Students in the course "Syntactic Typology" have the option of writing a seminar paper.
A seminar paper is a research paper. The paper must show that a student has understood the material and has some personal original insight into the linguistic phenomena under consideration. A paper that simply repeats facts from the literature without critical evaluation is NOT acceptable!
The seminar paper is due at the end of December, but it is recommended that you complete it as soon as possible. In my experience, both as a teacher and (earlier) as a student, postponing the writing of a paper until significantly after the course detracts from the quality of the final product. The best papers are written while the course material is still fresh in your mind.
The first step in writing a seminar paper is picking a topic. The only restriction on the topic is that it must be related to syntax from a typological perspective. While you need not deal with an issue we have touched on in class, you must (of course) take into account anything we have said in class that is relevant. Whatever your topic, your paper must be based on some question about which there is disagreement or which needs more study. Possible ideas from which topics may be constructed (some of which we may not cover in class) include:
Your topic should be something you are interested in studying in depth. Your teacher can help you define the topic, but the essential choice must come from you.
In researching a topic, you will need to use the professional literature. The textbook (at the end of each chapter) includes suggestions for further research on many topics. In addition, you may wish to examine the professional journals and books in the library.
Material and ideas from the literature should be properly referenced. In the body of the paper, a reference consists of the last name of the author and the year. For example:
| Formal analyses of non-configurationality are surveyed and
critiqued in the first chapter of Nordlinger (1998). It has been observed (Dixon 1994) that some universal subject properties have a semantic basis. |
DO NOT USE FOOTNOTES FOR REFERENCES!
At the end of the paper there must be a section labeled "References" or "Blibliography" in which all works consulted in writing the paper, including everything referenced in the paper, are listed in alphabetical order with complete bibliographical information. For example:
|
Austin, Peter, and Joan Bresnan (1996) "Non-Configurationality in Australian Aboriginal Languages." Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 14: 215-268. Comrie, Bernard (1989) Language Universals and Linguistic Typology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. |
Remember: any idea from any source must be referenced where it is mentioned, even if the original words are not quoted!
Since this is the first research paper you are writing, it will be written with the assistance of the teacher. You should meet with the teacher when you re picking a topic. You need not come to this meeting with a completely-defined topic, but you should have some idea what you want to research and write about. You should also meet with the teacher when you have an outline of your paper and are prepared to write the final version. In between these points, you should be in contact with the teacher any time you feel you need assistance.
You are expected to show a more advanced ability to do research than students who have never written a research paper, and thus to work more independently. You should still meet with the teacher to help select a topic, but you will probably feel less of a need to meet afterwards.
In addition, a seminar paper written by a more advanced student is held to higher standards of sophistication than a second-year seminar paper.