Proposals Due: Monday October 21st (via email or handed in during class)

Often, both academics and writers outside of the university do not just write an essay and submit it. Journalists pitch article ideas to their editors, and others might need to propose a topic before getting approval to write it.

For example (and this is 100% true), I recently applied to be part of a collection of essays about the TV show Riverdale, but I didn’t need to write my entire essay first. I sent them a proposal describing what I intended to write about, and only if I was accepted (I wasn’t) would I need to write the entire essay.

What does a proposal look like?

• A proposal is typically about 2 pages, although it can be slightly longer
• You can use “I” (like “I plan on investigating ______”)
• Use a formal academic style (1 point)

What should you include in this proposal?

• The general topic you are interested in researching and writing about (1 point)
• Two or three “inquiry questions” relating to your topic that you would like to research/answer/find out more about. (2 points)
  • These should not be questions you already know the answer to, although you can have a hypothesis about what the answer will be.
  • They should also be specific, focused, and answerable/arguable within the  scope of the assignment
• A justification for why you chose your topic and why these inquiry questions are worth investigating (2 points)
• Explain which of the inquiry questions you will probably choose for your paper and why (although it’s okay to change your mind in this early stage) (1 point)
• A research plan (1 point)
  • What do you need to find out in order to answer your inquiry question(s)?
  • What information is important to find out first before you investigate other aspects of your question(s)?
  • What stumbling blocks do you anticipate in your research?

 Grading

Meeting the Above Requirements: 8 points, distributed as noted in the guidelines
Turning the Proposal In On Time: 2 points
Total: 10 points

What is an Inquiry Question?

An inquiry question is something you genuinely do not know the answer to but would like to find out. It must be complex enough to require research and careful thought. Generally, you should avoid questions with simple yes/no answers. “How…?” “Why…?” and “In what ways…?” questions are typically better.

You’re allowed to have a hypothesis about the answer to your inquiry questions, but you should also be open to being wrong.

As you develop your questions, think carefully about scope. If your question is too big/broad, it will be impossible to answer it between now and the end of the semester, and impossible to describe your research in only 6-8 pages. (Some inquiry questions are so big that they require years of research and entire books or series of books can be written about them!). If your question is too small/specific, you will have trouble finding enough to write about. What seems feasible for you to:

1. Research thoroughly so you have a solid (although beginning) understanding of the issue in only a few weeks
2. Write about in a coherent and comprehensive way again in only a few additional weeks

An example of a too-big question: Last year, I had my students write a more substantial rhetorical analysis essay than I’m having you do for your “analysis of an ad” projects. One student’s inquiry question was essentially, “What’s up with Trump’s rhetoric?” That’s WAY too big of a topic for one essay! Trump says more things all the time! I encouraged him to just pick one speech or one set of tweets.

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