For this assignment, you will complete a topic proposal for the cause and effect essay. The proposal consists of 5 sections: an introduction, a list of goals, a description of the essay’s audience, a description of the essay’s purpose, and a description of your early research. This can and should be written using first person as it is your explanation of what you are writing, to whom you’re writing, and why you’re writing about this topic. Your topic should be as narrowed and focused as possible for this assignment.
Here’s what to include in each of the proposal’s sections:
Introduction: Like any introduction, begin with a broad, general description of your topic and move to more specific information about your paper. This section should introduce your particular focus–what you’re analyzing and investigating specifically. So, introduce your topic and introduce the specific causes and/or effects you’re planning to magnify in the essay.
Goals: In no more than 5 bulleted points, this section explains what you hope the final product will accomplish. Those accomplishments can be both personal and formal goals. Think of what you specifically hope to learn throughout the researching and writing process for this paper. Think of what point you hope to convey to your readers.
Audience: This section identifies no more than two audiences, a primary one and secondary one, for the paper and includes an explanation as to why those particular groups should be interested in the essay’s topic as well as what they can gain from reading the essay.
Purpose: Though part of your purpose for this paper is to complete an assignment, in this section, you should reflect on why you chose this topic and what you hope to learn or teach your audience. You can expand on the goals you listed in the Goals section here.
Early Research: This section does just what the title says: it describes your early research. What have you researched? What have you learned? What direction has that research taken you? Has it confirmed your initial assumptions/stance regarding the topic, or has it changed it? What other research do you need to do? What other research can you do? Remember, with research, it’s best to start broad with your research terms, topics, and ideas so that you can find the ‘puzzle pieces’ to help you draw the conclusions you need to. As you continue to research, you can narrow your search.