writing process

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Anna Student Sample Research Proposal

Nancy Hanson

ENGL 1101

14 May 2018

A Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography on

The Declining Honey Bee Population

Overview

The topic of my problem-solving essay is the devastating decline of the honey bee population in the United States. I first became aware of this problem when one of my friends posted an article on Facebook. At the time, I had no idea the bee population was dying out, but after I read the article, I started researching this problem. The dying bee population is an important topic for all people because without bees, our food supplies could eventually die out as well.

My Goals

· to education myself on whether or not the declining bee population is as serious as some would have us believe

· to demonstrate the problem exists by finding specific facts about the problem

· to educate my audience about why they should care about the issue

· to provide a solution for reversing the declining bee population

Audience

I know my audience is broad, but everyone should be concerned about this issue. If we have a massive bee decline, everyone’s food sources will be affected. However, to narrow my audience down, I’m going to write my paper to those who have the ability to implement the solutions I am going to include in my paper. These people include homeowners who can plant pollinators on their property and adults who believe in the benefits of eating pesticide-free foods.

Purpose

My personal purpose is to become knowledgeable about the problem so that I can be an advocate for the preservation of the bee population. My public purpose is to provide enough evidence to convince people to do their part in reversing the decline of the bee population.

Early Research

My early research included conducting Google searches to see if there was a lot of information on the topic. I found many articles that seemed to focus on the “doomsday” scenario of the bees dying off. While I think the problem could be catastrophic, I don’t believe this approach is the best way to convince my audience. After I started conducting research through the library databases, I found many well-written and well-documented sources that I can use in my paper. In addition to the information in the library databases, I also found several sources on the internet that will provide me with solid statistics and information for my paper. In particular, the information I found from the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Agriculture will be quite useful when I write my paper. Finally, I found a great deal of information in a film I discovered through the Films on Demand database in our library.

Conclusions

I feel my biggest challenge for this essay will be convincing my audience to care about the issue. I don’t want to take a doomsday approach by scaring them into action, yet on the other hand, I don’t want to overwhelm them with scientific data. I truly believe this is an important issue, so I want to reach as many people as I can. I hope my combination of sources, both scientific and popular sources can reach the widest range of people.

Annotated Working Bibliography

Brutscher, Laura M., et al. “The Buzz about Honey Bee Viruses.”  PLoS Pathogens, vol. 12, no. 8, Aug. 2016, pp. 1–7.  EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1005757. In the article, “The Buzz about Honey Bee Viruses” by Laura Brutscher, et al., the authors summarize the current state of the declining honey bee population. The topics they cover include why we should be concerned about the declining population, what viruses currently affect the bees, how the viruses are transmitted, an overview of the studies conducted on the bee’s antiviral defenses, and what the future looks like for the study of honey bees. The article is published in a scientific journal for a scientific audience, but I found some useful information on why the general population should be concerned about the problem and how the future does not look as grim as other sources suggest. I will use this article to give well-researched information about the problem.

“Colony Collapse Disorder.” Pollinator Protection. Environmental Protection Agency. www.epa.gov. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. The article, “Colony Collapse Disorder,” is a website written by the Environmental Protection Agency. It is designed to give a brief overview of the problem and define key terms associated with it. The article addresses why the declining honey bee population is happening, why dead bees aren’t necessarily a cause for alarm, what the EPA is doing to address the problem, and links to more information. The website will provide me with some background information and a definition of the term “Colony Collapse Disorder.”

Moyer, Justin W. “Honeybees Dying, Situation 'Unheard of'.  WP Company LLC” d/b/a The Washington Post, Washington, 2015 . ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/ 1680995959?accountid=40799. The news article, “Honeybees Dying, Situation ‘Unheard of’” by Justin Wm. Moyer discusses the increase in honey bee deaths over the past few years. The experts Moyers quotes express concern about the deaths, but they also see no cause for alarm, at least not yet. The experts postulate several reasons for the honey bee decline, but they do not offer any solutions for the problem. I will use this article to provide solid facts and quotations from experts on the topic.

Philpott, Tom. “Did Scientists Just Solve the Bee Collapse Mystery?” Mother Jones. 20 May 2014. Web. 19 April, 2017. In “Did Scientists Just Solve the Bee Collapse Mystery,” Tom Philpott gives an overview of several key pieces of research that have been conducted recently on the problem of the honey bee decline. He gives information about a study conducted by Harvard, another study in the journal Science, and some critical commentary from experts in the field on the pros and cons of the studies. Even though the publication Mother Jones has a bias toward activism, I believe the article itself presents the information fairly and without a bias. I plan on using the information to show what studies have been done and what the results suggest about the honey bee decline.

Vanishing of the Bees. Films Media Group, 2009, digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?

wID= 105843&xtid=53226. Accessed 16 Apr. 2016. The documentary, Vanishing of the Bees, investigates the causes of “Colony Collapse Disorder,” how the problem has affected beekeepers, how the problem could affect food production in the future, and the ways in which the issues are being addressed by the scientific community. The film spends some time addressing the role of monoculture farming and pesticides to the problem of declining honey bees. I found excellent information in this documentary and plan to use it extensively in several sections of my paper.

Assignment Sheets for the

Research Proposal

and

Problem-Solving Essay

ENGL 1101 – Late Start Sections

Fall, 2023

This handout contains two Assignment Sheets

1) Research Proposal Paper

100 points

Due on Monday, November 20th

2) Problem Solving Essay

200 points

Due on Tuesday, December 5th

Research Proposal – 100 pts.

Use Times New Roman, 12-point font

Before you begin writing your final paper of the course, the Problem-Solving Essay, it’s important to carefully plan your research, approach, and essay. A common type of “prewriting” for a longer, research-based essay is to complete a Research Proposal. Note: you will be using the same topic for both your Research Proposal and Problem-Solving Essay. Go to page 3 of this handout to read about topics.

The following lists the requirements for your Research Proposal. Use the sub-headings (in bold), and follow the same formatting as the sample available for you on D2L.

A Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography on [your topic goes here]

Overview of the topic (one paragraph)

My Goals (four-five bullet points)

Audience (one paragraph) Identify your audience

Purpose (one paragraph) Connect your purpose in writing to your audience’s needs/expectations

Early Research (Summarize the research you have done on the topic) (one-three paragraphs)

Conclusions (one paragraph) After completing all the other sections of the Research Proposal, provide a paragraph explaining how you have refined your approach for the upcoming Problem-Solving essay.

Annotated Working Bibliography (see sample for format)

Include a Works Cited entry for each source (MLA format)

Provide a summary of the source

Indicate how you plan to use the source in your Problem-Solving Essay

Sources: Include four sources for your Annotated Bibliography

-One of your sources needs to be a Ted Talk

- Three of your articles/sources must come from MState’s Library Databases. I recommend starting with Megafile (Ebscohost) . Do not use any Encyclopedia (or Overview) sources for this assignment.

[Note from Nancy: Your Research Proposal must include all the sections listed on this sheet. Edit for sentence-level errors. No AI-produced text or plagiarism allowed.

Problem-Solving Essay (200 pts.)

1400 words minimum, plus a Works Cited Page

Times New Roman, 12-point font, typed-double spaced (MLA style)

Sources: You must use at least 4 credible sources for this essay (1 Ted Talk and 3 articles from MState’s Library Databases).

Writing Situation: You have recently become aware of a problem or situation that is troublesome to a group of people. Your role as a writer and researcher is to provide several examples of the problem and then offer ways your audience can address/fix/combat the problem in their own lives.

Topics: You will need to identify a current problem (or issue) that your audience can take steps to solve, address, or fix. It’s important to choose a topic with real-world solutions. For example, a topic such as the one presented by Barry Schwartz in “The Paradox of Choice,” would work well for a Problem-Solving Essay.

The Problem: too many choices negatively affect people’s well-being

Examples: (give at least three researched examples). (You can add a fourth from your personal experience.)

Solutions: (give the audience at least three ways to address this problem in their own lives)

Spend some time exploring your personal interests for possible topics. The best place to start is with the Ted Talk you posted to Discussions. If there wasn’t a problem or issue addressed in the Ted Talk, you’ll need to find a different one you can use for this assignment.

Off-limit topics: political figures, gun control, legalizing marijuana, the drinking age, and abortion.

Steps:

Write the Research Proposal (see Page 2 of this handout)

Write the Essay

Essay Requirements: The following points are guidelines for you to consider when constructing your essay. Most of the points will need to be addressed; however, individual topics will determine the degree to which each aspect is developed. Remember, your overall goal is to get your audience to accept your proposal for a solution to a problem or issue.

Introductory Paragraphs: Your introduction should engage your audience and then briefly explain your topic and why it is important. Unlike other shorter papers, your thesis statement may not appear in the first paragraph. Your introduction, as a whole, should be between two and four paragraphs in length.

Some ideas for organizing your introduction:

1. The first paragraph should “hook” your readers and get them interested in the problem at hand.

2. The next one to three paragraphs should give an overview of the problem. Give the “big picture” here.

Body: Include Researched Examples of the Problem/Issue:

Demonstrate the problem exists by giving examples, statistics, and information from expert outside sources. You will need at least three separate examples of the problem. This section should be between 2 and 4 pages in length.

Problem-Solving Section: How do you propose your audience fixes the problem?

Give your audience at least three specific ways to address/solve/fix the problem. This section needs to be one-three paragraphs in length.

Conclusion: Wrap-up your essay as a whole. You can remind your audience why following your advice will lead to better outcomes for them and others.

Research: You should be able to use the research you conducted for your Research Proposal. If you need to find more sources, you can continue researching in MState’s library databases.

Quoting from Sources: No more than 15% of your paper should be directly quoted from outside sources, so make sure to use summary and paraphrasing techniques. Work on integrating outside sources smoothly into your own sentences by providing a signal-phrase and author tags to introduce the quote. Do not drop quotes into your paper. Remember that whenever you use any information from an outside source, whether it is word for word or it is paraphrased by you, you must give credit to the original source.

Giving credit to the original source:

1. Use a signal phrase (author tag) to introduce the quote or paraphrase (As Susan Smith suggests...).

2. Use quotations marks around any borrowed words (three or more consecutive words from the original source).

3. If you quote, quote exactly.

4. If you paraphrase or summarize, make sure you change the wording significantly. Remember, you still have to cite paraphrased and summarized information.

5. Write a Works Cited Entry for all the sources used in the paper (only cite sources you actually use in your paper).

Evaluation: You will be evaluated on the following points:

● Full development of all the points outlined in this assignment

●make sure to meet the minimum word requirement

● Well-developed paragraphs with smooth transitions between paragraphs

● Ample and solid evidence from credible sources

● Clear and solid focus and organization

● Adherence to MLA guidelines for style and citations, include Works Cited Page

● A final draft that is free from grammatical, stylistic, and mechanical problems

●No AI-generated text. No plagiarism, either intentional or unintentional

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