Final Paper Assignment

Due Date: Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998

The final paper assignment requires you to choose one of your shorter, 2-3 page papers that you wrote during the term, and develop it into an 8-10 page paper. The final paper is expected to be a more in-depth critical analysis of a subject that you have dealt with previously, incorporating additional research, examples, and analysis as needed. In other words, the final paper should not be a "padded" version of an earlier paper, but a systematic development of a topic, one that may involve developing your topic and refining your argument.

As you write the final paper, use instructor comments on your 3 page papers to help you improve your arguments. Take advantage of the feedback you receive from your instructor when you submit your initial ideas for the paper, which you should submit to your instructor no later than 11/23/98 (see below). You may find that the research process itself helps to reshape the argument of previous versions of your essay. This may be unsettling at first, but don't panic -- this is part of the process of doing a substantive essay. We expect to see that you have consulted at least three sources and to reference these references in your completed essay. In other words, your outside research should not be bound by the stated minimum, but rather, it should be dictated by the requirements of the task of covering your topic and developing your argument.

NOTE: When you turn in your final paper, please include the 3-page version of the essay for your instructor's reference when grading. Make sure to turn in a complete bibliography.

mehopper@mit.edu