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Spring, Junior Year

The fourth component of the Scholars IRP is the "First Draft".  This page specifies:

1. what is expected of students in the First Draft;
2. how mentors evaluate the First Draft;
3. how and to whom students submit the First Draft; and
4. how and to whom mentors submit their evaluations of First Drafts.

Follow these links to learn:

• the deadline for student submissions of the First Draft;
• the date when mentors are requested to submit their evaluations; and
• why these evaluations matter; what consequences they have for students.

1. Expectations

The First Draft affords students an opportunity to record the present state of their research and to chart a plan for study during the summer between their Junior and Senior years. 

In preparing their first drafts, students should:

• continue to read and take notes on items listed in their Bibliographies;
• add and remove items from their Bibliographies, as appropriate;
• reformulate and/or refine the questions formulated in their Topic Statements; and
• develop some initial answers to those questions.

The First Draft is a rough record of ideas and insights. In crafting it, students work to refine their study’s leading questions and to record insights and information pertinent to these questions that they have gleaned from their sources and recorded in their IRP Notes.

Satisfactory First Drafts may take a variety of forms.  Generally speaking, the draft should take a form that is suited to where the student is presently "at" in her research.  Just what form this may be is at the discretion of the student's Primary Mentor.  All Scholars students should ask their mentors for advice about the form and content of the First Draft.

Most students produce a Draft of roughly 10 pages in length which contains the following items:

• a careful formulation of their study's leading question(s);
• a discussion of the methods that are being employed to address those questions;
• a report on what answers have emerged from the student's reading and analysis to date; and
• an inventory of "unresolved questions" and matters for continued study.

Some students may be better served to produce an expanded version of their Topic Statement, together with an annotated bibliography and a plan for research over the summer. 

2. Evaluation
Mentors assign “IRP Notes” a grade of “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory” to the First Drafts of their students.

A "satisfactory" First Draft:

• articulates the questions the student is trying to answer through her research;
• defends preliminary answers to those questions;
• makes use of the "tools" of two distinct academic disciplines; and
• outlines a research plan for the summer

Students are expected to confer with their mentors regularly while preparing the First Draft.  They are also expected to consult them after the First Draft has been evaluated. At a minimum, students should confer with each mentor at least once prior to submitting the First Draft and at least once after it has been evaluated.

3. Student Submission Procedure

Students are required to submit the First Draft both via e-mail and in print.

Click here for the date that the First Draft is due. Failure to submit the First Draft by the deadline is grounds for dismissal from the Program; click here for further information.

The First Draft should be emailed to four people:

• your Primary Mentor
• your Secondary Mentor
• the Scholars Assistant
• the Scholars Director

Be sure to state your full name in the e-mail accompanying your submission as well as the names of both mentors (“Attached is the First Draft of my IRP. My mentors are Prof. Boumgarden and Prof. Martin. —John Smith”).

Paper copies should be placed in the office mailboxes of two people:

• your Primary Mentor
• your Secondary Mentor

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Scholars Program Assistant.

4. Grade Submission Procedure for Mentors

Mentors are asked to submit a grade of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory for work on the First Draft.

The criteria governing evaluation are specified above (see § 2 above).

We request that grades be submitted via e-mail to the Scholars Assistant and copied to the Scholars Director.

Grades for First Drafts are due from Mentors within two weeks of their submission by students,

Click here for the date that grades for the First Draft are due.

If a student earns a grade of Unsatisfactory from either mentor for his First Draft, he is entitled to rework it and submit for a second evaluation, according to a defined procedure.

Click here for information for the procedures governing Unsatisfactory first submissions.

If a student earns a grade of Unsatisfactory from either mentor for resubmitted work on First Draft, or fails to submit work as required, he may be dismissed from the Scholars Program.