PAPER PROPOSAL – ESSAY #1
Wednesday, Oct. 12 in class.
Please type the proposal, print it, and bring it to class in order to get points.
The goal of the paper proposal is to a) get you thinking about your essay long before
the due date and b) to give me a sense of what you’re working on and how you’re
approaching it. Therefore, you can ask questions or use more casual language in the
proposal. I just want you to have a chance to get your ideas down on paper.
Answer all of the questions with arrows (>) next to them.
Step 1: Topic
 What essay are you going to analyze in Essay 1? Why did you choose this
source?
Step 2: Brainstorming the Rough Draft Thesis
For the rough draft thesis, you will want to focus on posing a specific question about
the text. For this essay, this question might be, “What kind of ‘personal
revolution’ does the narrator experience, and how does the writer use the
narrative to chart his or her own personal revolution?”
For this proposal, think about how this larger question can be divided into smaller
questions. Write out your answer to the following questions before proceeding to
Step 3.
 Define “personal revolution” in relationship to this particular essay. (That is,
the nature of the “revolution” will be different for each writer.)
 Show how the author shapes the narrative to reveal this ‘personal
revolution.’ In other words, how does the author use the story to reveal a
significant alteration in his or her belief system, actions, or way or life?
Step 3: Writing the Rough Draft Thesis
 You can think of thesis as the answer to the questions above. For now, just
try to write a rough draft, playing around with the language that you are
using. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it’s just very useful to start this process
early.
Step 4: Problems and Questions
 Discuss a problem that you anticipate facing when you’re writing this essay.
How might you solve that problem?
 What is one question that you have about the essay?