formal research proposal

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English composition II

Writing Assignment 1: Research Proposals

About this Assignment

In this assignment, you will complete a research proposal that prepares you for developing a full research paper. This proposal will help you explore a topic of your choosing, develop key research questions, identify a possible argumentative position, and review the existing scholarship on the issue.

Your goal is to demonstrate the foundational steps of academic research writing: topic selection, inquiry development, preliminary argumentation, and source evaluation. The work you complete here will serve as the foundation for later assignments.

Course Learning Outcomes

The following course learning outcomes are assessed in this assignment:

Plan research projects by producing effective research proposals and research paper outlines

Conduct primary and secondary research using relevant and reputable sources.

Use key citation styles, including MLA, APA, and Chicago, in notes and bibliographies.

Related Lessons

Research Writing: Topics, Examples & Purpose

How to Write a Research Proposal

How to Use Sources to Write Essays and Evaluate Evidence

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Prompt

By the end of this course, you will have completed a research project, including a research paper on an accessible, real-world issue. To begin the process, you first must create a formal research proposal (1,200-1,500 words) that helps you explore and refine your topic.

For this proposal, choose a researchable issue.

Possible areas include education, health, technology, environment, public policy, social issues, work and labor, or other contemporary concerns.

Your topic must be debatable, supported by credible sources, and appropriate for an argumentative research paper.

Your research proposal must include the following sections.

1. Topic Overview (250-300 words)

Explain the issue you selected. Include:

A clear description of the core debate or controversy

Why the issue matters to a particular community or group

An overview of different perspectives on the issue

2. Key Research Questions (200-300 words)

List and explain the 3-5 major questions you plan to answer in your research. These questions will guide your research and argumentative planning. These questions should be:

Open-ended

Researchable

Directly tied to the issue you selected

Designed to help you investigate causes, impacts, and possible solutions

3. Short Literature Review (500-600 words)

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Summarize at least 5 reputable academic sources on the topic that you may use in your full essay. For each source:

Present the author’s main argument or findings

Explain how the source contributes to understanding the issue

Note strengths and weaknesses of the source and its arguments

4. Preliminary Argument (250-300 words)

State your initial stance on the issue. This reflects your current thinking based on early research and may evolve in Assignment 2. Also include a reasonable opposing view that you can investigate and include as part of your piece.

Formatting & Sources

Please use the MLA format for your research proposal. You may refer to the course material for supporting evidence, but you must also use at least 5 credible, external sources and cite them using MLA format. Please include a mix of both primary and secondary sources. If you use any Study.com lessons as sources, please also cite them in MLA (including the lesson title and instructor’s name).

Primary sources are first-hand accounts such as interviews, advertisements, speeches, company documents, statements, and press releases documented or published at the time.

Secondary sources come from peer-reviewed scholarly journals, such the Journal of American Studies. You may use sources like JSTOR, Google Scholar, a Gale to find articles from these journals. Secondary sources may also come from reputable websites with .gov, .edu, or .org in the domain. (Wikipedia is not a reputable source, though the sources listed in Wikipedia articles may be acceptable.)