Task: Our focus this semester is on crafting the research essay. Because of our course structure, it is crucial to identify your research interest early on. For this assignment, write a research proposal of at least 750 words (~3 pages, MLA format) that identifies your intended subject area and approach.  Please include:
    1. A brief overview of your subject. Keep in mind that you want to choose a topic that allows you to add to the existing conversation.
    2. An explanation of the significance of your subject to its field.
    3. An explanation of what motivated you to choose this subject to explore in research (there may be some overlap with the previous item, which is fine!).
    4. A thoughtful research question that focuses your investigation of this subject around an ethical concern; this will provide you with a more specific approach for your research. Make sure your question is clearly articulated in one place!
    5. You thoughts about how your research might progress. What perspectives do you hope to find? What new perspective do you hope to add?

Purpose: This should be a clear and concise proposal that demonstrates youve done the preliminary idea development necessary to identify a subject for research. At this stage in the process, you should have a research question driving your investigation of your preferred topic. Keep in mind that this question will be what structures your research for Major Writing Project 2, and what you will seek to answer by building your argument in Major Writing Project 3. Try to make it something that interests you!

Notes: I highly encourage you to bring your own voice into this paper, including what opinions and ideas you hold up to this point. You are free to use I as you propose your research.

Make sure you submit your proposal in essay form, not numbered according to the above guidelines. You are otherwise welcome to shape your proposal however you see fit, provided you follow the parameters above. I encourage you to organize each paragraph around a specific topic so that I can easily identify the required components.

Your peers will be providing comments on your first draft, so I highly recommend that you take the time to develop a complete draft in order to make the most of that feedback. As this essay is a research proposal I expect to grow as the semester progresses, you will be graded primarily on having done the requisite preliminary researching, thinking, and planning for your future researched argument.