Topic proposal (Christopher Columbus)

Description

Write a topic proposal about Christopher Columbus .. directions are listed below 

PURPOSE: You are proposing a topic for your Research Paper. Benjamin Franklin is not a topic. The theme of Wealth Creation in the Writing of Benjamin Franklin is a topic.  See the difference? This is a very short paper but it requires a lot of thought and preliminary research. First you have to research to determine which writer you want to write about and then you must determine what your topic will be. After that you must do preliminary research to establish that you can indeed find material on your topic. 

This topic Proposal is NOT your research paper. It is proposing the topic for your paper. In other words you are convincing your reader that your chosen topic is a good one! This is NOT your Research paper. 

The first formal step of the research project is to propose a topic in a one page proposal in which you outline what you will talk about, how it is relevant to the work, and what your basic premise for the paper will be. This is a short essay. 

Remember this is a literature class so do not (for example) write a paper telling all about Ben Franklin’s scientific discoveries, his inventions, or his diplomacy. He is in this course because of what he wrote so talk about that! 

Obviously, you will need to do some preliminary research and a lot of thinking and reading to come up with your thesis statement. 

Topic Proposal Guidelines

Find a workable, feasible research topic

Develop a strategy for dealing with it

Convey your ideas for your paper in a concise manner

In a proposal of one page discuss the following questions in paragraph form: 

What is your main argument or working thesis?

Why is this an important topic? What does it mean to you?

What are some strategies and ideas you plan to use to argue your topic?

How will these main ideas support your topic?

Where will you look for sources?

Helpful Hints: 

Think through whether or not you can stretch your topic into a 4-6 page or 1500 word paper with at least 4-6 secondary sources.

• Do not make your topic too broad. For instance, you cannot realistically discuss the theology of Paradise Lost in a 4-6 page paper without doing the work and the author an injustice of epic proportions. (That reference to Paradise Lost is just an example. It is not part of American Literature I!)

Your proposal should read as an advertisement of the paper that you want to write.