Homework answers / question archive / Social Inclusion of Deaf with Hearing Congregants within a Ministerial Setting Sample Student Liberty University INDS 400: Knowledge Synthesis for Professional and Personal Development January 3, 2020 2 Abstract Culture can influence how people interact and the level of inclusion of different cultures in a particular setting

Social Inclusion of Deaf with Hearing Congregants within a Ministerial Setting Sample Student Liberty University INDS 400: Knowledge Synthesis for Professional and Personal Development January 3, 2020 2 Abstract Culture can influence how people interact and the level of inclusion of different cultures in a particular setting

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Social Inclusion of Deaf with Hearing Congregants within a Ministerial Setting Sample Student Liberty University INDS 400: Knowledge Synthesis for Professional and Personal Development January 3, 2020 2 Abstract Culture can influence how people interact and the level of inclusion of different cultures in a particular setting. While numerous studies have been conducted examining deaf studies and deaf culture, there is a curious lack of research that has specifically considered the level of inclusion of deaf people in evangelical hearing churches. This research proposal includes an interdisciplinary including a literature review that examines a handful of studies on interactions among deaf and hearing populations to consider challenges of hearing and deaf integration. Examining these diverse perspectives, including Catholic ministry, disability ministry and deaf culture, provides a fresh interdisciplinary perspective to approach the challenges of deaf inclusion in ministerial settings. It was found through this literature review that a gap in scholarly research exists in this area. As further research would be necessary to address this gap, the goal of this research proposal is to conduct a qualitative study for further research by petitioning deaf perspective through online interviews utilizing the social media platform of Facebook. Although a low budget would be necessary, the implications of this research would provide a platform to open community conversation to address challenges and provide ideas on integration of deaf and hearing congregants in evangelical hearing churches. Examining deaf perspectives may provide additional information for fellowship, growth and exposure to the Gospel for deaf congregants in these settings. The purpose of this qualitative study on social inclusion of deaf people is to discover experiences, perspective and ideas of deaf visitors and attendees in an evangelical hearing church in a northeastern state of the United States in order to explore issues, raise awareness and improve practices within the church for inclusion of the local deaf population. Keywords: deaf studies, ministry, church, 3 Social Inclusion of Deaf with Hearing Congregants within a Ministerial Setting In an age when minority groups are finding much societal integration, social integration and inclusion of deaf and hearing congregants within the context of evangelical ministerial settings creates a unique challenge for ministry leadership who seek to provide opportunities for inclusion of deaf with hearing congregants for fellowship and spiritual growth in local communities. The purpose of this study in examining existing research from diverse perspectives through an interdisciplinary approach was to identify the gap in scholarship regarding deaf inclusion in evangelical hearing churches. A handful of studies have examined interactions among deaf and hearing populations from a number of perspectives, which prove beneficial when examining the subject through Deaf Studies and Ministry lenses. The goal of this research is to propose further study in order to address the gap in research through opening the community conversation to deaf perspective. In consideration of the diverse perspectives examined, including mainstreamed deaf and hearing college students, deaf inclusion in Catholic ministry and ministry to teens with disabilities, an opportunity to approach the subject from an interdisciplinary vantage point to address this gap in scholarship exists and reveals the need for further study regarding inclusion of deaf in ministerial settings in evangelical hearing churches and initiate a community conversation. Literature Review Culturally deaf people in the United States define themselves by their shared experiences and language as a cultural and linguistic minority group. However, many in the hearing community perceive people who are deaf as disabled and see what they cannot do over what they can do in spite of not having the ability to hear. These differing perspectives impact inclusion of deaf people in ministerial settings. Portolano (2015) examined one such setting in a study 4 conducted on the history of deaf Catholics from 1949 to 1977, noting the struggle for inclusion in parish life. This study found a robust field of scholarship in America in deaf studies while noting there still exists a curious lack of studies on the experience of deaf Catholics in the United States and few studies acknowledging deaf Catholics as a minority group (Portolano, 2015). The study found differing perspectives in the deaf Catholic community where some saw deafness as a disability that needed intervention and others viewed it as a cultural and linguistic minority group, noting that while some progress has been made, isolation and inequality among the hearing continued to present closed doors for the deaf (Portolano, 2015). Recognizing deafness as a cultural and linguistic minority while actively seeking that deaf perspective be added to the conversation may provide insight toward ministerial inclusion and integration in hearing congregations for this people group. Another interdisciplinary perspective to be considered is one of ministry with people with disabilities. While deaf people do not view themselves as disabled, insight can be gained in reviewing research conducted around this type of ministry. Jacober (2007) studied experiences of families of teens with disabilities with church ministries with the purpose of raising awareness and interest in ministry for this group. In this study, Jacober (2007) administered interviews across nine states between 2004 and 2006 with the parent or parents of 17 families with an adolescent with a disability. The results indicated common themes including feeling ignored, being overlooked and feeling that people made no attempt to engage the persons with disabilities (Jacober, 2007). While the need for integration is evident for people with disabilities, including and raising awareness of deaf perspective through interviews can bring a fresh perspective in considering inclusion of the deaf in ministerial settings. 5 Another perspective considered in the nature of deaf and hearing interaction is found in research concerning deaf and hearing student populations mainstreamed together in colleges. One such study by Foster and DeCaro (1991) examined social interaction levels and communication barriers between deaf and hearing students living on mainstreamed dorm floors at the Rochester Institute of Technology in which the goal was to promote interaction between deaf and hearing college students. They found that deaf students were more likely than hearing students to focus on the opportunity of interacting with their hearing counterparts in choosing to live in the mainstreamed setting, whereas the hearing students focused on the dorm’s physical benefits for determining the choice (Foster & DeCaro, 1991). Through interviews with students, they also found that students noted that an attempt to communicate drew people together and intentional persistent attempts resulted in mutual respect (Foster & DeCaro, 1991). They found that hearing student perceptions on deafness were seldom based on experience with deaf people and many had no experience with deaf people, while deaf students brought varied experience with the hearing world with them (Foster & DeCaro, 1991). They found that fear was a common factor in which primarily hearing students had a fear of the unfamiliar and unpredictable nature of relating to deaf students (Foster & DeCaro, 1991). Considering this perspective and the similar goal of promoting interaction between deaf and hearing in evangelical church settings can shed light on perceptions of deaf and hearing church congregants. Additionally, deaf students noted the snobbery of the hearing students and noted their unfriendliness and refusal to strive for communication (Foster & DeCaro, 1991). Both populations experienced embarrassment and discomfort; however Foster & DeCaro (1991) found that most concluded that deaf and hearing could live side by side without much difficulty. Deaf 6 students also noted that respect from the deaf were given to the hearing for attempts to learn sign language and Deaf culture (Foster & DeCaro, 1991). Another study by Miller (2010) examined the epistemological perspectives of deaf and hearing perspectives in their understanding of deaf people, their language of ASL, their culture and views of the hearing world’s treatment of deaf people. Examining how deaf and hearing interact and perceive one another contributes fresh perspective to deaf inclusion in the ministerial setting of the hearing church and demonstrates the need for further research in the deaf perspective in these settings. Another study by Carter, Bumble, Griffin and Curcio (2017) was conducted to investigate how congregation members perceived how to foster a sense of inclusion and support among people in the congregation who had teenagers with disabilities. In this study, Carter et al. (2017) used “communication conversation” events in two locations in a southeastern state in the United States, analyzing over 1,000 ideas generated by 175 participants. They found that community dialogue revealed recommendations including family supports, hospitality initiatives, awareness efforts and intentional reflection and teaming within ministerial leadership as pertaining to presenting needs (Carter et al., 2017). They also found congregants had a number of ideas for supporting the involvement of teenagers with disabilities including worship services, religious education, small groups and other inclusive congregational activities (Carter et al., 2017). These findings from community conversations regarding populations of people with disabilities highlight possibilities for community dialogue including deaf perspective regarding deaf integration and inclusion in ministerial settings of hearing churches. The purpose of this literature review was to consider diverse perspectives including mainstreamed deaf and hearing college students, deaf inclusion in Catholic ministry and ministry to teens with disabilities with an interdisciplinary approach. In studying these varied 7 perspectives, it becomes significant to note the gap in scholarship pertaining to the study of inclusion and integration of deaf people in ministerial settings in evangelical hearing churches. Much scholarship exists in the area of deaf studies including deaf culture and mainstreaming deaf in hearing educational settings, but there remains a lack of interdisciplinary perspective of the topic of inclusion and integration of the deaf in the evangelical ministry setting. While scholarship mentions ministry with teens with disabilities and Catholic ministry with the deaf, it is curiously silent regarding this issue. Methodology Twenty deaf people who have visited and/or attended an evangelical church of 1,000 congregants in the northeastern United States will be interviewed utilizing a specific list of questions through a private Facebook platform (Jacober, 2007). Questions regarding how to foster a sense of inclusion and support, recommendations for awareness efforts and ideas for involvement will be asked (Carter et al., 2017). Individual deaf people who have visited or attended the church will be sent a private Facebook invitation to participate and offered an incentive gift certificate to a local restaurant in order to increase response rate. Permission from the individual interviewees will be attained. The online platform was chosen for the comfort of the interviewees to use their first language ASL for responses as many deaf people regularly use Facebook to discuss issues and are familiar and comfortable with this platform. As ASL is a visual language and facial expressions and gestures are important, the video recording will capture the content for later viewing with the added benefit of alleviating the distraction of the interviewer’s presence. Each of the recorded interview responses will subsequently be interpreted by an ASL interpreter and transcribed for the researcher for further study. If there is a participant response to 8 a particular question that is different from the responses of other participants, a follow-up inperson interview will be requested of that participant to allow an opportunity for more understanding of the response. An ASL interpreter would be present for follow-up face-to-face interviews. The resulting qualitative data from all interview responses and follow-up interviews will be analyzed for patterns and trends. Although in a small sample of twenty participants, drawing of statistical conclusions will not be possible, a coding process will be used to measure common responses and patterns. This coding will thus be used to create a presentation table to display common responses for analysis by the researcher and presentation to churches. Rationale Research in the local perspectives and ideas from a deaf cultural perspective is important to study because findings will impact deaf inclusion in the local evangelical church setting. The purpose of this qualitative study in a northeastern state in the United States is to discover the experiences of the deaf in a hearing church setting and opportunities for their integration within the church (Jacober, 2007). The main objective hoped to be accomplished in this study is to determine specific ideas from a deaf cultural perspective regarding deaf inclusion in the hearing evangelical church setting, bringing more understanding to the hearing community regarding deaf culture and recognizing deaf input into the conversation of integration. This study aims to address the difference in the deaf cultural perspective with the goal of integrating deaf congregants in the hearing ministerial setting and striving toward social inclusion, while discovering the value deaf people add to the community of believers (Kyle, 1988). By giving the deaf a voice in the conversation, the local deaf have the opportunity to become part of the community of believers and contribute a unique value to that community (Kyle, 1988). The goal is to foster meaningful input of deaf perspective that leads to inclusion of deaf congregants in the 9 evangelical hearing church setting (Kyle, 1988). Seeking to add cultural deaf perspective to the conversation can promote deaf-hearing integration and inclusion with the goal of uncovering the value and unique contributions deaf individuals have to add to the community of believers (Kyle, 1988). Findings will be provided to the church leadership teams of northeastern churches in the United States that have attempted to provide sign language interpreters for deaf congregants. Results of analysis of interviews will be presented to church leadership teams with the intention to understand the perspective of the deaf community and to help identify opportunities and ideas for inclusion. This study seeks to explore issues and raise awareness to improve practices within the church for inclusion of the deaf population in order to provide opportunities for fellowship, growth and access to the Gospel (Jacober, 2007). While much scholarship exists regarding deaf studies and deaf culture, there is a notable lack of research regarding deaf culture from an evangelical ministerial perspective. As church leadership teams in northeastern churches seek to include and minister to deaf congregants, ample opportunity exists to reach and foster inclusion of this marginalized minority group in local evangelical Christian ministries. Conclusion Examining diverse perspectives in Deaf Studies and Ministry in the literature review revealed a gap in scholarship regarding the social inclusion of deaf people in evangelical church settings and presented an opportunity to approach the subject from an interdisciplinary vantage point while revealing a need for further study. Cultural deaf perspective in the literature review revealed varied perspectives of the definition of deaf culture as some view deafness as a disability and some view it as a cultural and linguistic minority. Differing perspectives of deaf and hearing congregants of evangelical hearing churches presents an opportunity for more 10 understanding through community conversation that will foster social inclusion and integration of deaf congregants. The goal of this research proposal is to add deaf perspective, experiences and ideas to the community conversation to raise awareness and fresh perspective. Determining specific ideas from a deaf cultural perspective regarding deaf inclusion in the hearing evangelical church setting can bring more understanding to the hearing community while including deaf contribution in the community conversation. Understanding deaf cultural perspective on issues of inclusion in local churches will allow leadership of hearing churches to more readily assess the convergence of deaf and hearing congregants and more successfully approach challenges associated with including this minority group in ministerial settings. 11 References An Ecological Model of Social Interaction between Deaf and Hearing Students within a Postsecondary Educational Setting. (1991). Disability, Handicap & Society, 6(3), 181201. Antia, S. D., & Kreimeyer, K. H. (1996). Social interaction and acceptance of deaf or hard-ofhearing children and their peers: A comparison of social-skills and familiarity-based interventions. Volta Review, 98(4), 157-80. Carter, E., Bumble, J., Griffin, B., & Curcio, M. (2017). Community Conversations on Faith and Disability: Identifying New Practices, Postures, and Partners for Congregations. Pastoral Psychology, 66(5), 575-594. Jacober, A. E. (2007). Ostensibly Welcome: Exploratory Research on the Youth Ministry Experiences of Families of Teenagers with Disabilities. Journal Of Youth Ministry, 6(1), 67-92. Kersting, S. A. (1997). Balancing Between Deaf and Hearing Worlds: Reflections of Mainstreamed College Students on Relationships and Social Interaction. Journal Of Deaf Studies & Deaf Education, 2(4), 252-263. Kyle, J. G., & Pullen, G. (1988). Cultures in Contact: deaf and hearing people. Disability, Handicap & Society, 3(1), 49-61. Miller, M. S. (2010). Epistemology and People Who Are Deaf: Deaf Worldviews, Views of the Deaf World, or My Parents Are Hearing. American Annals Of The Deaf, 154(5), 479-485. Portolano, M. (2015). "Shun not the struggle": The Language and Culture of Deaf Catholics in the U.S., 1949-1977. U.S. Catholic Historian, 33(3), 99-124. 1 2 Abstract Literature Review The purpose of this section is to detail the existing research on the pregnancy effects on singers and the physiological changes that women undergo that present some changes in their singing. Several women struggle with the noticeable physiological transformations attained by pregnancy; however, some of such changes are exceptionally disheartening for singers in particular. A singer's body makes up her instrument, and undergoing alterations may affect overall singing attributes, including the amount of breath, vocal range or technique, vocal tone, and other related issues (Gates, Forrest, & Obert, 2013). These are attributed to prompt and substantial physiological changes, including abdominal muscle changes, respiratory tract changes, and hormonal changes. Different studies have reviewed how these physiological changes in pregnant women generally affect singers; however, few studies exist that explore the possible increased vocal range and warmer vocal timbre due to these physiological changes throughout trimesters and postpartum periods in pregnancy. As the pregnancy develops, breathing may appear challenging. This is because of body changes in the abdominal and thoracic levels (Emerick Gordon & Reed, 2020). As such, breathing happens on the upper part of the lungs, offering deprived respiratory support resulting in laborious breathing. At this time, controlling the aerodynamic lung and myoelastic laryngeal forces becomes difficult. The growing fetus directly affects exhalation and inhalation, which are key aspects for singers. A study by Emerick Gordon and Reed (2020) shows four diaphragms, which have roles in respiration. These diaphragms include cervical, thoracic, cranial, and pelvic 3 diaphragm. The four diaphragms move with one another symbiotically and are solely responsible for fluid movement in the body during respiration. The thoracic diaphragm is considered the primary diagram and affects all other ones as it moves (Emerick Gordon & Reed, 2020). A solid and effective contraction of the pelvic floor during breathing assists diaphragmatic motion. However, such pelvic contractions are limited during pregnancy. There exists a limited room in a pregnant woman's chest and abdominal cavities as the existing capacity for inspiration is decreased since the uterus grows to fill it. According to LoMauro and Aliverti (2015), the gradual uterine distension forms the primary cause of changes in the chest wall and lung volume during pregnancy. These comprise diaphragm elevation and changed thoracic conformation (Soma-Pillay et al., 2016). The pregnant woman breathes profoundly and faster to rid the body of carbon dioxide in exhalation. The faster breathing can also happen because the growing uterus limits lung expansion during inhalation. Exhalation is also compromised since the diaphragm works against opposition presented by the expanding uterus and other organs in the abdomen. This makes it hard for a singer to cause delay of diaphragm ascension, thereby resulting in an uncontrolled exhalation rate. Singers may lean down the abdominal viscera, appogio technique, controlling airflow rate when singing and working simultaneously with competing the abdominal wall's isometric force against viscera (Soma-Pillay et al., 2016). Thus, expectant women need enough added force in exhalation for the vibration of vocal cords to produce good sound. One of the essential observances in singing is good posture and breath support, accompanied by good respiration. Therefore, singers ought to be aware of postural changes in pregnancy. According to Peultier-Celli et al. (2020), effective posture permits singers in a static posture to transfer tension in muscles fluidly. This enables the free larynx motion causing an 4 advantage to voice production since there is no blockage. Pregnancy arches the back and may result in disfigured posture for singers, thereby causing vocal dysfunction. Hormonal change is one of the physiological factors that affect women's voices in pregnancy. The larynx has been shown as subject to hormonal influence. According to La and Sundberg (2012), both menstrual cycle and pregnancy are reported as linked to vocal alterations from reaction to sex hormonal steroid differences. Research shows that a rise in progesterone and estrogen intensities affects the larynx triggering mucosal membranes' swelling in vocal folds. Such swelling may result in problems with the vocals, same as the ones in the premenstrual period. As such, the voice appears hoarse, muffled, and with a short-range. When the woman undergoes the third trimester, progesterone levels increase, leading to vocal fatigue. A condition referred to as Laryngopathia gravidarum is often observed in pregnant women. It is the appearance of redness, swelling, and small sub-mucous hemorrhage in the larynx of pregnant with strained voices (Will, 2013). Furthermore, according to Will (2013), androgen production in pregnancy is rare, but when it happens, it may cause a permanent change to voice thus, altering vocal quality or brilliance and lowering a singer's vocal range and power. This androgen production occurs mainly in menopause, where women tend to have decreased ability to hit high notes. Nonetheless, there are instances when singers recovered from androgenic voice alterations to their professional singing voices. The increased estrogen and progesterone at various gestation periods cause phonation difficulty and changes in vocal folds' vibratory function. The epithelial layer, the outmost lubrication layer that surrounds the vocal folds, allows for free vibration of these vocal folds. The layer comprises a large number of blood vessels, which are distended during the gestation period, thus leading to thickness and sluggishness of the surface. According 5 to Harper (2019), such thickness may cause a challenge in phonation and result in alterations in vocal aesthetic and stamina in the woman's tone. Additionally, progesterone increases lead to a rise in tissue viscosity and dryness. Studies show that women with pregnancy are likely to raise concerns about vocal symptoms, with around eight percent complaining of hoarseness and 12 percent complaining about fatigue (Pisanski et al., 2018). These women further exhibit a reduction in maximum phonation time in comparison to non-pregnant women. Further, according to Pisanski et al. (2018), mothers' voices become monotonous and lower-pitched in their first postpartum year, contrary to during the gestation period or before the pregnancy. In another study, pregnant women experienced nasal congestion because of mucosa swelling in the nasal cavity (Ghaemi et al., 2018). In addition, there was gastroesophageal reflux resulting in about 65 percent of pregnant women who reported symptoms. This happened as the pregnancy progressed, which caused irritation of the chords and can result in the bursting of vocal blood vessels (Ghaemi et al., 2018). Several studies exist that review the several effects of pregnancy on singers; nonetheless, it comes to attention that limited study has been done on increased vocal ranges and warmer vocal timbre. The noticeable physiological effects may cause different effects on singers; however, many singers may wish to sing even in their pregnancy period. Research on possible positive vocal changes and voice timbre still lacks even though some women may report possible positive changes in the vocal qualities during pregnancy. Therefore, this study explores this gap in exhibiting such possibilities. Methodology 6 Clinical data will be collected from electronic one-to-one interactive interviews via email from 30 women who are professional singers; 10 women will be in their pre-partum; 10 women will be in their trimester; and 10 women will be in their postpartum. I will search online for female professional singers who are in their pre-partum, in trimester, and postpartum and request them to volunteer for the research. For the individual volunteers, the interviews will be conducted via email, with permission from the professional singers. Data collected will entail a self-assessment of quality of life related to voice, the voice intensity at different pitches, the change in vocal timbre and vocal range, and the maximum phonation time for the three sets of women. The principal focus is to assess and ask questions related to any changes in the vocal timbre and range during pre-partum, trimester, and postpartum for professional singers. Therefore, an analysis of variance test will be used for the group-comparisons of data to detect any changes in the maximum phonation time, voice intensity and changes in vocal timbre and range. Rationale Since this is a qualitative research, gaining an in-depth understanding of the experience of women concerning physiological changes during pregnancy and postpartum will help eliminate the fear of having a baby by professional singers. There are different factors that contribute to the changes in vocal timbre and range, including hormonal changes, weight gain, complications during pregnancy and the singer’s fitness level. The principal objective, therefore, to be accomplished in this research, is to ascertain how different professional singers feel about having a baby during their career and if they fear having low performance during their presentations. According to Cassiraga et al. (2012), from conception till postpartum, pregnancy alters the anatomic and physiologic parameters of women. Therefore, because of this, pregnancy impacts 7 the attributes of one’s voice by changing its quality and perturbation rates. Furthermore, according to Pisanski, Bhardwaj & Reby (2018), present data does not answer the question on whether postpartum voice changes is an evolved signal or a byproduct, therefore, this research will answer the question on whether the postpartum changes in women’s voices is a reflection of the physiological changes during and after pregnancy and the impact on potential listeners and music producers. Particularly, many professional singers wish to sing even during their pregnancy periods, however, the change in voice is a concern. Thus, providing information to the public on how pregnancy affects the voice quality of professional singers will aid in promoting the awareness of such changes. Many pregnant professional singers will thus feel comfortable and accept the impact of pregnancy on their voice timbre and range. As detailed in the literature review, there is still a lack of adequate research on the possible vocal range and timbre changes even though different women report changes in the intensity and quality of their voice during pregnancy and postpartum. Therefore, in addition, this research will be important to fill such gap. Conclusion 8 9 References Cassiraga, V. L., Castellano, A. V., Abasolo, J., Abin, E. N., & Izbizky, G. H. (2012). Pregnancy and voice: changes during the third trimester. Journal of Voice, 26(5), 584-586. Emerich Gordon, K., & Reed, O. (2020). The Role of the Pelvic Floor in Respiration: A Gates, R., Forrest, L. A., & Obert, K. (2013). The owner's manual to the voice: a guide for singers and other professional voice users. Oxford University Press. Ghaemi, H., Dehqan, A., Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari, B., & Scherer, R. C. (2018). Voice Changes During Pregnancy Trimesters in Iranian Pregnant Women. Journal of Voice. Harper, S. (2019). Pregnancy and the Voice: Surveying Effects from the Singer's Perspective (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Memphis). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2018.09.024 Lã, F. M. B., & Sundberg, J. (2012). Pregnancy and the singing voice: Reports from a case study. Journal of Voice, 26(4), 431-439. LoMauro, A., & Aliverti, A. (2015). Respiratory physiology of pregnancy: physiology masterclass. Breathe, 11(4), 297-301. Multidisciplinary Literature Review. Journal of Voice, 34(2), 243–249. Peultier-Celli, L., Audouin, M., Beyaert, C., & Perrin, P. (2020). Postural Control in Lyric Singers. Journal of Voice. Peultier-Celli, L., Audouin, M., Beyaert, C., & Perrin, P. (2020). Postural Control in Lyric Singers. Journal of Voice. Pisanski, K., Bhardwaj, K., & Reby, D. (2018). Women’s voice pitch lowers after pregnancy. Evolution and Human Behavior, 39(4), 457–463. 10 Soma-Pillay, P., Catherine, N. P., Tolppanen, H., Mebazaa, A., Tolppanen, H., & Mebazaa, A. (2016). Physiological changes in pregnancy. Cardiovascular journal of Africa, 27(2), 89. Will, A. P. (2013). Pregnancy and postpartum: a guide for singers. Arizona State University. Research Proposal Instructions Prompt: In 2,000-2,500 words, create a research proposal for your research topic that includes an abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, rationale, conclusion, and references (the last of which not counting towards the word count) in that order. Requirements: 1. You may use first person, but not second person. Only use first person when absolutely necessary to talk about the fact that you are proposing research. Some sections like the literature review should not have any at all, but you will likely need it in the methodology. 2. Your grammar, spelling, and punctuation should be flawless. Visit the Liberty University writing centers if you want extra help: https://www.liberty.edu/academics/casas/academicsuccess/index.cfm?PID=38382 3. You must use APA formatting. 4. When proposing that you will be doing an action (like in your methodology) if your proposal is accepted, speak in the future tense. 5. Use Level 1 APA headings to differentiate between sections. 6. Your abstract should be a 150-250-word summary of what sections and topics are contained in your research proposal; avoid arguing your case there. Your abstract should be a scientific description of the parts of your proposal and what purpose they serve in the context of your proposal. 7. Remember that the introduction of your literature review is not the same as the introduction overall—the overall introduction usually focuses on the topic and segues into introducing the research hypothesis or question, which is typically the last sentence of the introduction. 8. In your conclusion, summarize your main ideas and emphasize the importance and future helpfulness of what you are doing. Additional Suggestions: 1. Keep your audience in mind throughout. While your professor will grade your essay, remember that your audience will likely be someone who can grant money to support your research. Assume that person, committee, or organization is somewhat interested in your research topic. How can you show them that your plan to study it is a good one that deserves financial support? It will be easier to convince them if you can show you’ve done your research, your reasons for studying this topic lines up with theirs, and your plan to study it will be effective. 2. Look over the comments your instructor has made on your other related assignments and be sure to update sections of your research proposal for this assignment. Learn from past mistakes and successes. 3. Once you have put together all the pieces, read through your proposal several times to make sure that tone, ideas, and arguments stay consistent throughout. You’ve sorted out the puzzle pieces, but you need to make sure they all fit.