Proposal

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Explanation:

            For the first assignment, you will write a proposal that will, in essence, define the work that you will be doing in this course. Assuming your proposal is accepted, you will move on to write each of the chapters you’ve proposed, first submitting them as standard academic essays. Later in the semester you will bring the chapters together into your book and website.

Prewriting:

           Prepare a brief written statement[1] identifying a problem that is of importance and interest to you. Why are you interested in this problem? What do you think you can contribute to solving the problem? What writing strategies might you need to use to help convince your audience of the importance of this issue and your suggestions to (hopefully!) solve this problem? This will become your semester project. “Off limits” topics—capital punishment, euthanasia, abortion, drug legalization/criminalization, gay marriage, and obesity. If, however, you have something unique to add to the conversations about these issues, please meet with me to discuss.

Presearch:

            The proposal may require a bit of “presearch”—hence, the suggestions concerning identifying repertoires. A quick Google search may bring up results that will help you to understand current commentaries/ conversations concerning the problem you’ve identified. Though these sources might not be suitable for your final project, you may need them for the proposal. If you identify concepts or exact words from these sources, you are required to cite them both in-text (using parenthetical citation) and in a Works Cited page.

Elements of a Project Proposal (in no particular order):

• Define the Problem (see first paragraph of Freire’s “’Banking’ Concept”)
• Consideration of “conversations” surrounding problem (think repertoires)
• Proposed Solution to Problem (may be a bit fuzzy at this point)
• Who is your proposed audience for this project and why?
• Why you? (What is your interest in/ authority on this issue? Consider your repertoires)
• Proposed chapters/organization
  Remember, for book you will have a separate introductory chapter and a concluding chapter. The chapters you are proposing here are specifically the “meat” chapters, meaning development, analysis, and support, not exposition or definition.
  • Perhaps chapter titles
  • Definitely each chapter’s content (brief overview)
• What types of research do you anticipate? Be specific:
  not “books, internet, and journal articles”
  but “demographics, long-term studies examining the relationship (if any) between capital punishment and crime deterrence; representative documents from religious groups/figureheads explaining stances on capital punishment; first person narratives (victims’ families, death row inmates, those exonerated thanks to DNA)
• What do you hope to achieve by writing and publishing this project (besides a good grade in English)?

Things to know about Proposals:

• With editing, they can (and usually do) become the introductory chapter of the book
• Through drafting and writing the proposal, you gain a better understanding of your topic and will better grasp its feasibility.
• Each proposed chapter will be approximately 1500 words (six pages, not including works cited/outline). The proposal is actually a plan to help you to guide yourself through a longer research project, in which you will scaffold three shorter essays to create twenty-five to thirty pages (including introductory and concluding chapters) of finished writing.