Research Paper Proposal

printable version of research-paper-proposal (.pdf, 10Kb)

Choosing a Topic

The topic of your research paper is essentially up to you, although I must approve it. Topics may consider most subjects on the rhetoric of war from the Crusades to the War on Terror, from war crimes to the perpetrators of the Holocaust, from the Battle of Gettysburg to the Yom Kippur War, from terrorism to Star Wars, from The Odyssey to I, Claudius to a single war poet or fiction writer. Examples of ones that will not be accepted are: Hitler's biography (or any military leader's biography); the evolution of Nazism (or any evolution of a political system); a detailed discussion of a battle that does not have some sort of ethical frame; the movie Platoon, etc. You may analyze photographs, posters, drawings, or any other still image, but movies, I am sorry to write, cannot be accepted do to the vastly different kind of analytical writing that movies require.

Most important about any topic is that you be able to place your essay in the context of the ethical ideas we have discussed in class, and that you can create a frame/case relationship. That theory or those theories we have discussed will serve as one of your frame texts. The texts you find in the library will for the most part be the case of your essay. (We will discuss these more at a later date.)

If you have a topic you think I might not approve, please email me immediately so we can find a time to talk about it.

Working on the Proposal

The proposal is your first step in your research paper writing. Its function is to provide space to begin brainstorming and narrowing down your research topic, generate ideas relating to the research topic and the essays read in class, and formulate questions you may wish to consider when writing your paper. The proposal is also an excellent medium for you to consider what main ideas you are going to have to establish in order for you to begin writing your paper. It is also important for you to start considering what frame you will be placing around your topic. Another way to say it: Consider what ideas you will use to discuss your topic.

Instead of an outline which assumes that you already have some idea of the structure of your paper, this assignment discusses what your paper might be about. As a result, you should see the proposal as an exploration of your topic, your ideas on the topic, your reasons for choosing the topic, and what you will need to do in order to complete your essay. Students often find that creating a research question is helpful because in-depth questions, by definition, demand explorative answers. Within those answers, you may find that your topic narrowing itself, or you may find a new topic that is more interesting to you.

You may approach your proposal any way your feel, but please make sure you address at the very least the following:

Indicate your topic, problem, or idea you will be exploring.
Why does this topic interest you personally? (It is VERY important that you have a topic that interests you because if you aren't interested, you will not do a good job.)
What questions do you want to address in your paper?
How do those questions or ideas intersect with what we have been discussing in class?
How focused is your topic? Have you picked a specific theme, idea, author?
Do you have any ideas on how you think the paper will be structured?
If you have a preliminary position in relation to your topic and research question, indicate what that position is.