Minor Assignment 1

Directions: Write a formal research proposal for Major Project 1.

Audience: Your instructor

Length: 600-750 words
Purpose: To inform your instructor about the following:
  • The idea that your have for a business, located in the New Paltz, NY region.
  • Write a business Mission and Vision Statement. These are two different things, so pay attention to the business.
  • Write three paragraphs describing your business. You may not have a lot of information yet, of course, but sketch out some preliminary ideas for this business. You will need to include a photograph of the proposed location of your business—plan accordingly.
  • Write one paragraph explaining why you choose this particular type of business. Do you have a background in this industry? Do you have friends or relatives who work in this industry? Do you plan to work in this industry in the future?
  • Write one paragraph commenting upon your previous experience with writing a business plan and/or a research paper. Have you written either of these? What was your experience like?  Do you anticipate any difficulties with this project based on your previous experiences?
  • Create a list of 3-4 research questions that you will need to find the answers to. You may bullet this list. Some examples might be:
    • Why is the New Paltz area a good location for this business?
    • Who would my target customers be?
    • What are current trends in this industry?
  • Write one paragraph in which you share two internet sources that contain information about the New Paltz area that you might use for your business plan. Include hyperlinks to each of these sources. Explain why these sources look useful.
  • Required: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Statement: 150-200-word Statement (does not count towards the word length of the essay)
    At the end of the essay, in a separate section, please write a paragraph of approximately 150-200 words answering the following questions:
    • How did you use ChatGPT or another generative AI program? Identify which tool(s) you used and explain how you used it and whether you found it valuable or not.
    • If you did NOT use a generative AI  program, why didn’t you? Explain.

Minor Assignment 2

Objective: To critically evaluate and synthesize sources related to your research topic. 

Directions: 

  • Source Selection: Identify and select 3 articles or sources published recently (preferably 2018 and later). Look for sources that discuss industry statistics and trends.  You will be using these sources to write these two sections of your business plan:

C) EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT (refer to the Business Plan— Major Assignment 1 — template)

D) MARKET ANALYSIS (refer to the Business Plan— Major Assignment 1 — template)

To find out more about these two sections, please refer to the directions for the Business Plan (Major Project 1)

  • You may use articles from popular sources such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, etc.  

  • However, at least one of your sources should be from a peer-reviewed journal, government or industry publication.

  • All 3 of these sources must have been retrieved from our library’s databases. 

What type of sources?

Best:

• Article from scholarly journal
• Book chapter
• Industry report (of several pages)

Good:

• An industry magazine article of substantial length (not less than 400 words)
• A newspaper or magazine article from a publication like the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Washington Post that is not less than 400 words

Length: 500+ words (excluding the publication information; the citation); double-spaced; use MLA formatting for sources.

MLA 9 Citation: List each source separately, as it will appear on your works cited page, according to MLA 8 or 9 formatting guidelines.
Annotated Bibliography Entry Format 

  • Citation: Start with the full citation of the source in MLA.  

  • Summary: In 2-4 sentences, summarize the main arguments or findings of the source. 

  • Parenthetical Citation: At the end of each summary include a parenthetical citation, which corresponds to the MLA citation. 

  • Personal Reflection: Write a brief reflection (4-6 sentences) on one or more of the following questions: 

    • A question or thought the article provoked in you. 

    • A connection you made between the article and other readings or classes. 

    • How this source might be useful in your future research or projects. 

  • Unique Detail(s): (You can use a bulleted list.) Mention a unique detail, fact, or statistic from the article that stood out to you. This could be a surprising result, a particular methodology, or a specific quotation. Include page numbers. 

In-Class Presentation: You will use this information in the upcoming in-class presentation.  

Integrity Reminder: This assignment is meant to hone your research and critical reading skills. While tools like ChatGPT are impressive and have their place in research, using them to bypass reading and understanding your sources directly is a disservice to your education. The intentional misrepresentation of work, including the use of AI summaries as your own, constitutes academic dishonesty and will be dealt with according to our institution’s academic integrity policy. 

Evaluation Criteria: 

  • Relevance of Sources: How pertinent are your sources to your chosen topic? Are they credible? 

  • Quality of Summaries: Do they capture the main arguments or findings? 

  • Depth of Reflection: Does your reflection show thoughtful engagement with the source? 

  • Accuracy of Unique Detail: Is the detail you’ve chosen genuinely unique and interesting? 

  • Engagement in In-Class Discussion: Can you articulate and discuss the points from your sources in a group setting? [Later in the semester, you will need to discuss your sources during your in-class presentation.]

Major Project 1

Directions: Write a Business Plan for a  brick-and-mortar business  that will be located in New Paltz, New York. While you may have an online presence, the business must have a brick-and-mortar presence in the area.

You may not open a franchise or chain business, such as a Jersey Mikes or Marriott.

 

As part of this plan, you will identify a need for this business. This will require you to know something about the Hudson Valley Region, local demographics, local resources, and local industry/retail/services.
Purpose of the Plan: To secure financial backing from potential investors.  The plan should be written in such a way as to attract investors.
Primary Audience: Potential investors
Secondary Audience: Your instructor and peers
Limit to Assignment: Your business budget should not exceed 1.5 million. In other words, you should not be thinking about starting a new Apple or IBM!
Length: 10+ pages, 1.5 inches spacing; works cited page; follow the template and refer to the sample business plan.
Note: You may NOT recycle a business plan you wrote for another course, whether in college or in high school.
 Requirements: Use of at least 7 outside sources— 3 must be sources from the Sojourner Truth Library.
Everyone will likely want to use information from the Office of Institutional Research: Office of Institutional Research

Required: MLA formatting, which includes in-text (parenthetical citations) and a works cited page. Yes, you must use in-text citations in this business plan—do not include information without citing where you found it!

Note: In certain sections, such as the SWOT analysis, you will use hyperlinks to your outside sources. Please follow the directions for hyperlinking carefully.