The Research Proposal

ENGL 1102-Student Example of Research Proposal

Page 454-465 of The Bedford Guide for College Writers by Kennedy et.al.

A research proposal may be an early part of a larger project or it may be a self-contained assignment. In either case, the basic steps in creating a proposal are the same, so follow your instructor’s guidelines. A good research proposal makes the case that your topic is interesting, that your research question is worth investigating, and that adequate sources are available. In order to demonstrate the merit of a proposed research project, many instructors require that a proposal include the following:

· background information on the topic

· a focused research question

· a summary of preliminary research findings

· a likely answer to your research question

· a search plan, with a list of possible obstacles to finding sources

· a working bibliography with complete bibliographic information in a specific style, such as MLA or APA

For his assignment, student Marshall Rivera chose the topic of Head Start, an early childhood intervention program aimed at improving educational outcomes for low-income children. He created the following brief proposal.

Follow this arrow to the example of how your proposal needs to be outlined and presented