SOC202 Thesis Proposal Instructions
While the instructions for this assignment are detailed, at the bottom, there is shorter
"assignment in a nutshell" section that summarizes the key elements of what is required.
You might want to scroll down and read that summary first, and then come back to read
the full instructions. There is also a separate Thesis Proposal Reminders and Hints
document posted below this one. Please read it after you’ve read these instructions.
Thesis Essay Proposal (for Thesis Essay)
A one-page proposal (double-spaced, 12-point, Times New Roman font, one inch margins) with a
cover page and References page (7th edition APA style), so three pages in total. Name, student
number, course code plus section number, Prof’s name, date, and an assignment title indicating
your topic choice are required on the cover page. No running headers please. Page numbers are
fine. No annotations required on the References page. Cite sources in the body of your proposal.
IMPORTANT: You must hand in a Proposal and have it graded and returned before you hand in
your Thesis Essay. You must also have already handed in and had graded an Annotated
Bibliography before submitting this assignment. This assignment is designed to lead into and
prepare you for your final Thesis Essay. Please see instructions for the Annotated Bibliography
and Thesis Essay before beginning this assignment.
Having chosen your topic and pop culture object[s] of study and begun your research (see
Annotated Bibliography instructions), it is now time to take a clear and specific position on your
topic and outline your plan of argument and how you will analyze your pop culture object[s] of
study (i.e., your chosen film[s], TV show[s], song[s] or album[s], video game[s],
advertisement[s], or social media platform[s] or influencer[s], or whatever it is you’ve chosen as
your media object or objects of study.) This is a proposal for your Thesis Essay, in which you
will consider an issue, debate, controversy, or problem associated with the study of popular
culture and, in relation to a specific pop culture object or objects of study, take a position on your
topic and argue your point of view using evidence from course readings and researched sources,
all of which will be properly referenced and cited using 7th edition APA style.
The argument you develop will need to be provocative. You will need to take a clear stand on
your topic and object[s] of study. An argument is not a fact or an accurate observation. In your
essay, you will use facts and accurate observations rooted in research to back up your argument,
but your argument itself needs to go deeper. You need to take a stand on your topic and make an
argument that another scholar, with similar knowledge, could reasonably argue against. In your
essay, you will try to convince your reader that you are correct. For this assignment, you are
proposing what your argument will be for your final essay, by developing a clear and specific
working thesis statement. You will state your proposed argument in a one-sentence thesis
statement that will appear somewhere in the middle of your proposal. Your one-sentence thesis
will be the most important sentence of this assignment. But first you have to introduce it and
set it up by stating what your topic and purpose are; and following it, you will outline how you
will argue your thesis via a plan of argument, which should include sub-arguments.
In other words, your proposal should include an introduction to your topic and object[s] of study
and a set up of your thesis statement via a purpose statement. After that, you will provide your
one-sentence thesis statement, and after that, a brief outline of how you will structure your essay,
argue your point of view, and analyze your object[s] of study. [Please take note that a purpose
statement is not the same thing as a thesis statement. A purpose statement outlines the focus of
your paper, indicating what you will examine or how you will analyze your topic overall,
whereas a thesis statement indicates very specifically what you will argue about your topic. Your
purpose statement can be used to set up your thesis statement but your thesis statement is more
important.] Please don’t forget that following your thesis statement, you must outline how you
will argue your thesis and analyze your object[s] of study. What sub-arguments will you make
and how will you structure them to build to a conclusion? Don’t forget to cite your sources in
both your set up and your plan of argument.
Once you have introduced your topic and set up your thesis statement with a purpose statement,
please begin your one-sentence thesis statement with the phrase: “In this essay, I will argue
that…” Do not alter this phrasing in any way… at all. Please especially do not “argue how” and
do not “argue the ways” or anything like that. A thesis argues THAT something clear and
specific is or is not the case and then it ANSWERS how or why your thesis is correct; or it
provides some kind of because, right in the thesis itself. Whereas your purpose statement can
begin with phrases like “This essay will examine…” or “This essay will analyze”, your thesis
statement cannot and must not begin with such phrases. For this assignment and for this
instructor, your thesis MUST begin with the phrase “In this essay, I will argue that…” Please
also take note that your thesis needs to be about your specific pop culture object[s] of study. That
is to say, you need to make an argument about your chosen film[s], TV show[s], song[s] or
album[s], video game[s], advertisement[s], or social media platform[s] or influencer[s], or
whatever it is you’ve chosen as your media object or objects of study. [Take Note: Different
instructors and professors may have different guidelines for how to construct a thesis statement
or write a proposal. While in their class, you follow their rules. While in my class, you follow my
rules. For example, in the larger academic world, it is not always necessary to begin a thesis
statement in any particular way just so long as your argument is clear. But in THIS class, you
MUST begin your thesis statement with “In this essay, I will argue that…”]
The proposal must be written in paragraph form and complete sentences and it must not exceed
one page (not including the cover page and References page). You must cite your sources in your
proposal using APA style in-text citations but no direct quotes. No subheadings for this
assignment either. [Yes, you will want to use subheadings for your Thesis Essay, and a small
number of quotes will also be allowed for your Thesis Essay, but NOT here. This is a one page
assignment. You do not have the space for quotes and subheadings here. In fact, you can treat
this assignment as a rough draft of what will eventually be the opening paragraph of your final
Thesis Essay.] Whereas you will cite your sources both in your set up and in your plan of
argument, do not cite any sources for your one-sentence thesis statement. That sentence belongs
to you. That sentence will be your argument, but you will set it up with facts and information
cited from your sources and, following it, you will outline your plan of argument citing the
sources you will use to make your sub-arguments.
Your intro, thesis, and plan should employ and be rooted in the sources compiled in your
Annotated Bibliography (which will be re-listed on your References page here, but without any
annotations) and be designed to analyze your topic sociologically. Your References page must
include, listed in APA style, all the sources you plan at this point to use for your final Thesis
Essay, including your pop culture object[s] of study, and it must include at least the same
number and types of required sources from the Annotated Bibliography. If some sources have
changed between assignments, that is fine, just so long as your new sources are still relevant and
appropriate and you still have at least the minimum number and types of required sources. Yes,
you still need to include as part of your references TMU-based DOI or URL links for your
researched academic sources and regular URL links for your credible non-academic sources.
Please refer back to the Annotated Bibliography assignment instructions for details on how many
and what kinds of sources are required and for how to provide TMU-based DOI or URL links.
Take note: students do not need to format the entire assignment using APA style; APA style is
only required for references and in-text citations, NOT for general formatting. This assignment is
worth 10% of your final grade and will be graded using the following criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction of topic and quality of set-up for your thesis statement (2/10)
Quality and clarity of working thesis (3/10)
Quality of plan of argument (3/10)
Spelling, grammar, and punctuation (1/10)
Following assignment and formatting instructions, including APA style (1/10)
Please take special note that your one-sentence thesis statement alone is worth nearly one
third of your grade for this assignment! It is the single most important sentence in this
assignment and it will also be the single most important sentence in your final Thesis Essay.
The Proposal in a Nutshell
If your head is spinning from reading the above instructions, here is a bare bones summary (but
do not just rely on this; it is merely for quick reference):
You are submitting a 1 page proposal with a cover page and References page (3 pages in total).
You are proposing the argument and plan of argument you will make in your Thesis Essay.
Your proposal needs to: a) introduce your topic and pop culture object[s] of study and set up
your thesis statement by outlining your essay’s purpose; b) include a one sentence thesis
statement, i.e., an argumentative claim that follows the guidelines outlined above and keeps in
mind the reminders and hints outlined in the document below this one; c) provide a brief outline
of how you will argue your thesis and analyze your pop culture object[s] of study; d) cite sources
using APA style in-text citations, both in your set up and your plan of argument; and e) be
written in complete sentences and paragraph form.
Your APA style References page needs to include all the sources you plan (at this point) to use
for your Thesis Essay as well as your pop culture object[s] of study. It needs to include at least
the same minimum number and types of sources as your Annotated Bibliography, but it should
NOT include any annotations. Ideally, you will be working with the same sources from your
Bibliography, but if one or two have changed, that will be fine. For more details, see above and
review the Annotated Bibliography Instructions.