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Final Assignment: Research Paper

Step 1: Topic and research question, due by 3:30 PM on Thursday, March 16

Your final assignment for Identity Politics is to write a research paper on an identity-politics-related topic
of your choice. This assignment is an opportunity for you to go in-depth on a specific topic that is of
interest to you while learning fundamental research and writing skills that will provide a foundation for
future research papers in 300-level seminars as well as the senior project. Specifically, you will learn how
to identity a research topic, translate your topic into a research question, draft a research proposal,
write an annotated bibliography, and produce a short (10-12-page) research paper. We will work on this
assignment throughout the semester.

Step 1: Topic and research question (1–2 paragraphs)

In order to get started on the research paper, you will submit a tentative topic for your research paper
(or topics, if you are deciding between multiple options at this point) along with a tentative research
question. The easiest way to choose a topic is to pick something we have discussed in class (or will
discuss) and explore that subject further. Given the content of the course, the most straightforward
topics might relate to the ways particular social movements have constructed, contested, or
transformed identities in service of their goals. However, the only requirements for your topic are that it
is related to identity politics and that it allows you to use historical and theoretical texts to interpret a
primary source.

Along with your topic, you should also propose a research question. Your research question should be a
question related to your topic to which you do not already know the answer, but which is answerable in
a 10-12-page paper. You may find that as you learn more about the literature on your topic you will
want to adjust your research question. This is fine as long as your new question is sufficiently related to
the research you have done and that it narrows in focus your question. If you are contemplating
changing your research question dramatically, I recommend meeting with me to discuss the change.

Along with your topic and research question, you will also submit 1-2 paragraphs explaining why you
want to pursue this question and what you think you might argue.

This assignment will not be graded, beyond the fact that it is handed in on time, and that it is clearly and
professionally presented. Please email me your topic, research question, and explanation by 3:30 PM on
Thursday, March 16. You should also sign up to meet with me to discuss your topic and research
question the week of March 20.

Step 2: Research proposal and annotated bibliography due Thursday, April 13 (4-6 pages, single-
spaced)

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Once you have received approval for your topic and research question, you will submit a formal research
proposal and annotated bibliography. A research proposal is an overview of a proposed project that lays
out the topic, research question, and motivation for the project. An annotated bibliography is a list of
sources that includes a citation and an annotation for each source. An annotation is a short description
or summary of the main argument of the work and an evaluation of the source. The research proposal
and annotated bibliography assignment aims to familiarize you with the process of academic research,
including how to use library resources to locate materials and how to productively engage those
materials for your research purposes.

Research Proposal Instructions:

A research proposal explains what your main question is, why it is important and how you plan to
answer the question. Importantly, in a proposal you do NOT need to answer your research question or
present the argument of your paper. The research proposal should be 2-3 single-spaced pages and
should address the following things (you may want to divide it into the following headings):

a. Motivation/Framing and Research Question – Every research proposal must contain a clear
statement of the research question, posed in the form of a question. After briefly motivating the
project (usually in one to two paragraphs at most) you want to clearly pose your question. Your
research question should be stated simply, so that it is clear to your reader what exactly you are
going to explain in the paper.
b. Relevance/Significance – After you pose your question, you want to explain why it is an
important question to answer. One way to explain your topic’s importance is to describe current
debates surrounding it and how leading scholars treat it. Are there major disputes among
theorists or practitioners? What is at stake in these debates? If your topic is not particularly
prominent, then you should explain why it deserves more attention. Does your topic have
practical significance?
c. Approach/Method – Once you have identified a research question and discussed why it is
important, you need to say how you will examine it. Again, you are not trying to answer the
question, but rather should say how you intend to find the answer. You need to show that the
investigation is a manageable task and is likely to yield answers. You may wish to illustrate your
approach with a little preliminary analysis (but no more than a paragraph or two). You should
also mention what sources you plan to use to answer your question.

Annotated Bibliography Instructions:

1. Once you receive confirmation that I approve your topic, you should meet with a research
librarian to discuss how to use the library’s resources and locate sources. We will go to the
library to meet with a research librarian as a class on March 30, 2023. If you miss this class for
any reason you should independently meet with a research librarian no later than April 7, 2023.
You can use the library’s appointment request system to schedule your meeting:
https://www.bard.edu/library/ask-a-librarian.php#makeAResearch.

2. After meeting with a librarian, you will begin researching your topic and gathering sources. Your
final annotated bibliography should include 4-6 sources. These sources must include at least:

 one primary source: a primary source is a first-hand or contemporary account of an

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newspaper articles, and autobiographies are all examples of primary sources (e.g. “The
Combahee River Collective Statement,” Fred Hampton’s “Power Anywhere There’s
People”). The primary source(s) should be the centerpiece of your research paper. You
should then marshal historical and theoretical texts to help you interpret the primary
source(s).

 one historical book or journal article, e.g. Jakobi Williams’s From the Bullet to the
Ballot, Johanna Fernández’s The Young Lords, Erika Lee’s The Making of Asian America.

 one theoretical book journal article, e.g. Stuart Hall’s “Race, Articulation, and Societies
Structured in Dominance,” Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble, Patricia Hill Collins’s Black
Feminist Thought.

3. Once you have settled on your final list of sources, you must read them and write an annotation.
Your annotation must include the following:

 citation: each of your entries begins with a formal citation of the source. You should
follow the formatting guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA) Style.
You can find more information on how to use the APA Style here:
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations

 annotation: each of your entries must include an annotation of about 200-225 words.
The annotation has two equal parts. First, you should concisely summarize or describe
the main argument of the source. Second, you should evaluate the source: What are its
strengths and weaknesses? How does it contribute to your research?

4. Formatting: Please put your research topic at the top of the page, with your annotations
following. Each entry should begin with the formal citation (in APA) and be followed by an
annotation of 200-225 words. Also include on your final submission the date of your meeting
with a librarian and the name of the librarian you met with (if you missed our class library
session).

5. The final research proposal and annotated bibliography is due by 3:30 pm on Thursday, April
13, 2023. You should upload this assignment to Brightspace. For more tips on preparing an
annotated bibliography see: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography

Step 3: Three-page draft due Friday, May 6

You will submit a three-page (double-spaced) draft of your research paper for feedback from your small
group by Friday, May 6. Your draft might include your introduction and literature review or an analysis
of a primary source that you plan to use in your final paper. The purpose of the draft is to get you writing
in advance of the deadline and to give you a chance to share your ideas with your peers and receive
some feedback. The draft will not be graded beyond the fact that it is submitted on time to your small
group and presented in a professional manner.

Step 4: Research Paper due Friday, May 19 (10–12 pages, double-spaced)

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Once you have received feedback on your research proposal and annotated bibliography, you should
begin working on your research paper, a 10-12-page paper in which you attempt to answer your
research question by drawing on relevant sources. Your research paper must have a clear, original, and
persuasive thesis that responds to a clear research question. It should draw on at least 4-6 relevant
sources and it should reflect close reading and understanding of their arguments. It should also be
logically structured and should include appropriate citations and minimal grammatical and stylistic
issues. I suggest that you include the following sections (though you should feel free to adapt based on
the content of your paper):

Introduction: Your paper should begin with a brief introduction (~1-2 pages) that presents your topic
and research question, provides some motivation for the research question, and states your thesis (your
working answer to your research question) concisely in 1-3 sentences.

Literature Review: Depending on your research question, you may also want to include a literature
review (~2-3 pages). A literature review is a section of a research paper that evaluates the major bodies
of scholarly literature that address your research question. The objective of a literature review is to
clearly articulate the major arguments that address your question and then analyze and critique them. It
is important to note that a literature review is NOT simply a summary of existing literature; rather it is
an analysis and critique of that literature. Your literature review should be clearly structured and should
show how your research contributes to the existing literature on your research question.

Body: The bulk of your paper should carefully analyze one or more primary sources using a combination
of historical and theoretical sources in order to answer your research question. You may want to divide
the body of your paper into sections based on sub-topic (~6-7 pages).

Conclusion: Your paper should conclude with a concise summary of your findings and by pointing to
areas for further research (~1-2 paragraphs).

Works Cited: At the end of your paper, you should include a list of the sources you cited in APA format.