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Hannah Reed

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

February 13, 2018

Topic Proposal: Care and Prevention of Sports Injuries

Introduction/Overview

In this section, please define the topic that interests you. Address the following

information: Give an overview of the topic by answering the five “W’s”: Who? What? Where?

When? Why? Help your reader understand the big picture information about your subject. Be

specific. Usually, most students present their first topic ideas as too broad.

Instead of writing, “I will be doing my project on Facebook…,” try: “I will be examining

the potential increased risk of clinical depression amongst teens who are heavy users of

Facebook.”

See how being more specific will create a focused topic AND make your work easier?

Once you announce your topic, give the overview. “While time spent on Facebook might appear

harmless, a recent study by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte suggests that teens who

spend more than 20 hours a week on the popular social network are 85 percent more likely to

suffer clinical depression. According to lead study author, Malcumbré Campbelloni, the findings

are important. “We no wanna have people be sad when zey could be ‘appy,” he says. But

Campbelloni may have detractors within his own university.

“This man is nuts,” says Chancellor James Hardin. “I’m not sure how he got a job here,

but rest assured, I’ll look into it tomorrow or Friday.”

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Share what specific research you did to learn more about your topic? What specific

websites did you use? Did you find a book or magazine article that helped? Did you use the

library’s databases to find more in-depth publications (“scholarly” or “academic” journals) that

cover the topic? Did you seek a librarian’s help? Did you talk about the topic with your peers,

parents, or co-workers? Did you ask initial questions of anyone involved in the field/topic? Did

this process lead you to a more focused understanding of your initial idea?

Describe the complexity of your topic. In other words, summarize what different

positions or opinions people have about the topic? (If everyone agrees about your topic, then it

may not be complex enough to support a semester’s worth of research. For example, a topic like:

“You can send pictures on Snapchat” ain’t gonna go far.) Who are the major different

groups/individuals contributing to the conversations and where do they have some of these

conversations? List publications, websites, conferences, broadcast channels, etc.

For this assignment, you DO NOT have to use MLA in-text parenthetical citation OR a

Works Cited; however, I do want you to name specific sources for any information you use.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

In this section, do your best to state one initial inquiry question. Examples: Do frequent

users of Facebook run a heightened risk of depression? Or, does the U.S. need to be concerned

about ISIS? Or, does Twitter/texting/Snapchat affect my ability to communicate complex

thoughts or is it causing me to think more simply? Or, why don’t more college professors use

technology that their students are using if they wish to understand us better? Or, how do

genetically modified foods affect the body’s immune systems?

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It is fine to list several questions you have at this time, but think through which question

most intrigues you now. Pose one, and in the section below, “Next Steps,” you can elaborate on

other areas of inquiry you may pursue. Chances are, you will.

My Interest in this Topic

Explain why you’re interested in researching this subject. What is its significance to you?

Use various prompts for freewriting like, “I’m interested in ______ because______” until you

generate some potentially meaningful answers. (You might also decide you need another topic

that you have more interest in.) The most successful EIPs are most often by students who have

some form of personal connection to the topic. Be forewarned: If you THINK you’ll be happy as

an accountant, so you THINK this connection will help you select a topic for the semester based

on your major, please THINK again. Also, answer these questions about your interest in your

topic:

1. What do you already know?

2. What do you hope to learn?

Next Steps
In this last section, state where you will go next to find more research on your topic.

Rather than stating, “I will use the Internet” (too broad), write, “I will be visiting Facebook’s

corporate PR page for statistics and various privacy watchdog websites for balance, plus

examining such reliable journalistic sources as The New York Times (and other papers), Wired

magazine’s website, and the library’s database to search for peer-reviewed sources that cover the

issues.”
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Remember that, through the library, you have access to just about every major newspaper,

magazine, and academic journal on the planet. We will visit the library to learn more; however,

you would be wise to go to the library and ask for help from the FREE reference librarians (ask

the information desk right up front where to find them). They are paid to help students find

sources for assignments just like this one. For free.