Once you have spent some time thinking about writing in your field and the kind of writing you want to learn about in more detail, you need to write a short, informal proposal that tell us about your choices.

Where?

You will post your proposal in the forum by 11:55 PM Thursday, July 30.

To organize this project a bit, I have set up a subforum specifically for your proposals: Proposals for Project 4. I’d like you to name your post with the kind of writing and your field. So if I were to work on this project, I might have the subject line “Course Syllabus, for College English Teacher.”

What Do You Write?

Write a short proposal that explains the genre (or kind) of writing that you will focus on for your report. Address the following points:

1. Background/Introduction
   Give some background on your genre, your experiences with it to date, what you already know, etc. Then clearly state, "I would like to study this genre for the following reasons: . . . ." What are your motivations for doing work in this area?

2. Areas to be Studied
   What are the key points you will explore/research? What are some questions you will ask and try to answer with this project? What do you intend to do with this project?

3. Methods of Research
   What is your research strategy? What, exactly, are you planning to do to try to find answers to your questions?

4. Timetable
   What are your target dates for various stages of completion? You have about two weeks for this project, so set some deadlines for yourself to ensure you are ready to share you rough draft on August 10 and turn in your project on August 11.

5. Qualifications
   What makes you qualified to do this research? What skills do you bring to the table that will help you deal with this topic effectively?

6. Request for Approval
   Ask for approval; ask for guidance, articulate biggest concerns at this point; ask for suggestions about next right steps; provide contact information.

What Happens Next?

I will read all the proposals and give you feedback on your plan by Saturday. Keep working on your project as if you have approval. You will post a progress report that assesses that you have accomplished so far on Tuesday, August 4.