BGS 399, the senior thesis, is essentially the culmination of your work in the BGS program at Roosevelt. Such a pronouncement may sound dramatic, but it's fairly accurate in the sense that you will be asked to marshal and synthesize all the reading, writing, thinking, and research skills you've acquired in your previous coursework. Think of the senior thesis as more of an opportunity rather than a mere requirement--an opportunity to showcase your intellectual abilities, to hone your research and writing skills further, and to investigate a research project of your own choosing. The days of teachers telling you what to write about are, for the most part, over--you decide the subject matter for this course!

The main requirement of the course is a guided independent research project on a topic you choose in consultation with me. The project will include an oral report to the class and a formal paper of 20 to 25 pages. Other requirements include shorter writing assignments (an informal research proposal, a formal research proposal, a progress report, and a rough draft of your "big paper"), as well as selected reading assignments and participation in class discussion.

The senior seminar is both a traditional seminar and an independent study--this is part of what makes the course interesting and challenging. Some weeks, particularly at the beginning and the middle of the semester, we will meet and work together as a class. Other weeks, you will have an individual conference scheduled with me. Occasionally you need not come to campus at all, but will be expected to be working on your project and keeping in touch with me via phone or e-mail. Stay abreast of the class schedule, and be aware that we may have to make minor changes as we go along. Note: Attendance at the scheduled class sessions and at any conferences you set up is mandatory. You are responsible for meeting deadlines and handing in required work. Hint: get in the habit of backing up all your data files on an extra floppy disk, and be sure to keep a hard copy of every major assignment before you turn it into me. Additionally, keep a file of all your written work produced during the semester, and bring that folder to every conference with me.

• Advising: In BGS 399, my role is advisory and consultative. I will give you all the constructive guidance I can, challenge you with questions throughout the research process, act as a sounding board for ideas, and evaluate your writing and thinking skills with the aim of utilizing your strengths and sharpening any weaknesses. Be prepared for a challenge--most students will attest that I "push" them pretty hard in this course. My job is to help you produce the best research project you're capable of doing, so I constantly look for ways for you to improve your research and writing. Around the time of week ten, you very well may be fed up with me and my suggestions, but by the end, you (and your final draft) probably will thank me for being "tough" during the semester.

• Maintaining Contact: Because of the structure of the course, you occasionally may need to contact me outside of class. You can reach me during office hours (see numbers and times above), leave a message on my voice mail (847-619-8735), or write me an e-mail. I check my voice mail daily, M-F, so that's a pretty dependable way of getting through to me. If necessary, you can fax me a document at my office (847-619-8750) or home (773-764-7149). A piece of advice: don't let a lot of time go by without checking in with me, even if you have to deliver bad news (such as a late assignment)--keeping in touch is much better than nothing.

• Evaluating: In addition to advising you on your project, I have to evaluate it in terms of quality standards of research, logical/critical thought, and writing. These standards will not be a mystery, as we will discuss them together early in the semester. But they will be tough standards for at least two very good reasons: (1) you are perfectly capable of doing high quality work, and thus should not settle for anything less than your best; and (2) you have the entire semester to work on the project. A final note: only you are responsible for the final product which I will evaluate and grade.

The final paper is the single most important written component of our class. Our other writing assignments reflect that priority, for they all feed into the final paper in one way or another. However, I do assign points to the smaller assignments. The evaluative weight of assignments is as follows:

Note: Participation includes coming to class, turning in work on time, turning in the informal research proposal and the rough draft, coming to conferences, etc. I will award 5 bonus points to everyone who hands in a reasonably complete rough draft by the official deadline.

Example: Let's say you end up with 325 out of a possible 400 points. I'll calculate your grade as follows: 325/400 = 0.81 x 100 = 81% = B.