Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

As you prepare to write a major research paper, you should keep in mind the following:
• This course covers the history of Christianity since 1500 (the Reformation to the present). You may choose any topic of study from within this era.
• The topic must be historical in nature but may have a historical theological component as well.
• Review the course materials for topic ideas. Take a few minutes and think about what topics in Church history might be of interest to you. It may be denominational history, a biography, or an examination of how the Protestant Church has responded to a particular issue or theological debate.
• You may write a biography of an individual but it should be a critical biography. A critical biography reviews the published biographies of an individual and compares their interpretations of the individual’s life and contributions.

Your proposal must contain the following components:
1. A brief introduction to the proposed topic. Typically this is 1 paragraph.
2. The need for the study: Explain why this research is important. Include the reason(s) the topic may warrant the study, e.g., the significance and/or implication of the topic in relation to history, contemporary situation, or academic controversy.
3. A working thesis statement: State the tentative, proposed thesis of the research paper in 1 sentence.
4. The procedure of the study: What sources are you going to look at? This will include a working bibliographical paragraph of the major works you have found on this topic. The working bibliography must include a list of at least 10 scholarly sources.

In posting your proposal to the course discussion board, I encourage you to respond to your classmates’ proposals with substantive feedback, much like you would do in a classroom setting following a research proposal presentation. This will only make the final products better.

Please note the following format guidelines for your proposal:
1. The proposal must be 600–750 words.
2. The following section headings must be included in the body of the proposal:
The Need for the Study
Bibliography
3. The proposal must be in current Turabian format.