Week 3

Guidelines for Research Proposal #2:

Refined Title, Topic Paragraph, and References

Due Thursday, Oct 30, Week 5 

SOME TIPS FROM WRITING TEACHER ANDREA LUNSFORD ABOUT CHOOSING A TOPIC:

            "The point is so simple we often forget it: we write best about topics we know well. . . . [Choose] a topic that will engage your strengths and your interest. . . .  [Explore] that topic by surveying what you know and . . . what you need to find out."  (The Everyday Writer, page 30)

            "• Who will be interested in the information you gather, and why?  • What do you know about their backgrounds?  • What will they want to know?  What will they already know?  •What assumptions might they hold about the topic?  •What kinds of evidence will you need to convince them of your view?  •What will your [seminar leader and fellow seminar students] expect? . . . . Think about your own attitude towards your topic.  Are you just curious about it?  Do you like it?  dislike it?  find it troubling?  What influences have shaped your stance?"  (92-3)

            "In a research log -- either print or electronic -- jot down thoughts about your topic, lists of things to do, [all sources] and ideas about possible sources . . . . " (93)

Your research proposal #2 should contain the following sections: 1. A Topic Title, 2. A Topic Paragraph, and 3. 3-5 References (in MLA or APA style)

Topic Titles

            Your title should reflect both your topic and your take on it.  Because of this dual function, research presentation titles frequently are hyphenated.  The part before the hyphen is your general topic.  The part after the hyphen is your "angle:" your mode of organization or your central contribution.  For example, let's say for your proposal #1 you handed in three possible topics: "Chinese Music in Seattle," "Chinese Poetry," and "Dance in China"  Now you might have gotten as far as:  "Chinese Opera in Seattle in the 1990s: the influence of the microphone on traditional vocal styles," "Images of Nature in Early Chinese Poetry: Seeing the Moon through Tao Qian's Eyes," and "Women in Modern Dance in China during 1960s: Working Women and Heroic Maidens."

Topic Paragraphs

            A topic paragraph sets out a main idea and follows it with related ideas and questions.  Ideally, the following sentences offer evidence-facts--that support your main idea or "angle." Try writing a synopsis of your research to date in a single page or so.  Delete the extraneous ideas, and build a thread of evidence and unknowns all around one topic. After  you've written a final draft, go back to refine your title into one that sums up your topic and your particular slant on it.

3-5 References

            Have you found a book or newspaper article (or scholarly article, maybe) that was really interesting and/or useful to you yet?  Try to find 3 to 5, but if you haven't struck "pay dirt" yet, just list the few most useful reference books, specialized books, periodical articles (newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals), or websites you've found so far.  If you try to keep a list of everything you've looked at in your research notes, you can just choose from that big list.  In a way, you're creating two bibliographies, one more important (or at least directly relevant to your essay and argument) than the other.  Here just list your major sources of the ideas (and quotes, of course) in your title and topic paragraph.  When in doubt, cite.  Don't plagiarize.  Your contribution is in the organization of these ideas and in your interpretation -- your thinking about them.

TIP: Have you talked to a reference desk librarian yet?  They're cool!