Interdisciplinary Research Manual - Units.muohio.edu

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50 world of scholarship and enter the world of marketing. Even the most compelling argument will not convince people who never encounter it. The marketplace of ideas is full of books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and of course senior projects, all clamoring for attention; and that’s just the print media. There are more print publications on any topic than there is time for people interested in the topic to read them. Worse, many seniors in interdisciplinary studies are promoting new topics, so they have the added challenge of persuading potential readers to become interested in the topic and well as in what they have to say about it. The cover of your project needs to draw the eyes of prospective readers. If your project has a black binding with no color, image, or text, even readers who are looking for it in the Western senior project archives may have to open dozens of such projects to find yours. The odds are that readers who are just browsing will never open it. More than anything else, a cover with color—especially multiple colors—attracts attention. Second, a cover with an image draws the prospective reader closer. Then, if you have the title and your name on the cover where prospective reader s can take them in at a glance, they may pick up the project and open it if their curiosity or interest is piqued. Many seniors select a clear plastic cover over cover stock that has a multi-colored picture, drawing, or photograph, with the title in large print so it can be read from a ways away, and their name in smaller font (since most prospective readers will be attracted more by your topic than the author). Title Page. The title page is the very first page inside the cover, and its format is rather rigidly specified. See sample on the next page for wording and spacing. The title and any sub-title, on the other hand, are not only up to you, but they demand creative thought. Once you have attracted the attention of prospective readers with the cover, you need a title (perhaps in combination with a sub-title) that (a) is short enough to be taken in at a glance, (b) clearly identifies the subject, (c) gives some indication of your approach to it, and ideally (d) is catchy but not cutesy. You may try and reject twenty titles before you find one that represents the best balance of those criteria. Splitting it into a title and sub-title has a number of advantages, so a majority of seniors opt for that strategy: (a) One can provide straightforward description while the other is a bit clever. (b) One can focus on the subject, the other on your approach to it. (a) The title can be short enough to be taken in at a glance, while the sub-title can be a bit longer.
51 THE RUCK SACK REVOLUTION: [Title at top margin.] BUDDHISM AND THE BEAT GENERATION Submitted to the [Eighth space from title] School of <strong>Interdisciplinary</strong> Studies (Western College Program) in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy <strong>Interdisciplinary</strong> Studies by [Fourth space from departmental line] Nathaniel Gay Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2005 APPROVED Advisor ___________________________ Sean Duncan
Page 1 and 2: Written by William H. Newell for us
Page 3 and 4: 3 different insights into a coheren
Page 5 and 6: 5 you’ll end up second semester f
Page 7 and 8: 7 that particular combination of di
Page 9 and 10: 9 First, peruse some general refere
Page 11 and 12: 11 stock of what you have to work w
Page 13 and 14: 13 whole, then on a particular topi
Page 15 and 16: 15 In interdisciplinary studies, on
Page 17 and 18: 17 that’s a focus of the book. So
Page 19 and 20: 19 assistance—to deliberately rev
Page 21 and 22: 21 established. So proudly quote th
Page 23 and 24: 23 issues or the author’s positio
Page 25 and 26: 25 studying class in capitalist soc
Page 27 and 28: 27 be clustered on the basis of wha
Page 29 and 30: 29 It may seem presumptuous to ment
Page 31 and 32: 31 remove anything you’ve written
Page 33 and 34: 33 • Similar or overlapping pheno
Page 35 and 36: 35 the challenges they face differ,
Page 37 and 38: 37 Finally, you should consider whi
Page 39 and 40: 39 topics, issues, and positions ar
Page 41 and 42: 41 A common difficulty in writing t
Page 43 and 44: 43 Thesis and Argument Presentation
Page 45 and 46: 45 you came to write your project,
Page 47 and 48: 47 earlier chapters. Thus, if not f
Page 49: 49 extent possible, you should deve
Page 53 and 54: 53 whether the project is worth rea
Page 55 and 56: 55 terms can normally be limited to
Page 57 and 58: 57 Common Writing Errors. Quotes ne
Page 59: 59 blueprints, appendices, and bibl

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