English: Research Proposal
A good academic research question has these qualities: (1) it interests you, (2) it may interest your audience, (3) it has no easy answer, and (4) it is related to your reading. To formulate a question to guide your research, respond to the following prompts. Your grade for this assignment depends on how clearly and thoroughly you respond to each prompt.
1. For your proposal, find an interesting claim made in the essay "The Feminist Agenda of Vampire Slaying."(If you have asked about a different topic, choose a central article and identify a claim.)
Example: Derek Bok believes that education should "not just train students for jobs but try to cultivate a wide range of interests and prepare students for a variety of pursuits that tend to increase satisfaction with life".
2. Explain your interest and acknowledge your readers.
Example: I am interested in this statement because I have always been told that I am supposed to go to college in order to get a good job. I wonder why I should take courses that are unrelated to what I want to do.I think my readers will be interested in this topic because they may also be thinking about the purpose of their education.
3. Formulate one or more questions.
Example: What is the purpose of a college education? (Why should people go to college?)
4. Think of at least three possible answers. You will likely think of more answers once you start doing research for your paper.
Example:
1. Most people may think that they go to college in order to be trained for future employment.
2. Others may think that the purpose of a college education is to prepare people to be good citizens.
3. Another reason may be for a person to learn to become independent.
4. Some people may want to explore areas of study so that they can find out what their strengths are and decide what career they would like to pursue.
5. What sources will you consult? Prepare an Annotated List of Works Cited, using 5-7 sources. (The list for your final paper will contain only entries for those you cite.) For each annotation, provide a very brief summary of the source. For an example, see page 82 in Harbrace Essentials. As you prepare this list, be sure that each work is relevant to your research question.