Dr. Antiwan Walker
English Composition 1102
Summer 2013
Prospectus/Oral Description and Rubric
By definition, a “prospectus” is “a document describing the major features of a proposed literary work, project, business venture, etc., in enough detail so that prospective investors, participants, or buyers may evaluate it.” Since you are in an English class, you will document the major features of your literary analysis paper, which are Background/Significance of Topic, an Abstract with a Hypothesis, and an Annotated Bibliography.
Background/significance of topic means noting the history of the subject under study. For example, if you are writing on female child abuse in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, then you should include the ways in which children have been abused and/or how authors have written about that abuse in their works.
Your abstract will highlight the importance of your paper, marking how it participates in the literary discourse (dialogue) about books like The Color Purple. What is the purpose for your work? Does it reveal something new, revise common perspectives about the novel, and/or reject common readings of The Color Purple? Add here, as well, your (hypo)thesis: how, perhaps, your paper situates Walker’s novel as a literary production that excavates the psychosexual dimensions of sexual molestation and physical trauma.
Lastly, the annotated bibliography is a combination of a bibliography and a brief synopsis of each source. Simply compile the entry as you would normally, but then include one or two sentences that summarize it.
Each part is worth 25 points:
Student’s Name: ________________________________
1. Did you satisfactorily present and articulate the background information of the topic? _____
2. Is your abstract clear, and does it include your (hypo)thesis? _____
3. Did you cover your sources and provide a synopsis of each? _____
4. Did you dress professionally? _____
Presentation Grade: _____
Additional comments: _____________________________________________________
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