COURSE ASSIGNMENT:
There are three parts to the research proposal that you are going to submit here in Blackboard: a topic proposal (two pages in length), a traditional outline of your topic (one page), and an annotated list of three potential resources (one page) that you might use in your larger research argument.
Please upload a single, four-page document here in Blackboard before the submission deadline noted in the course calendar.
You should upload your work in either a Microsoft Word file (.DOCX) or PDF file for evaluation.
Format Requirements:
- Use Times New Roman, 12-pt font for all of your work
- Use double spacing for the topic proposal and the annotated citations and single spacing for the outline.
- Include a running header (right justified) on each page with your last name and the page number.
- The document should include the following information in the upper left corner of the first page of the document:
Student Name
Professor Name
Course Number
Assignment due date
Topic Proposal
The first two pages of this document should include your research proposal. Your work should address each of the following six areas listed below, and you need to include a word count inside a parenthesis at the conclusion of each section. Please follow the word-count guidelines listed for each section as follows:
- Summary (100-150 words)
- Purpose (50-100 words)
- Audience (50-100 words)
- Opening Statement, Thesis, or Hypothesis (50-100 words)
- Method, Materials, and Data (50-100 words)
- Expected Outcomes (50-100 words)
Outline
The third page of your proposal should include a traditional outline (Roman numerals, capital letters, numbers, and lower-case letters) that plots the course for your research paper. It is okay if this plan changes in the course of your writing process, but for now you are just illustrating forethought in planning your work.
Annotated Citations
The fourth and final pages of your proposal should include the alphabetized citations for three resources that you might use to support your research argument. Each citation should include as much publication information from the core elements of the MLA documentation style as you can identify as well as a written annotation of 2-3 sentences outlining the features of this particular resource.
Please note that annotations are not required in the final draft of your research paper, which has a requirement of ten resources. This exercise is meant only to orient you to a common research practice that you are likely to encounter in future college classes. You can remove the annotations and paste the citations into your “Works Cited” page when you have finished the final draft or your research argument.
Here is a sample for what your final page should resemble:
Annotated List of Works Cited
Adams, Sarah. “Writing the College Term Paper.” College Language Association Journal, vol. 1, Southern University, spring 2016.
This article by Sarah Adams outlines the steps necessary to compose a persuasive college term paper. The piece includes sections on composing the introduction, finding and evaluating resources, and compiling a list of citations. I plan to use her advice on developing an interesting hook, where she notes that “clear college writing should capture the reader’s attention from the first page.” (1)
LESSON, DEVELOPING A RESEARCH PLAN:
What we find changes who we become.
~ Peter Morville, Ambient Findability
Research composition is the product of merging original critical thinking with timely, credible information. We conduct research almost every day—from looking up show times for movies to comparing restaurants on Yelp. Far less frequently, however, do we dip into a large (and often scattered) body of information to support an argument. Now that we have a stronger understanding of some of the important features of rhetorical theory, it is time to apply that knowledge to the composition of an argument on a topic of your choice. This learning module is designed to help you begin the process of planning and researching your term paper for this course.
Students might be surprised at how often they have to formulate arguments in their work beyond the college classroom. Attorneys in all fields must frequently draft complex arguments based on facts, expert testimony, and historical precedent. Politicians need to establish the historical and argumentative grounds for potential changes in laws and regulations, and business professionals are often called upon to defend their decisions in writing. Whenever issues of policy or protocol arise in the workplace, individuals and organizations are called upon to mediate arguments.
As we noted in the first learning module, digital technologies provide contemporary writers with access to a wealth of information, and yet the activities of locating and incorporating credible supporting materials in a research paper can still be challenging. Developing a plan and thinking carefully about which resources you might use can save a writer time in the drafting process and help contribute to a focused, clear piece of persuasive writing. (1)
Objectives
Upon completion of this module, the student will be able to:
- Plan the stages of a research topic.
- Identify a topic for exploration.
- Identify a series of guiding research questions
- Establish a thesis statement.
- Identify the subdivisions of an argument.
- Locate and assess research materials.
- Create an outline for planning an argument.
- Draft a topic proposal for an argument.
- Create an annotated list of resources (Works Cited).
- Apply the elements of a Works Cited entry under the guidelines of the eighth edition of the Modern Language Association (MLA). (1)
Readings
- Online Learning Unit
- Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys, and Interviews by Dana Lynn Driscoll (Supplemental Reading)
- ENC1102 Research Proposal (attached with assignment)
- ENC1102 Final Research Argument (attached with assignment) (Due Module eight)