Research proposal

English 105 PAPER 2: Research Proposal Mr. Barcus – FALL 2017

One of the keys to completing a successful research project is to narrow a broad subject to a specific topic. One way to do this is to prepare a research proposal that discusses your central focus, provides a working model of your thesis, and covers key conceptual areas to be discussed in your paper. Such a proposal will also list potential sources that you might use to support your thesis. This proposal will serve as a preliminary step to your third paper of the term (Paper 3).

For this project, you will be required to write a formal research proposal of at least 2 pages (the list of potential sources does not apply toward the page count). Remember to include the following sections:

A General Framework:

Provide relevant contextual information on your research. It will be helpful to answer the

questions in the HCR on page 78.

A Specific Focus:

Describe the specific focus of your project for the reader, highlighting the methods you

used to narrow the topic. This section should also contain your working thesis statement .

Potential Sources:

List, in MLA Works Cited Format (remember ex. 14.1?), the potential sources that you

are considering for your project. Assemble them in alphabetical order, just as you would

on an actual Works Cited page. Remember, they are potential sources, not the final list

for your research paper. Therefore, there should be more potential sources listed than the

minimum number required for the research paper. The minimum source requirement for

Paper 3 will be four sources, so you need at least five for the proposal . I will also be

looking for a wide range of source types. You will need to find at least one book and at

least one scholarly journal article.

Due Dates: Peer Edit – Monday, October 16th: Bring TYPED rough draft to class.

Final Draft – Wednesday, October 18th