Introduction: Proposals are a genre that span academic and professional settings. A business might require a proposal before committing to an action. A scientist may write a proposal in order to secure a grant. A scholar might write a proposal for publication or in order to present at a conference. Our proposals will establish the context of the Researched Argument, provide a little preliminary research, outline the intended audience and how you will reach them, and settle on one path with a particular topic/argument/thesis outlined. At this point, you should be narrowing your questions and moving towards a tentative argumentative thesis statement. The proposal is meant to be a document that will help your instructor respond to and refine your ideas before you are fully entrenched in the writing process.
Requirements: Your proposal should include these components:
Describe your purpose: A short introduction (a single paragraph) that explains what you are going to study, introduces a problem, what you are likely to argue about it, and why you think it will make for a successful RA (you may want to look at the requirements for the RA early in order to make your case). This paragraph should include a tentative thesis statement included in bold type. Remember, a good thesis statement is an argument a reasonable person can disagree with.
Review relevant research: One to three paragraphs that describes the academic context for your project—how it is situated in current and past research. What have you discovered about what people are saying about your topic and how do you plan to enter that conversation? Your Annotated Bibliography should be relevant to this. Be specific as you cover your sources.
Outline your argument/RA: This section begins with a description of who your intended audience is. Write a paragraph in which you plan, break down, and order the parts of your RA. Be sure to keep in mind the audience you describe at the beginning.
Discuss your implications: This section answers the question “So what?”. Imagine readers get to the end of your document, absorb the information you have put forth, and accept your argument. What will that mean, and why will it matter? What are the implications of them accepting your argument? Should it change their understanding of the issue and/or their behavior? What kind of effect do you imagine it having?