writing program in most law schools familiarizes students with researching cases and statutes and introduces them to some commonly-used secondary sources, students are often not familiar with the specialized legal resources that they will need to thoroughly research a seminar paper. As a result, their research is often inefficient or incomplete.
In addition, seminar paper proposal example, scholarly research is typically different in nature from the research that students do in preparing to write client-driven documents like memos and briefs.
Students often struggle with the sheer magnitude of sources of information available to them on a given topic. Sometimes they do not yet have a complete understanding of the topic and thus they can benefit from referral to helpful secondary sources that will put the legal issue in perspective for them.
Sometimes their topic is too broad or their thesis statement not clearly enough articulated. Will they need to lay an elaborate foundation for their analysis, or can they assume that the reader knows the relevant background information? Identifying your expectations from the outset and requiring the students to expressly identify their target audience can help them to better focus their attention on the most relevant sources. In addition to helping students with their topic selection, target audience, purpose, and thesis statements, seminar paper proposal example, professors can help students with the research process by providing them with research guides that are tailored to the subject-matter of the seminar [6] and by holding conferences with students to discuss their research process.
Professors can require students to hand in research reports so that they can provide feedback and guidance seminar paper proposal example students who seem to be struggling with research.
Providing students with guidance, either with a handout or an express discussion, about effective note-taking and organization of research materials can also help students to be more efficient and will enhance the quality of their final product. Are there leading sources that are missing from the discussion and footnotes?
Has the student addressed scholarly commentary relevant to the topic, or does the paper rely primarily on primary sources like cases and statutes? Are the cited sources authoritative? Is the student over-relying on Internet sources? Are there assertions in the draft that an experienced legal reader would expect to see supported with a citation to authority? Example 1 inadequate discussion of existing scholarship relevant to the topic : You have a solid start to your research and have found a good initial universe of authority supporting the interpretation of the various requirements for the DMCA safe harbor that are relevant to Facebook Live.
Those sources are important and helpful, of course, seminar paper proposal example, but there has been a lot of scholarly comment on the DMCA and on the performance right including law review articles more generally addressing compulsory licensing and its pros and cons, which would be helpful for your final proposal section. You rely fairly heavily on just a couple of sources or ones to be found later for a lot of your background discussion, so I recommend doing some additional research into both primary sources like Supreme Court cases discussing the purposes of the Copyright Clause in the Constitution and secondary sources like scholarly articles advocating for or against an expanded performance right to lend further support to some of the discussion.
In addition, the Feb. Requiring students to seminar paper proposal example some form of outline of their paper well before the draft paper is due can greatly enhance the quality of the draft.
Be specific about what information you expect to see students include in the outline and how far along in the research process they should be when writing it. Requiring students to list the main sources of authority that will be cited and to use an outline-numbering format i. Requiring a detailed outline before the students begin writing their papers enables the students to set out their vision of the entire analysis of the paper without the need to worry about good prose. A good outline will provide a clear idea of the thesis, discussion, and probable conclusion of the paper.
It should be as detailed as possible, specifying particular arguments seminar paper proposal example sources that serve as the basic seminar paper proposal example of the thesis and starting points for additional research.
It should provide a coherent, logical framework of the arguments and discussion that the student intends to include in her paper. In giving instructions about the nature of the outline and feedback on it to students, the professor should make sure that the students know they are not wedded to this initial outline; it will change as their research progresses and more ideas develop.
Ideally, seminar paper proposal example, a student outline should include more than simply a list of topics that the student intends to discuss; a strong outline for a page paper is typically at least three pages in length.
It should sketch out the analysis that will be seminar paper proposal example to the issue and the key authorities that will be examined. It might include a discussion of the legal doctrine that is being criticized, examined, or discussed. It might seminar paper proposal example list the key criticisms of the approach taken in the analysis and suggested responses. It should include a list of key seminar paper proposal example as well as a description of any additional research that remains to be done.
These components will allow the professor to provide feedback that will help to guide the student in the writing process. Students may have a strong understanding of the subject matter of their papers but will still produce weak papers if they do not have a clear understanding of 1 their target audience and 2 the purpose of the paper.
Engaging in an express discussion of your goals for the paper as a professor, forcing students to think about their audience, and requiring students to turn in a written thesis statement can provide students with a more precise understanding of the purpose of the paper.
Audience: Either during the seminar itself or during individual conferences with students, it can be very helpful to have the students expressly identify their target audience. Are they just writing for the professor? For the readers of a law journal to whom they might submit the paper for publication? For the judges in a student writing competition? For experts in the subject matter, laypersons, seminar paper proposal example, or lawyers without expertise in the particular area?
For legislators or judges who might be in a position to change a challenged rule of law? Without a clear idea of the target audience, students have great difficulty choosing the appropriate level of detail to provide in analyzing their topic, seminar paper proposal example. Purpose: In addition, students tend to organize their drafts around the sources that they consult rather than letting the substance of the legal topic and the purpose drive the organization of the paper.
Many of their drafts will read more like undergraduate research papers than creative legal analysis, with students reporting on the information that they have found elsewhere and quoting large blocks of text from authorities. As you comment on their drafts, it can be helpful to identify the legal issues discussed in each paragraph, ask questions about the purpose of each section, and suggest ways that the document can be reorganized to focus the discussion on legal issues and sub-issues rather than focusing on sources of information.
Forcing students to clearly articulate their thesis before handing in a draft will help reduce some organizational problems, seminar paper proposal example. In addition, requiring students to turn in detailed outlines well before their draft is due will give the professor an opportunity to determine whether the students have an appropriate understanding of the legal issue, to meet with students to discuss the complexities of the issue, and to provide feedback and guidance on more effective organizational schemes for the paper that students can use in drafting the paper.
Often, seminar paper proposal example, creating a reverse outline for or with the student can help identify both analytical and organizational problems. The following are suggestions for working with students to help them to craft stronger final papers for a seminar: [8]. Discuss what features you expect in good scholarly writing.
Assign an article, seminar paper proposal example as Eugene Volokh, Writing a Student Article48 J. Legal Educ. If you have them available, give students samples of good seminar papers — or give them a couple of A papers and a couple of B papers and have them evaluate which papers fall seminar paper proposal example each category and explain why.
Talking with students in the seminar about their papers at each stage of the writing process will also keep expectations clear, enable students to ask questions as they work on the paper, and help the students to connect their work on their papers with the classroom rather than separating the paper from the seminar discussions. If, as suggested above, you provide guidance to students before they write the draft paper about your expectations, then your comments can help the student to calibrate where she has met those expectations.
Praise strong elements of the draft and identity places where the paper still falls short of those expectations by pointing out specific examples of where the paper is effective and other places seminar paper proposal example it needs improvement.
How to Write a Successful Research Proposal - Scribbr ��
, time: 4:26How to Write a Research Proposal - Outline and Samples
Please find a sample matrix below which outlines the relationship or linkage among the key areas of course development: Learning Attached to this seminar proposal form you will find a “Sample Design Document” – which will provide you with an example to follow File Size: KB Seminar Paper Proposal In his Divine Comedy, Dante describes the geography of creation in a physically recognizable and immediately understandable manner. In his poem, Hell is fixed in the center of Earth, Purgatory is a mountain on Earth’s surface, and Heaven lies directly above Purgatory. In Paradise Lost Research Proposal Examples. Looking for some helpful and detailed research proposal examples to get you started? Examples are great for a quick understanding of how something works or is written, in our case. Here are some complete research paper proposal samples to help you write your own
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