Stanford
TeachingWriting

Research Proposal

Overview:  Each student prepares an individual written and oral proposal for a research project related to the course theme, establishing the significance and scope of the project, framing research questions and expected research methods, and presenting preliminary information about relevant sources. Students share their research proposal with their class in a graded oral presentation that has a draft and revised version.  At end of the process, students write and submit an ungraded “Reflection on Proposal Assignment.”

Length: A minimum of 5 minutes of live oral presentation; written text of 900-1200 words; ungraded “Reflection on Proposal Assignment” (i.e., cover letter or reflective memo) of 250 words.

Sources: Students should draw on and orally cite at least two or three sources in their spoken proposal.

Student Learning Objectives:

  • Practice narrowing an idea to a clearly defined, limited research agenda
  • Learn strategies for how to organize, plan, rehearse, and deliver effective oral presentations in a way that is accurate, relevant, and appropriate to the audience
  • Identify, explore, and practice skills in live oral delivery (with or without multimedia) through feedback from peers and instructors
  • Reflect on their learning experience in choosing sources, framing questions, translation process