EN 304 · Unit 1

EN 304 Unit 1 research proposal example

English Composition II Herzing University Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

EN 304 opens on a question rather than a thesis, and the research proposal below commits to one the writer cannot yet answer. It states the question, shows why it is open, describes the kinds of sources that would settle it, names the audience the finished paper will argue to, and sets out a plan the instructor can approve.

What this page holds

A finished EN 304 Unit 1 research proposal: one open question, the reason it stays open, the evidence that would settle it, and an approvable plan. Searches like "en 304 unit 1 assignment example", "en304 unit 1 sample" and "en 304 unit 1 example" land here.

What a finished EN 304 Unit 1 research proposal looks like

The proposal is a short document with a decision inside it. It opens by stating the question in a single interrogative sentence, narrow enough that a paper of the assigned length could answer it. A paragraph then establishes that the question is genuinely contested, commonly by naming two positions already held in the published conversation, since a question everybody answers the same way produces a report rather than an argument. The writer's own starting position appears next, stated as provisional and marked as something the research may overturn. A section describes the evidence the argument will need and where that evidence is likely to live: the kinds of sources, the databases, the disciplines. A working schedule closes the document where the section asks for one.

How a EN 304 Unit 1 example is structured

The question comes first and stays in question form, because a proposal that opens with a thesis has skipped the work this course is about and has nothing left to research. Contestedness is established before the writer's own view, since a position declared before the argument has been surveyed is a preference rather than a claim. The provisional stance is hedged deliberately, as a second composition course expects a writer to be moved by what they read and a proposal locked to a conclusion tends to produce a paper that quotes selectively. Evidence planning comes after the question so the sources are chosen to answer it rather than gathered first and fitted afterward. The schedule closes, because it is the one part an instructor approves on feasibility.

The question kept in question form

The opening sentence asks something, since a proposal that begins with a settled thesis has nothing left in it to research.

Two positions already in the conversation

The proposal shows the question is contested by naming views published on both sides rather than asserting that a debate exists.

The writer's stance marked as provisional

Any starting position is hedged, because this course expects the reading to move a writer rather than confirm what they brought.

Evidence planned to fit the question

The kinds of sources and the places they live are described after the question, so the search serves the argument.

Scope sized to the assigned length

The proposal narrows until the question could be answered inside the paper the instructions describe, which is what approval turns on.

A schedule an instructor can approve

A working sequence closes the document, judged on feasibility rather than on argument, in sections that ask for one.

Where marks go in EN 304 Unit 1

Proposals lose points by proposing a conclusion. A document announcing what the writer already believes, with a plan to find sources that agree, describes a paper the course does not want and readers see it at once. Questions too broad for the assigned length are the other common failure, and they survive into the last unit as papers that summarize everything and argue nothing. Questions with one settled answer leave no argument to sustain. Source plans naming only the library in general show no search thought through. Proposals with no audience named produce papers pitched at nobody, which matters more here than in a first composition course. A schedule omitted where the instructions require it costs points on its own.

Get a EN 304 Unit 1 example written to your instructions

Start with the Unit 1 instructions and your EN 304 rubric, plus any list of approved subjects your section circulates. We write a custom example proposal that holds the question open, shows it contested, plans evidence against it and sizes the scope to the paper. First custom sample free, back in 24 to 48 hours.

EN 304 Unit 1 questions, answered

How do I know a question is narrow enough?

Test it against the page count in your instructions. A question you could answer responsibly in the assigned length usually has a stated population, a stated period or a stated setting attached to it, and dropping any one of those widens it considerably. If the honest answer would need a book, add a limit and ask your instructor whether the narrower version still counts.

Do I need sources before the proposal is written?

Enough to show the question is contested, which is usually a handful rather than the full set. Sections differ: some require a preliminary list with the proposal, some want only the search plan. What no proposal can do is claim a debate exists without having seen it, because the reader has no way to take that on trust.

Can the question come from something in my own life?

A personal interest is a perfectly good reason to choose a question, and it usually produces better reading. The paper that follows still argues from published evidence, so the connection stays in your motivation rather than in the argument. Keep your own records, a relative's situation and anything belonging to an employer out of the proposal, and write the question so a stranger could research it.