Hi Everyone,

It was great to meet with all of you this week. I wish I could have had more time to meet with each of you!

Over break, please do these two tasks (listed in order of importance):
1) Write a one-paragraph proposal about what you plan to examine/argue in your research paper. This proposal is for YOU alone. Tell yourself what you’re going to write about in your essay. And please bring this to class so we can discuss your plans together.

Here’s a rough template that I use for myself when I write these proposals:
Sentence 1 “In my essay, I’m writing about…..”
Sentence 2 “The three major points I want to bring up are…”
Sentence 3 “My evidence is probably going to be….”
Sentence 4 “I think people would be interested in my topic because…”

If you can make these four moves in your proposal, you’ll have a better sense of what you’re trying to write about in your research essay. I promise!

2) Do some aimless research. Spend an hour or two looking around online. Or check out/buy/download a book and read a chapter. You might find that the best ideas will come to you when you’re not looking for them.

That’s it. Bring your proposals to class. No other assignments.