CLAIM AND BACKGROUND
Begin your proposal with a paragraph that identifies the texts and problem you plan to analyze. State your claim in a complete sentence in this section. Underline your claim.
For example, should you choose the topic about Latinx experiences of LA, your claim could be this: Luis Rodriguez’s memoir recommends three significant community actions for disaffected Latinx youths: opportunities for personal expression, engaged community centers, and educational reforms.
Briefly explain the historical and cultural context upon which you will focus your research. The problem you are analyzing should suggest the research of a specific cultural and historical time, no matter what readings you analyze. For instance, you may be curious about the changing population over recent decades in the San Fernando Valley? What is the mixture of ethnicities today in Van Nuys compared to
the 1990s, when Sandra Tsing Loh wrote her essay “Coming Home to Van Nuys”? Or the ethnic and economic changes in East L.A. since Rodriguez wrote Always Running?
Has the average income changed in these communities over the past 25 years? What about crime rates, have they changed? Consider researching a portrait of any LA community described in any of the readings for the assignment.
RESEARCH
Should you be interested in researching a certain Los Angeles community, you might want to use the LATimes Mapping link:
http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/ (Links to an external site.) to learn about the population, income, ethnicities, crime rates in that area.
Establish in this section the kind of research materials you will be searching to collect information about the cultural and historical context for your reading(s).
Mention the critical texts here.
CONTEXT
Provide the background for your topic. Why does this interest you? You are welcome to be personal if appropriate to describe your relationship to the background.
