Progress Checkpoint (M4)
LING 250/450, Spring 2026
Due: April 3 (submit PDF on Blackboard)
Spring break is behind you, and the semester’s final stretch is ahead. This milestone is a structured check-in: where are you, how does it compare to your M3 plan, and what’s the path from here to the finish line?
By now you should have made meaningful progress — data in hand, at least some analysis underway, and a clearer sense of what your results will actually look like. The goal of this milestone is to surface that progress, surface any complications, and make a concrete plan for the remaining weeks.
Progress Report
Write a progress report addressing each of the following. There is no strict length requirement, but be specific — vague answers (“I’ve been working on the data”) are not useful to you or to me.
What have you completed?
Describe concretely what you’ve done since M3. This might include: obtaining and cleaning your data, writing scripts or running analyses, completing a literature search, or producing initial results. If you have preliminary findings — even negative or inconclusive ones — report them here.
What has changed from your M3 plan?
Research rarely goes exactly as planned. If your direction, dataset, methods, or hypothesis has shifted since M3, explain what changed and why. A moderate course correction at this stage is normal and expected — plans meet reality, and good researchers adapt. What’s not expected is a complete restart; if you’re considering scrapping your M3 direction entirely, flag that now so we can talk through it before you invest more time.
Revised completion plan
Update your week-by-week plan from M3 to reflect current reality. Your plan should account for all remaining deadlines:
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Apr 20 | Peer-review workshop (in class) |
| Apr 24 | Project M5 due (Final progress report) |
| Apr 27–29 | Presentations |
| Finals week | Final writeup due |
Be realistic. A plan that requires heroic effort in the last two weeks is not a good plan. If you’re behind where you hoped to be, your revised plan should reflect that and show a credible path to having something presentable by Apr 27.
GitHub Repository
By the M4 deadline, you must have a GitHub repository set up for your project. The repository can be private (add me as a collaborator: cmdowney88) or public.
Your README.md should include:
- A brief description of your research question and methodology
- An explanation of the repository structure: what’s in each folder, what each script or notebook does
- Instructions for obtaining data (do not commit data files, especially if you don’t own the copyright — include a download script or step-by-step instructions instead)
Even if your code isn’t fully functional yet, the README should reflect where things are headed. A well-organized skeleton with clear documentation is better than a pile of undocumented files.
Ask for Guidance
Use this milestone to flag anything you’d like help with. I can respond in written feedback, or we can meet to talk through it.
Things worth flagging:
- Data that turned out to be harder to obtain or process than expected
- Uncertainty about which statistical test or analysis method is appropriate
- Scope concerns — too much to finish in time, or results that feel thin
- Anything about the research design or interpretation that still feels unclear
Formatting and Logistics
- Submit as a single PDF on Blackboard
- No strict length requirement; 1–2 pages is typical
- If working with a partner, both members submit the same document