The work begun in the abstract and continued in the annotated bibliography is meant to coalesce into the full-length conference paper--a thesis-driven, researched essay some eight to ten double-spaced pages (plus Works Cited) in length. As I have noted in my discussion of similar assignments for other courses (here and here), the conference paper is a proving ground for an idea, one presented as a formal talk (although I am not likely to have students present the papers) and improved upon through comment and consideration. It is often an important step towards publication (and my own research tends to follow the pattern, with pieces originally developed for presentation being refigured for print dissemination).
In brief, the conference-length paper will contextualize the discussion, assert a thesis, demonstrate the validity of the thesis, and motion toward avenues for further inquiry and discussion. More expansively, the conference-length paper will need to do the following:
Establish a context for discussion, at a minimum naming the work being treated, the author (if one is known), and prevailing social and critical contexts for the work and the discussion of it that will follow;
Assert a thesis that conforms to the guidelines laid out for the research paper and which demonstrates an understanding of prevailing scholarly discourse standards;
Deploy primary source material in apporpriate proportions and with appropriate citation to support the thesis adequately;
Depoly appropriate secondary source material in apporpriate proportions and with appropriate citation to support the thesis adequately;
Explain in detail the reasoning that leads from the primary and secondary source material to the support of the thesis;
Address the significance of the thesis once it has been adequately supported; and
Demonstrate command of formatting and standard edited American English consistent with the guidelines established by the Modern Language Association of America.
The assignment will be assessed with those concerns in mind. The rubric by which it will be assessed appears below.
An example of the kind of work expected, if one too brief to address the assignment for my Spring 2014 section of ENGL 2543 and on a topic not appropriate to the course, can be found here.
The conference-length paper must be submitted via D2L as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file no later than the beginning of class time on 25 April 2014 to be eligible to receive full credit. Late submissions will be penalized as outlined in the course syllabus. Submissions in other formats (other file formats, e-mail instead of D2L dropbox, or typed hard-copy) may be made only with prior instructor approval; hand-written copies will not be accepted in any event.
Note that while deployment of primary and secondary source information is expected, failure to account for the provenance of such information will be investigated as plagiarism. Please do not provoke such an investigation.
More information is forthcoming.