Demonstrate that the subject in question contains sufficient nuance and importance to support a larger research project.

1. Introduce your topic or area of study.
2. Pose a potential research question(s), explain why and how this topic
is ripe for academic research.
3. Demonstrate that the subject in question contains sufficient nuance and
importance to support a larger research project.
4. Converse with one piece of source material that could spark further
research

So start thinking. What issue or phenomena is interesting to you? Do you think you could find
an “academic” angle on it? Remember Gladwell and the questions he (and others) asks in
Outliers. Why do Rosetans die only of old age? Why do NHL players tend to have birthdays
within a couple of months of each other? Is there some community factor that determines
health? Could your birth month affect your success or failure in life? Feel free to ask questions
about anything: Sports, pop culture, American history, the Civil Rights struggle, religion,
psychology, whatever. Any topic can make a good academic research project because it is up to
the author to do the thinking required to uncover the nuances and layers that typically go
unexamined in regards to the topic in question. Chances are, most of us wouldn’t have guessed
that a little league hockey roster would make good research fodder, but Gladwell uses his talent
and eye for detail to prove us wrong. This is your goal as well.

Paper effectively forwards a research question, describing its importance. Nuances of the given issue are discussed in a manner that exceeds 1102 expectations in both intellectual rigor and knowledge of subject matter. Counter-arguments for major claims and justifications are anticipated and addressed within the paper’s text.Paper effectively forwards a research question, describing its importance. Nuances of the given issue are discussed in a manner that exceeds 1102 expectations in both intellectual rigor and knowledge of subject matter. Counter-arguments for major claims and justifications are anticipated and addressed within the paper’s text.

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