Essay #2- The Research Proposal
(100 Pts.)
Learning Outcomes Assessed:
Outcome 1: You will demonstrate the ability to find and evaluate (for credibility and relevance) materials
from a variety of research sources
Outcome 2: You will demonstrate the ability to summarize the information and arguments of individual
research sources, and to synthesize a number of those sources into a coherent review of the literature on
that topic.
Outcome 3: You will demonstrate the ability to plan a sophisticated research project which has a focused
topic, a specific audience, and an appropriate audience. This will include the development of a research
proposal and annotated bibliography
Learning Outcome 6: You will demonstrate competence with the use of mature sentence styles that are
appropriate to academic and other types of public writing
Learning Outcome 7: You will show competency in the conventions of standard edited American English,
and learn more about the subtle choices writers make to build upon and subtly vary those conventions when
appropriate
Essay #2, The Research Proposal, is a chance for you to plan your research and articulate
your goals for your research project. The purpose of this assignment is to help you to
narrow your focus, develop your thesis, develop a plan for researching, and to encourage
you to begin gathering your sources.
You will need to engage in the following tasks in route to completing this assignment:
 Formulate a focused topic question for research
 Formulate related subtopic questions for research (line of inquiry)
 Use the research databases provided by the Schmidt Library in order to evaluate
and retrieve quality scholarly articles related to your working research thesis (line
of inquiry)
 Compose a proposal that clearly states your purpose, intended audience, your
qualifications to conduct the research, a timetable/plan for completing the
research, and a justification for why the research should be conducted
 Create an Annotated Bibliography the cites, as well as summarizes and evaluates,
ten of you current research sources
The following elements should be present in your proposal:
____ Focused topic question
____ Specific audience to whom you will present your information
____ Specific purpose statement
____ Proposed line of inquiry
____ Statement about your qualifications to do this research
____ Proposed timetable/ Outline/ Organizer
____ Annotated bibliography consisting of ten of your sources
Note- Annotated Bibliography should stapled as the last page(s) of the proposal
In addition to the required components mentioned above, you will be evaluated on your
mastery of learning outcomes 1, 3, 6, and 7, as well as on the following:
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Focus: Does the essay have a single, specific thesis or point, which is clear
from the start and which remains consistent throughout the piece?
Audience accommodation/Clear purpose: Have you framed the information
in ways that speak to the intended readers? Does it serve the purpose of the
assignment?
Organization: Does the essay flow logically, connecting one idea to another in
substantial and understandable ways, using reasonable transitions between
ideas?
Credibility: Is the credibility of your information made clear by the way the
information is framed?
Clarity: Are the sentences clear, focused and understandable?
Voice/Tone: Have you used language that is appropriate to the formal
presentation of information—that is, have you maintained a voice and tone
appropriate to professional discourse?
Mechanics: Have you edited your piece carefully so as to have avoided
grammatical errors? Have you used punctuation both correctly and innovatively?
Though all of the above aspects should be present, it will be up to you to organize the
piece. Use whatever organization that you feel will work the best. Be creative in your
design in order to sell your idea. You may incorporate various styles such as paragraphs,
bulleted items, charts, and graphs. Consider your style, tone, and voice. Remember that
credibility is a key element in any proposal.
Essay #2 Requirements Quickbox
 APA format
 5-7 pages in length (including the
Annotated Bibliography)
 Participation in peer review of
rough draft