Explanation and Instructions:
For this assignment, you will create an in-depth argument proposal. Please be aware that you will not be writing a full-fledged argumentative essay. (If your major requires that you go on to take ENL 115, you will have the opportunity them to write the argumentative essay.) Your proposal should be formatted like the sample proposal provided with this assignment. Please use the standard Times New Roman, 12-point font and include the MLA-style page heading and page numbers as usual. You should also include the questions on the proposal, as shown below and on the sample proposal. In general, yours will look like the sample and your responses to each question should be modeled after the answers on the sample.
1. The broad topic of my research is: (This was probably the big issue that you started with, like “climate change” or “social media and bullying.”)
2. My narrowed topic is: (You must narrow down your big issue to something more focused and manageable, like “America’s investment in the solar energy industry” or “how Facebook bullying is causing an increase in adolescent depression.”)
3. Why this topic is relevant and why writing about this topic will be beneficial: (If you are not truly interested in this topic, chances are your motivation to write about the subject will be low. Explain why you are interested and why this topic is worthy of academic discussion. Help inspire your audience to feel as passionately as you feel about it. Make a case for why this will have an impact. As always, BE SPECIFIC.)
4. My thesis: [The thesis is generally a sentence or two, which states the claim which will be proven in your paper. It is NOT a question, nor is it a vague description of what your paper is “about.” Here’s an example of a strong, specific thesis: “By investing in solar-powered energy, the United States will boost the national economy and decrease unemployment in struggling states.”)
5. My five reasons: (List the five reasons you have developed to support your thesis. You are permitted to have more than five if necessary. Each reason must be distinct from the others. Your reasons should answer the questions: Why should someone accept my thesis statement as the truth? What are five points you can make in order to get someone to agree with you?
6. Intended audience: (Discuss what people or group of people might benefit from reading your paper. For example, in the paper about solar energy, might unemployed people, or people who are out of work because of coal mine closings benefit from the information in your paper?)
7. Annotated Works Cited page (will be on a separate page): (The sources should meet the guidelines I’ve given you below and be appropriate for a college level research paper. People magazine, Reader’s Digest, local newspapers, and others of that ilk are not satisfactory. Show me that you know how to find and can locate and use information from the sources you find in EBSCOhost, and the web if absolutely necessary. Focus your database searches on peer-reviewed sources.)
Annotations: beneath each citation on your Works Cited page, you will quote directly or summarize from your source, and explain how that quoted material from that source article helps you prove one of your reasons.
Source requirements:
It is VERY important that you search and choose sources based on what your five REASONS are, not your overall thesis. Each reason should have specific sources to back it up and help illustrate it.
- At least five (5) peer-reviewed articles in EBSCOhost (or ProQuest or Google Scholar or JSTOR)
- No more than five (5) additional sources from websites.
Instructor’s notes:
1. When copying and pasting citations from EBSCOhost into Microsoft Word, right click and under “Paste,” choose the “Text Only” option. This will make formatting easier.
2. To create the hanging indentations that you see on the sample Works Cited page, highlight one citation at a time. Right click and choose “Paragraph” and under “Special,” select “Hanging.”
3. Make sure your Works Cited page is evenly spaced as it is in the sample assignment.
4. Remember to change all text to Times New Roman, 12-pont font.
