February 16th, 2020 
The Research Paper Proposal
Your Paper Proposal should include the following:
1. Working title. You may discard your working title on your final draft, but for now, it should be
specific and focused. It will be your readers first indication of the direction in which you intend
to travel. Be sure to include key words that accurately identify your subject and issue(s).
2. Identify your research issue. A substantial paragraph (not one long sentence) in which you
identify your subject or issue and pose a list of questions about your subject or issue. At this
point, your questions may be quite simple. What will you need to know in order to explore your
main research question? What kinds of information will you need? Who, what, when, where,
how, why? Provide a context for your questions; that is, explain the significance or importance
of the questions you have chosen. As you learn more about your topic, the questions that steer
your research will become more refined and more complex.
3. Working thesis. Although your reading will prompt you to refine and revise your initial
thinking about the subject, you should make an effort to articulate a working thesis — a central
hypothesis, a controlling idea — early on.
So, in a brief paragraph, draft a tentative thesis for your paper. Ask yourself: what am I trying to
explain or claim? You may have little or no basis for an opinion at this point, and thats fine.
However, on most questions that interest you, youll have some opinion. Spell out what that is.
Be sure that you state your central claim in specific terms and that you explain it in enough
detail that a reader can follow it.
The thesis: A thesis is an argument–an opinion, conclusion, idea, or explanation that you drew
from the evidence you examined and which your paper will support. It is generally an informed
and supportable (as well as refutable) opinion. A thesis is a claim that would be an issue for
someone; it has at least two dimensions — individuals can disagree on the issue. It is not merely
a statement of fact. The Bulldog is the mascot for the University of Monterey is not an
adequate thesis, even though it is true. The bulldog is an appropriate symbol for the University
of Monterey because it manifests qualities with which the members of this university
community identify: strength, loyalty, and tenacity is a thesis because it provides an
explanation for a fact.
A good thesis answers questions like why or how (e.g., Why does an environment, an artwork, a
film object, look the way it does? How does it embody &/or generate meaning?) A strong thesis
will organize the paper for you: each paragraphs topic should support or help prove your thesis, and the first or last sentence of a paragraph (topic and transition sentences) is the best place to
explicitly state that relationship to your larger argument.
Another way to think about this: if you had to present one meaningful opinion about the
artwork, artist, or visual practice you chose, what would it be? Given the evidence gathered
through your research, how would you convince the reader that your opinion is informed and
valid? This is the goal of your paper. The purpose of this paper assignment is to develop
research and analytical skills — to generate research questions and construct an argument with
relevant details into a coherent whole. Do not present an array of interesting, but unrelated
facts and descriptions. Everything in the body of the paper should meaningfully contribute to
the development of your argument/thesis/position.
3. Research Resources. Create a preliminary list of published sources/library holdings relevant
to your issue. Identify 5-7 print sources (articles and books) related to your topic.
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