Journal#6: 

For Journal #6: Prepare to discuss, peer-review style, the strengths and opportunities for development they present. Use your entry to represent the project, highlight strengths, and recommend at least one significant improvement. Also address: what does looking at these give you to consider about your own project?

My response: 

Sample One: The English proposal Guidelines. In this sample I really like the way that everything is laid out step by step. At least for me there is little room for confusion with directions like these. Like I said I really like this sample so its hard for me to come up with something to improve but if I had to I probably would add an additional question under the section that lists questions for students to think about when approaching the project I would add a question that makes students analyze what they learned making the project and how a project like this will help them in the future. 

Sample Two: History & Philosophy, English, ISH Proposal Guidelines. I think that although this proposal does get the point across I would still have questions. The wording is too broad and not specific enough. Also right now we jump right into the requirements. It would be nice to have an introduction paragraph explaining the project in simple terms. I also think adding a reminder to meet with faculty and adding a number for the minimum requirement of sources for the bibliography would be helpful. 

Sample Three: Can a Just God Allow Suffering? Proposal Guidelines. Although I really like this topic and think that the proposal has some good info I didn’t like the way that this proposal was set up. Right now it looks more like essay formatting than proposal formatting. I think that the way it’s set up right now makes it so that everything blurs together. I think clear section headings would help with this. I also think the paragraphs are a little too long right now and should be cut down to 3-5 sentences. I also think converting some of the paragraphs to bullet point lists would make this more clean and easy to comprehend. 

Sample Four: Analyzing the Use of Animals in Popular Victorian Literature. Okay now I actually don’t like this proposal at all. It reads like an essay and the main research and question get buried there is no direct explanation to why this approach is being pursued. There is way too much plot summary which is not necessary in a proposal. Also the bibliography in the sample takes away from the proposal itself. I don’t have a lot that’s good to say about this one. 

Sample Five: Senior thesis proposal. Now I don’t like this proposal at all for the exact opposite reasons than the last. The research question is wicked vague so I’m not exactly sure what is being explored with this essay. “What is it to attribute humanness to others?” is a good starting point but I need more than that.When talking about “a range of literatures” It would be really beneficial if a few examples were listed of the literature that is planned on being used, referenced and maybe even an explanation of what the literature is depicting and how its going to relate back to the original idea of the proposal. Also the proposal states that it will be using primary sources but i think listing those primary sources would give the proposal more credibility.