Research Paper Proposal Guidelines

You proposal should map out a well defined topic of study based on a specific question you want to address. At this point in the process you should have a clear sense of what you want to focus on, if not exactly what position you will take on it. Try to propose a solid thesis even if you research ultimately leads you to another position.

Your proposal should be about one page long, and include the following:
➢    1. An introduction that explains where your interest comes from
➢    2. A working title
➢    3. A brief list of the main subject or subjects you will be addressing
➢    4. The question you want to address
➢    5. A preliminary thesis
➢    6. Further questions this thesis raises
➢    7. A list of at least four scholarly sources you will use in your paper

Example 1:

Jane Doe
3/21/05
ENG 102

Research Paper Proposal

Introduction
Based on the readings we’ve done in class and the films we’ve watched, I’ve noticed that more than once we’ve encountered a leader in exile. I want to learn more about what affect it has on a group of people when their leader is exiled.

Title: Leaders in Exile: The Affect on a People of having their Leader Imprisoned

Subjects of Focus: Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and one other imprisoned leader

Question to be Addressed: What happens to people in resistence groups when their leaders are jailed by an opressive regime.

Prliminary Thesis: Although many things may happen when a resistence leader is imprisoned, one thing that often happens is that it inspires underground resistence; their people become motivated to organize and create grassroots movements in order to respond to both the imprisonment of their leader, and to the issues the leader was fighting to change.

Questions Raised: Does this only occur with passive political prisoners like Madela and King, or, for example, if Osama bin Laden was caught and imprisoned would it be just as likely to cause his followers to organize and respond to what they percieve as an injustice?

Scholarly Sources:



[Notes: You might want to consider Malcolm X, or Leonard Peletier as your third focus]

Example 2:

John Doe
3/21/05
ENG 102

Research Paper Proposal

Introduction
One theme we’ve looked at so far this semester has been the power of music, the power of music to unite people, to inspire or respond to political upheavals, and to empower the musicians who make it. I am interested in writing about current popular musicians who use their music to respond to political and social situations. I want to know what affect it has when a popular musician adresses social concerns in modern western culture.

Title: ??

Subjects: U2, Snoop Dogg, Bruce Springstein, one other

Question to be Addressed: Do popular musicians actually cause any change by creating music that responds to social and political problems?

Preliminary Thesis: We all know musicians can raise a lot of money for a cause, and we know that they have the power to get the word out about any major issue, from AIDS awareness to support for vicitims of 9/11, but do political songs by popular artists really affect how people think about the issues? Not always.

Questions Raised: Is there a good example of someone famous who sings about social issues but who we know has had no real affect on how people think about that issue? How do we measuse the affect?

Scholarly Sources: