Chapter 4 of our book deals with planning and proposing research arguments. This chapter deals with a few things. It talks about picking a topic, research and prewriting techniques, and how to construct and write a research argument. The chapter discusses specific persuasive images, specifically propaganda posters. One thing they suggest to do is construct a research log. As you gather information and research you should keep track of them in a log. You should also generate research questions. These are a set of questions that guide you to the final argument. Once you pick a topic and make some questions, the next thing you should do is prewriting. It’s very simple, it is just writing that takes place before you begin. Graphic brainstorming is a good thing to use as well. It is a extension of regular brainstorming, where you jot down a group of words into a visual way. It’s also called webbing, clustering, or mapping. Next you need to narrow your topic. Here is a list of things to look at to help you narrow your topic.
1 Write down your topic.
2) Work with that topic by asking a pointed question based on close analysis of the text at hand.
3) Refine the topic by answering that question.
4) Revise the narrowed topic to be more specific.
5) Identify significant of that topic to explore
6) Use the answers to these questions to focus the topic.
It also talks about freewriting, where you usually use a three-paragraph model to accomplish this. While freewriting you need a hypothesis, or a thesis to make your argument. To formalize this document, you should compose a research proposal. Include the following things with your proposal:
Background
Methods
Sources
Timeline
Significance
Lastly ask yourself the “So What” question and ask these 3 questions:
What is at stake in your topic?
Why does it matter?
What contribution will your project make to a wider community?
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