This assignment is a two-page essay in which you describe your plans for the research project.
Stage 1:
Before writing this proposal, you need to be sure that you look for a topic the right way; you need to browse recent newspapers for a current event that you are interested in learning more about. In other words, you may not start with a general idea or a controversial issue and try to develop a topic from there.
Look for a current event! Any section of the newspaper will suffice, and you should consider several different events carefully before you narrow your focus down to the one you'll use for the project. So what makes a good current event for this project?
Current Event Guidelines:
- It must be recent, no earlier than the beginning of this semester.
- It must be an event that has raised some disagreement (i.e., controversial).
- It must be a specific incident, not an ongoing series of events related to a bigger issue.
How can you know whether a current event has raised some disagreement? You'll have to find evidence of discussion of the event in editorial sections of newspapers and magazines.Stage 2:
Once you have your current event, you have to learn as much as you can about it by reading various articles from different newspapers and news websites. Learn about it! Become an expert on this current event! Figure out what people of are saying about it and how they disagree.
Then you have to step back and identify the controversial issues related to your current event. Make a list of issues that come up in your mind as you read and think about your current event. Why does this current event matter? Why did it happen? What might the consequences be? What can be done about it? And so on.
Then you have to choose ONE of the issues from the list you draw up. The current event, coupled with a specific controversial issue related to that event, is your topic.
Stage 3:
Now you have compose your research question. Looking at your current event and the controversial issue, you need to pose a question that might become the topic of a debate.Research Question Guidelines:- It must be debatable, meaning that there should be various possible answers to the question.
- It must contain words that specifically refer to the current event.
- It must address only ONE controversial issue related to that current event.
Stage 4:
Now you can write your proposal.Research Proposal Guidelines:
- The first paragraph will describe your current event in detail. Exactly what happened? When? How? Why? Prove that you are an expert on this current event!
- The second paragraph will develop and describe the specific and relevant controversial issue that you chose to focus on for your current event. How does your current event raise this controversy? What is the connection? Where is the disagreement, exactly?
- The third and final paragraph should pose and explain your intelligent and precise research question. Certainly, you need to type out the question, but you should then explain how you arrived at your question. Why is your question important? How does it point to the controversial issue inherent in your current event? How might various parties answer your question differently? What do you expect to find in your search for answers?
- Each paragraph should be equal length to total about 50 lines. That means about 17 lines per paragragh. Come up with a title just as you would for a formal essay; in other words, do not use "Research Project Proposal." Be informative and creative in your title.
- The final draft of this proposal must carefully adhere to MLA presentation guidelines.
- Your proposal must be grammatically polished and follow all of the assignment guidelines.
- At least 2 pages typed, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, 1" margins all around.
- This length requirement is the equivalent of 50 lines of text, not counting your heading or title.
- Final draft must be submitted through e-Learning as a Microsoft Word file attachment.
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