A few words on the Editing Project Prospectus, which is due next week.
The prospectus should be 2 pages long. It's worth 5% of your final grade. The function of the prospectus--like any prospectus, including the kind scholars send to publishers to try to secure contracts--is to explain what project is being undertaken and why it is worthwhile. In your case, this will entail describing the
document you are editing—its title, authorship (if known), date, theme, tone or style, rhetorical characteristics,
political orientation—and why it is important or illuminating in the broader context of
revolutionary England. Accordingly, preparing the Editing Project Prospectus involves careful thinking, planning, and a substantial first wave of
research.
I suggest an opening paragraph that gives a factual and material description of the text you are editing (title, authorship, date, form, etc), another paragraph or two sketching out the relevant historical and cultural context in which it was composed, and a final paragraph or two describing how your particular text contributes to or otherwise takes part in that context. If done properly, you will have completed a significant portion of the research for the Introduction to your Edition Project in completing your Prospectus.
Please don't hesitate to be in touch with me if you have any questions about this assignment.
