English 222

ESSAY PROPOSAL Due Oct 31

ESSAY PROPOSAL Due Oct 31
Your essay proposal must include these elements:

1. The Research Question and Your Position:  Clearly and concisely, articulate your research question.  Explain the different sides of the issue and identify which position you propose to defend.


2. Purpose of Your Essay:  Identify and explain the purpose of your argument.  For instance, are you trying to change someone's mind?  Are you trying to get others to acknowledge your position? 


3. Audience of Your Essay: Identify and describe in detail your target audience.


4. Significance: Explain why the issue is one of importance within the academic discipline or the community. Explain why the issue is personally significant to you.

This essay proposal needs to be 250 words.  The challenge of this assignment is succinctly include all of the above aspects.  This assignment is different from the exploratory paper because you are taking a stand and thinking about it in the context of your paper in a more specific manner.

Example of successful essay proposal:

Homeless No More: Eliminating Homelessness through Community Programs

Essay Proposal

The research topic I have chosen is focused on our mental health system in terms of what services are provided and what services are needed.  The research question I wish to answer is:  Homelessness among the chronically mentally ill is a community problem, so how can we address this problem?  I recently viewed a program on 60 Minutes that profiled a community in Geel, Belgium that has a unique way to care for the mentally ill in their community. I wanted to further investigate their system for caring for the mentally ill and see if their methods could be duplicated in other communities. I feel, as a community, we have a responsibility to care for those who are unable to care for themselves and that the American public, especially those in developing or in charge of mental health and homelessness programs, would want to know the best way to care for the homeless. However, I understand that many people do not believe that homelessness is the result of mental illness, but the result of laziness, lack of education or opportunity, or economic circumstances. Thus, I will argue that without addressing the mental health aspects of homelessness, these factors can not be resolved.  Specifically, I will discuss how the Village Integrated Service Agency in Long Beach, California incorporated a number of innovative approaches that may be valuable in effecting widespread system change and could be applicable to other communities and help resolve this chronic problem of homelessness. 

Your proposal will be graded on how well you incorporate all the elements required in this assignment.

posted by Melissa @ 10:51 AM