Here is an abridged version of the email I just sent my committee chair:
Dr. Nolan,
I’ve attached my Chapters 1 and 2. These are incorporated into my working template for the proposal including the references, so this is basically my proposal sans Chapter 3.
As I said at the end of my previous message, I feel fairly good about the quality of this draft now. My main concern is the (potentially obnoxious) length of Chapter 2. When I skim through it, I’m happy each part contributes something meaningful (and is reasonably well assembled), so for now I’m leaving it all in. As I mentioned, there are whole sections I can cut or collapse if necessary. I’ll wait for your initial feedback though.
Incidentally, I expect Chapter 3 to be more reasonable in length – more like Chapter 1 than Chapter 2.
Also, there are some stylistic things I want to change in these first two chapters when it comes to the actual dissertation, but right now I’m in “get it done” mode. I hope there are some things that you might want changed that can wait for the dissertation, too.
In the meantime, let me know right away if you have any immediate concerns. I look forward to your feedback. :)
-Mark
Because it is almost 1 MB, I’m sending a link to the file instead of an attachment:
PS. If my lengthy and quote heavy style does not demonstrate that I can succinctly synthesize the material, please see my series of blog posts in which I summarized each section “in a nutshell” of about one page in length (Note: These blog posts appear in reverse chronological order): http://edtechlife.com/?s=nutshell
I’m very excited that I was able to reach this milestone (however temporary) before heading out to NECC. I am worried about the length of Chapter 2 (at 232 pages I think), and I don’t expect any of you will want to read it, but as usual, here it is for inspection and posterity… and a safe backup. :)