The goal of these two courses is to provide Trinity College students in any field of study with the opportunity to produce a publication quality review article. Students will apply during their second year to the Comprehensive Paper Director, Leslie Boehm (leslie.boehm@utoronto.ca) for permission to take the course. Students selected for the course will be given access to a website in which faculty mentors (drawn from the Trinity College Fellows and Associates) who are willing to mentor students have provided topic outlines. Students and mentors will come to a signed agreement in which the student agrees to read textbook level introductory material by the end of second year in preparation for TRN377Y1.
Students will prepare a term paper in the form of a review article on a subject selected from a list under the one-on-one mentorship of a faculty member.
In the beginning of the third year, students will be guided through primary literature and by the end of the first semester are expected to develop a relevant annotated bibliography and paper outline which will be graded, prior to the Y course drop date. In the second semester, students will be required to develop and submit their paper by the end of the semester. The overall grading for the course will be based on the bibliography, paper outline, term-paper and supervisor’s evaluation. It is expected that during the year, the student will meet regularly with the faculty supervisor to discuss the material covered and progress towards the completion of the paper.
TRN377Y is a prerequisite for this course. Students will work together with their faculty mentor to take the paper submitted in TRN377Y and edit the paper to the level of a publication quality review article. This is expected to be an iterative process where the student is expected to get feedback from the faculty supervisor and incorporate this feedback into the final document. The feedback will include comments on structure, coverage, bibliography, content and style. The goal is to provide students with a full sense of the type of skills for writing at the professional level and prepare them for graduate studies.
Students will be provided with a preliminary assessment before the drop date for the H course and the final evaluation will come from grading of the final paper by two faculty members with expertise in the topic and a supervisor’s evaluation.
| “TRN377 was a transformative course that taught me how to develop a research topic, understand that topic using primary sources, and articulate my findings in an academic context. Under the guidance of a faculty mentor, I engaged with research at a depth I had never experienced before. This process shaped me into a much stronger researcher and equipped me with tools that I have consistently used and will continue to use in my education.”
– Former Trinity student, now studying at Oxford University “TRN377 allowed me to do in-depth research on a policy area that I didn’t get to work on in other courses. The self-directed nature helped me develop independent research skills and taught me how to take initiative on my projects. However, Professor Boehm was always present for support and discussing my ideas. Overall, it was a highly rewarding experience and I recommend it to all students.” – Former Trinity student, now articling at a law firm “TRN 377 and 477 were two of the most intellectually rewarding courses I took over the course of my undergrad at U of T. I was given the opportunity to explore literature to which I have never been exposed in order to shape and sharpen my own ideas. By the end of 377 I had produced an argument of which I was proud; 477 gave me the opportunity to refine and develop these arguments further. Having a summer between the two to let my ideas sit for a period, I feel that my paper by the end of 477 was almost entirely different, solely due to the maturity of my ideas after thinking about my topic for two years. My favourite aspect of the courses is that I was able to explore a topic – with faculty support – in which I was interested despite the topic being entirely separate from my field of study. What you write about is up to you; this freedom is something I haven’t experienced elsewhere and is very rewarding”. –Former Trinity student, now in a PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania “I wanted to share some good news about my comprehensive paper. It has been accepted and will be published in this year’s issue of “Pensées Canadiennes.” I wanted to thank you both for your help throughout the process. Professor Stang, your supervision was beyond valuable, both in terms of getting me to ask the right philosophical questions and subsequently developing the paper’s thesis. Professor Boehm, your administration made the whole process very enjoyable”. – Former Trinity student, now a TA in Dept of Philosophy |