Compose a 900-word proposal about a topic involving the class theme: monsters. You will choose a research question to start your exploration of this topic throughout the semester-long research project. The inquiry proposal should contain the following parts:
1. Research Question: Tell your topic, focus, approach, and research question. Discuss any other questions or issues related to your research question.
2. Interest: Why does this interest you? What personal experiences (if any) do you have with this issue? Is it relevant to your academic major, career interest, or hobbies?
3. Knowledge: Discuss what you already know about the topic you want to investigate. If you knew nothing about this subject outside of the preliminary research, or if your knowledge was already covered in the Interests section, you may skip this section.
4. Preliminary Research: Tell what you found out through preliminary research. List at least three websites or other sources (no scholarly sources) and discuss what you learned from each one. The point is NOT to use evidence to prove something about your topic or to “infodump” about the topic to your audience. The point is to tell what you learned through your research. You would discuss each source in this way: “I read [this source, including the author, article title, and website or book], and I learned [this… no more than 2 sentences]. This source helped me understand my topic better [in this way].” Make sure to use informal citation methods: tell the title/author/website/etc. of where you got other information, but don’t use parenthetical citations, full URLs or hyperlinks, or works cited entries. Do not copy and paste or quote anything from other sources; rewrite the information in your own words.
5. Discourse Community/Research Plan: Describe the discourse community(ies)/academic discipline(s) you’re entering with your research and tell how that will affect your research plans. Remember that a discourse community is not just the topic. It is the related academic disciplines or groups of people who are interested in your topic. Use your discussion of the discourse community or academic discipline to discuss how that will affect your research methods. You will also what to tell what questions you still need answered. Note: you should not have answered your research question completely with your preliminary research or prior knowledge.
Rhetorical Situation
Genre: Proposal focused on a research question
Your role and purpose: To explore your own ideas, make plans for further research, and get your audience interested in your research project
Audience: Fellow scholars with an interest in your topic; educated but without your specialized knowledge
Style notes:
• This is not an essay, and therefore will not have a thesis or argument.
• Perhaps include an introduction that tells your audience and purpose.
• You should use first person (though avoid overusing, such as beginning each statement with “I think”).
• Consider dividing your idea exploration and research proposal using subheadings.
Choosing a Question
• The question must connect to the theme in some way.
• I ban a few topics and related questions because they’re difficult to research due to their discourse communities and controversial nature. These topics include abortion and gun control, as well as any topic connected with it.
• I caution against questions that you’re either too emotionally connected with or that can easily lead to biased arguments. For instance, the question “Why is there an epidemic of single mothers?” can be biased: the word “epidemic” dehumanizes people, women tend to be blamed or stereotyped in much of the rhetoric of this topic, and the question makes assumptions about the “correct” family structure. I might ask you to reflect on potential biases when talking about your question.
• If I tell you that you can’t use a question, understand I’m doing so for your best interest, and I’m open to discussion about the question.
• If you don’t know what question to do, or if you feel your question is too broad, that’s completely normal. Please talk to me. I won’t give you a question, but I can help you generate ideas or find interesting ways to talk about the question.
