ENGL 1020 Spring 2016 Composition II

Assignment 1: Idea Discussion and Research Proposal

Elizabeth Kent
Description
This first assignment sets the groundwork for the remainder of the project. While not
everything you lay out here needs to be followed exactly to the letter for a successful
research project, establishing a goal and a timeline will be beneficial to grasping the
scope of the project and predicting the work and research youll need to do. This project
consists of two parts. First is the creation of an Idea Discussion or, more formally, a
concept exploration. Using the questions we cover in discussion and research journal
prompts as a guide, you should compose an essay of at least 2 pages that explores
what you see as some of the ideas, arguments, and concepts surrounding your topic.
Read Wikipedia. Do a basic Google search. Explore, in writing, the arguments that
surround the topic. Use MLA formatting here.
Your second part should consist of a brief explanation of the work you need to do to get
to the writing stage of this assignment. What questions do you need to answer, and
how do you plan on answering them? What amount of research is required, and when
and how do you plan on doing that? What genres do you want to use for your project
(refer to the final project assignment sheet). This part needs to be at least one page and
map out what you hope to accomplish with this project and detail why your audience
should or would be interested in it. Think of it as a preliminary defense to your
classmates. Formatting here is irrelevant. Dont cite.
Rhetorical Situation
Audience: Your classmates (an intelligent group of people with diverse backgrounds but
strong understanding of most basic academic and social topics)
Genre: Exploratory essay and proposal
Purpose: To begin forming a coherent topic with the intention of receiving peer reviewed
feedback
Page length: at least 3 double-spaced pages
Due Date
First Draft: In class February 4
Final Draft: February 5 by 11:59pm to Weebly site