Content:

· Background:

o   One or two paragraphs explaining the situation/what caused the issue/the general problem

o   Use two or more sources to present facts

o   (no need to deal with a story or place at this time)

·  Project Problem:

o   Research question + audience for the final article

o   Keep this short -- one or two sentences

o   State the problem as a need if you like ( ___x_ audience needs information about _x__ . )

·  Objectives:

o   Short transition from the problems (e.g.: To solve this problem, I propose an article tentatively entitled __________  that deals with  ____________ .)

o   Projected thesis/main point

o   Outline of the final article:

§  Introduction (what place/story will you start with)

§  Topic 1

·    Sub-topics

§  Topic 2

§  Topic 3 …

·  Methods

o   Who will you interview and when? What places will you visit for research?

o   List your sources (4 minimum). Use professional articles or individual chapters from books.

§  Bibliographic entry

§  Summarize each  (main point, main details, article conclusion). Check this link.

§  Evaluate each source in terms of your specific objectives

·   Credentials

o   Explain what qualifies you to write this article (major, course work, professional experience, other experience, ….).   Write a short paragraph. End by connecting this with your methods/objectives.

·   Conclusions

o   Emphasize your project’s need/usefulness/timeliness, feasibility.

Organization

          Use headings

          Make you paragraphs work (focus on one main point, logical order of ideas)

Sentence Style (discussed in class on Tuesday, Sep 29)

·         No comma splices, fragments, fused sentences

·         Correct comma usage

·         Other as discussed