Your Name

Ms. Kovick
ENGL 121
22 January 2015

[Name, etc, just like this]

Interesting Title [Your own title that you have created]

Section 1: Discussion of Topic [Label each section just like this]

Why this topic is interesting to me; what I knew about it before I started researching; why
[Body of the proposal should all be double spaced. Mine is not, so fix it on your copy] I chose it;
my history with the topic; anything personally that makes me relate to it; background
information on the topic; controversy on the topic; why it matters and who it matters to; how
researching this topic reflects the idea of making the personal public. Try to make this section
to 1 full page.
Section 2: Specific Focus
Within the topic of (your topic), I have decided to focus on (more specific part of topic).
My working thesis is: (your thesis sentence as of right now. This can always be adjusted as you
do more research). Go on to explain your thesis and define any words that seem vague or
unclear. Be very specific about what you are looking to prove with your research. Also talk about
what led you to this topic; what background knowledge you had based on other course work or
past research. Do you know any experts or people related to this topic whom you could
interview? Talk about what you dont know yet, but hope to find out.
Discuss your research questions. What led you to each of them and what do you think you
will find based on these questions. Do you think you can answer any of them already? It would
be interesting to compare your initial thoughts from this proposal to your actual findings in the
final paper after you have completed all of your research. Make a note here of what you hope to
discover, so you can later compare this to your findings. What dont you know at all but hope to
find out? This section should be 1 page.
Section 3: Research Plan
Discuss the sources you have found already. What types of sources have you found?
Summarize the information you have discovered through the research you have done so far.
Name the sources and explain what they discuss. Talk about how this initial research is helping
you frame your further research. What other sources and information are you looking for? Your
final paper should have a minimum or three academic sources and three popular sources. For
this proposal, you should include the two online (popular) sources you have found for homework
and the two academic sources you discover today in the library. You may include more sources
than these four, but four is the minimum for the Proposal. This section should be 1-2 pages.

[Your last name and page number. Notice that the first page does not have this
header] Kovick / 2

Works Cited
[This is centered and worded exactly this way]
Benjamin, Walter. "Theses on the Philosophy of History." Illuminations. Ed. Hannah Arendt.
Trans. Harry Zohn. New York: Schocken, 2007. 253-64. Print.
Heads you win? the low down on helmets on the slopes. Ski-Injury. Ski-injury.com, 6 June
2001. Web. 27 November 2001.
Purdy, Amy. Living Beyond Limits. Ted.com.Ted Talks, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Vine, Steven. "The Wuther of the Other in Wuthering Heights." Nineteenth-Century Literature
49.3 (1994): 339-59. JSTOR. 21 Nov. 2014. Web.
[All sources are alphabetized. First line of each source starts at the margin; each line of
the source after the first is indented five spaces. Notice where periods are placed. Do not
include URLs, but do state whether you found the source online (Web) or on paper (Print
or Book). Refer to Writing in Action MLA section, OWL Purdue online, or easybib.com. If
you use easybib, you will need to remove the shading, adjust margins, and make sure all
information is correct; dont just copy, paste, and not check it.]