In one or two well-developed paragraphs, explain your topic and purpose for the research paper. Include mention of:
• What is your topic?
• What specific points do you think you’ll include?
• What kind of support (or research) do you think you’ll need to find?
• What is your tentative thesis statement? (topic + claim about your topic)
Your main objective is to explain how you envision the paper coming together for you.
Be wary of turning your research paper topic into a simple report. Let’s say I absolutely love dolphins and want to tell my readers all about dolphins. That’s only a topic, not a thesis. Or let’s say I really love jazz music of the 1920s and I want to talk about the major musicians of that era. Again, that’s just a topic and my paper is danger of being only a history report.
To be a research paper, I might have to do some basic, initial research before doing this research proposal so that I can narrow and fine-tune my topic. For a paper about dolphins, maybe I really like reading about dolphin conservation, so I decide to
Example: when writing about the best ways to save dolphins. My main points would be explaining some of these ways and my thesis would revolve around what I think the best ways are, based on my research.
For a paper about 1920s jazz musicians, it’s a bit more challenging. Maybe in my research, I find that these musicians influenced a lot of later or contemporary musicians – maybe some that are even surprising. My thesis might claim that 1920s jazz musicians influenced the major hip-hop artists of today, and I’d research just a few different artists and how they were influenced.
This assignment should be 1/2 – 1 full page long, using the standard formatting guidelines from previous essay assignments (see unit 1 for specifics about these formatting guidelines).
NOTE: Yes, it’s ok if, between this assignment and your final research paper, you update / modify your thesis statement or other elements of your paper. BUT: If you need to change your topic completely between this assignment and your final paper, you need to contact me.
ALSO: You cannot turn in your unit 7 research paper without first getting your topic approved with this assignment.
Assignment Guidelines:
• All assignments must be double spaced, in Times New Roman, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins, no extra spaces between paragraphs, and press the “tab” key to indent the first line of every paragraph.
• This paper is to be half a page to a page long.
• You can select either APA or MLA formatting style when completing this essay assignment. Please refer to the Formatting Exercise in Unit One for how to set up your assignment in either style. Remember, with APA style, you must include a title page with your assignment. The title page will not count towards the half-page to page long content that you are expected to submit for this essay assignment.
• As always, you are expected to use proper grammar and mechanics.
Please have the topic be about environmental conservation.
