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Fr Oct 8 - Research proposal due

The proposal should be 3 pages in length (page numbers please!) and should have a well thought-out title and contain effective visual rhetoric as appropriate. It should be a traditional, linear Word document, although it may be broken into sections. It should be posted to your Forum folder.
What is the assignment?
Having met with me in conference, conferred in groups with your classmates, and completed some pre-writing/invention exercises, you should write a three page formal proposal for the research project that you will pursue for the rest of the quarter.
 
Why are we writing a proposal?
The proposal is designed to encourage you to commit to and articulate a clear, manageable topic for your research project and to give you experience with the genre of proposal writing.
 
What should my proposal contain?
The proposal should be 3-5 pages in length (page numbers please!) and should have a well thought-out title and contain effective visual rhetoric as appropriate. It should be a traditional, linear Word document, although it may be broken into sections, which should include
  • an introduction, designed to interest your reader in your topic and proposal and provide some historical/cultural context for your project. At the end of your introduction, include a tentative thesis to indicate to your reader that you are entering your project looking at your topic through a critical, analytic lens.
  • the research questions that seem relevant to you at this point in your work; be sure to offer a framework for the questions in your proposal (i.e. a sentence or two to introduce them and situate them in relation to your larger project).
  • the methods you will use to conduct your research, including specific references to sites, databases, key texts or authors that you feel will be indispensible to your project. Include here also reference to less traditional text-based research -- fieldwork, interviews, surveys, visits to chatrooms, gaming -- as applicable to your topic. This is also the section in which you might troubleshot the research project, or weigh the benefits and drawbacks of certain types of sources (i.e., availability, bias, etc.).
  • the timeline for your project. Look at the course schedule to keep your due dates in mind and set up certain milestones (by day or by week) that you will accomplish to keep yourself on track.
  • a conclusion in which you address the "So What?" of this research. That is, why does what you are investigating matter as more than an academic exercise? Why should your audience want to read it? Why does it matter?
  • Finally, as an addendum to the proposal, create a biography of yourself as a researcher -- your persona for writing the research paper. This is a place to build up your ethos as a student-researcher on your topic. You should include a photograph of yourself alongside your bio.
  • If you cite any sources, you'll also need to have a works cited at the end of the proposal, with the citations in MLA format. Any parenthetical citations in the text itself should also follow MLA guidelines (these can be found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html).
Where can I find extra help on this?
For your proposal, you may choose to read chapter 4 of Envision. You should also e-mail me, IM me, or talk to me in class if you have any questions. If you are having trouble finding a topic, browse the "Past topics" link.