Touchstone 1.2 includes a research question, a working thesis, a detailed outline, and a reflection on this pre-writing process.

Guidelines

DIRECTIONS: Choose a scenario below and create a research question, a working thesis, and a detailed outline. Your topic should be current, appropriate for an academic context and should have a focus suitable for an essay.

STEP 1: SELECT A SCENARIO AND TOPIC

You’re going to begin your prewriting process by choosing a scenario so you can then start to brainstorm the problem you’d like to focus on. The scenario you select will help determine what type of problem you will explore in your proposal, as well as what audience you’ll be writing for. Since you’re writing a proposal, you already know your purpose is to persuade. But how you will persuade—what rhetorical appeals and research you will use—will likely depend on your audience.Scenario 1: CommunityCommunity-focused problems are issues that affect the daily life of individuals. These individuals can be from the same neighborhood, a neighborhood across town, or the same city. Have you ever wished the city would install more street lights, or put in a skating park, or did something about the persistent littering throughout the neighborhood?All of these are examples of community-focused problems.

The goal of this scenario is to persuade a community group to fund the solution that you believe will address a particular problem and benefit the area. How will you persuade the community group to give you what you’re asking for?Scenario 2: WorkplaceWorkplace-focused problems involve issues or needs that affect employees at the office, department, or company. Some examples of workplace issues might include poor communication between departments, wasteful spending, lack of work-life balance, or a desire to have on site childcare. The goal of this scenario is to analyze the problem, then develop a solution that you think will resolve or improve the situation for the employees. How will you convince management to accept your solution?

If you are wondering which scenario would be best to choose, think about concerns, issues,or projects that you are passionate about in your own life and career. For Example, as you think of this, if you keep coming back to how the empty lot on your block would make a great community garden space, you may want to consider choosing Scenario 1. If, when you think of your workplace, and it is experiencing a delay in receiving supplies, and want to explore a solution to this problem, you may want to consider choosing Scenario 2.