CONCE

PT
PAPER
EXPECTATIONS
Specifically, this module will help you
to:
1. Identify what is a Concept Paper
2. Analyse text by applying Concept
paper
3. Appreciate the craftmanship or
writing
 BRIEF INTRODUCTION

A concept paper is a brief paper

written by a student around a
research question before undertaking
the research. The paper is about two
or three pages long and provides key
details about the research, such as
the question, purpose, and methods.
 The paper allows the supervisor to
gauge how well the student
understands the research, based on
which the supervisor may provide
inputs and guidance for conducting
the research. In certain cases, the
supervisor may also decide that the
student should instead pursue a
different research question from the
one proposed.
WHAT IS A CONCEPT PAPER?

An academic concept paper is a brief

summary of a research project written
by a student who is about to conduct a
certain research. It outlines the project
in around 2-3 pages and its purpose is
to give the department an idea of what
the research is about, why the research
is important, and how it will be carried
out.
TYPICALLY, A CONCEPT PAPER CONTAINS
THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:

1. A title which is usually in the

form of a question.
2. A brief overview of the
research topic, including a
summary of what is already
known about that topic.
3. A brief statement of the research
question that the project will seek to
answer. This is usually done in one or
two sentences.
4. An explanation of why this research
question is important and why this
project is worth writing.
5. A description of how the methods
that the researcher plans to use to
answer the research question.
THREE WAYS IN EXPLAINING A
CONCEPT:
1. Definition is the method of
identifying a given term and
making its meaning clearer. Its
main purpose is to clarify and
explain concepts, ideas and issues
by answering the question, “what
does it mean?”
2. Explication is a method of
explanation in which
sentences, verses, quotes or
passages are taken from a
literary or academic work
and then interpreted and
explained in a detailed way.
3. Clarification is a method of
explanation in which the points
are organized from a general
abstract idea to specific and
concrete examples. It entails the
analysis of the concept by
looking at the examples.
ACTIVITY 1.1

Research an example of a
concept paper and
identify its method.
Explain why.