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Having
met with me in conference, conferred in groups with your classmates,
and completed some pre-writing/invention exercises, you should write
a three to five page formal proposal for the research project that you
will pursue for the rest of the quarter.
- Purpose
and Goals
- 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.
-
- Format
& Content
- 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.
- a
tentative thesis for your project, indicating that you are
entering your research by looking at your topic through a critical,
analytic lens.
- background
information on your topic, to define the cultural and historical
context for your discussion.
- 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 bio 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 in EasyWriter and also,
in a more limited form, at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html).
Remember
to use specifics (in language and example) as much as possible. Your
first draft of your proposal (which should be as polished a version
as you can prepare at this point) should be posted as an attachment
to your PanFora section no later than the start of class on Wednesday,
January 21st. We will peer review the proposals in class and you will
also be assigned to review them on PanFora. The revision of your proposal
(also to be posted as an attachment) is due before class time on Wednesday
the 26th, at which time we will begin the proposal presentations.
- Resources
- For
your proposal, you may choose to read chapter 4 of Envision
(Alfano & O'Brien, forthcoming 2004) and look at some of the student
models for research papers contained on the book website.
Questions
about this assignment? E-mail me
or bring them up in class.
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