McClure-Wade

English 1020

Assignment 2, Part A

Research Proposal

Instructions:

Please fill out this form (download, enable editing; if enable editing isn’t allowed, just select all, copy and paste into a new doc) and upload it to the appropriate dropbox by Monday March 30^th, 6:00 pm. The dropbox will not close.

1. Your topic:
2. What makes it controversial or otherwise worth investigating?

3. Explain the motivation for your research. For example, are you interested in helping people better understand it; are you hoping to find information that can shed light on its importance; do you want to offer a judgement about the quality of your topic or challenge an accepted judgement or attitude about it; do you want to discover what the causes or effects are; are you interested in proposing solutions; do you want to offer a new perspective or understanding of it.

4. After answering the question above, you should have an idea about the genre of argument you want to write: fact-based, definition, evaluation, cause & effect, proposal to solve a problem. See EAA Chps 8-12 for explanations of each genre. Explain your choice of genre here.

5. Think about your audience. Briefly describe them here. Consider qualities like age, education level, attitude towards your topic, beliefs they may hold that will have an effect on your approach.

6. Now, write a brief paragraph about how you can establish credibility with that audience. What will they need from you to take you seriously?

7. Think about potential research terms related to your topic. Make a list of them here.

8. It’s too early for a thesis (your research should help you finalize your thesis), but briefly explain what your primary question is that you hope your research will answer. Or, if you would rather think of your subject in terms of a problem or controversy, briefly explain your ideas about that problem and what you hope to clarify via your research.

9. List any questions or concerns you have that I can help you with at this stage.