The first assignment in the research project is a formal Research Project Proposal, in which you present your plans for the project.
Your Research Project Proposal will need to cover each of the basic elements described below. Craft a good paragraph for each section; feel free to use the same headings.
Research Agenda
- What have you chosen as your primary text and why? Baldwin–Sonny’s Blues.pdf
- What is interesting/noteworthy/confusing about this primary text(s)? What makes it worthy of further study?
- What do you hope to learn?
Summary of Primary Text
- As with all of the summaries of literary texts we have written about this semester, you’ll need to cover the basic plot point, characters, setting, and conflict/resolution of the story.
- Imagine that your audience has either not read this text or has not read it in many years. Your goal is to give them enough information to understand your analysis.
Contextual Considerations
- This is where you will discuss the kinds of secondary research you have done/will do.
- What arguments have other literary scholars made about this primary text, about this author, or about similar primary texts?
- How does or how might biographical research about the author, historical research about the setting or time of publication, and/or other contextual research contribute to a deeper understanding of the primary text?
Research Question/Working Thesis
- What angle do you plan to take? What is/are your research question(s)? (You may use a Textual Analysis Essay prompt downloadfor inspiration.)
- Do you have a current hypothesis or working thesis about the power, meaning, and/or structure of the text?
- How does your developing argument contribute to the broader conversations you’ve been researching?
Plans
- Include a timeline with clearly delineated tasks.
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