Compose a 800-word inquiry proposal about the social issue you want to focus on for the rest of the semester. You will choose a research question about why that social issue is so important for our society to address that you will explore throughout the semester-long research project. The inquiry proposal should do the following:

  1. It should introduce the research question at the beginning of the proposal. This question should be open ended, unbiased, and able to be answered or researched. Think of questions beginning with “why” and “how.” Note: You should NOT have your mind made up already about the answer.
  2. It should discuss your knowledge of the question. This can come from what you already know and what you’ve found out through preliminary research. For preliminary research, you might interview someone, or you might search around the internet for knowledge (we’ll discuss how to do this). Do NOT quote, paraphrase, summarize, or otherwise use any sources in your paper. Your preliminary research will only be for inspiring your ideas and building your own knowledge base.
  3. It should discuss what interests you about the topic and how you want to enter into and/or contribute to the conversation happening in the related discourse community(ies).

There should be three main sections: 1.) your research question, 2.) the knowledge you’ve acquired exploring the topic, and, based on that exploration, 3.) what you hope to find through your further research. Think of it in terms of a lab report: first you pose a hypothesis, then you propose an experiment to prove/disprove that hypothesis, and finally state what exactly you expect the results of that experiment to be.

Rhetorical Situation

Genre: Proposal focused on a research question

Your role and purpose: To explore your own ideas, make plans for further research, and get your audience interested in your research project

Audience: Fellow scholars with an interest in your topic; educated but without your specialized knowledge

Style notes:

  • This is not an essay, and therefore will not have a thesis or argument.
  • Perhaps include an introduction that tells your audience and purpose.
  • You should use first person (though avoid overusing, such as beginning each statement with “I think”).
  • Consider dividing your idea exploration and research proposal using subheadings.

Choosing a Question

  • I ban a few topics and related questions because they’re difficult to research due to their discourse communities and controversial nature. These topics include abortion and gun control, as well as any topic connected with it.
  • I caution against questions that you’re either too emotionally connected with or that can easily lead to biased arguments. For instance, the question “Why is there an epidemic of single mothers?” can be biased: the word “epidemic” dehumanizes people, women tend to be blamed or stereotyped in much of the rhetoric of this topic, and the question makes assumptions about the “correct” family structure. I might ask you to reflect on potential biases when talking about your question.
  • If I tell you that you can’t use a question, understand I’m doing so for your best interest, and I’m open to discussion about the question.
  • If you don’t know what question to do, or if you feel your question is too broad, that’s completely normal. Please talk to me. I won’t give you a question, but I can help you generate ideas or find interesting ways to talk about the question.