Writing Project Proposal guidelines FSS: CJVAPS, Fall 2019 UPLOAD to IS by your class start time on Oct 30. First of all, remember that this is only a proposal—your first ideas for what you will write as your main project for this course. As your writing project evolves, you can (and will) make changes to the plan. Your proposal should be around 1 page (2 pages absolute max!), typed in 12-pt font. Please save it as a Word document (not a PDF), and upload it to the HW and Assignments folder -> “Writing Project Proposal” folder. Remember to change your document language to English, and use spell check before you turn it in! In your proposal, please write a few sentences, or a short paragraph, in answer to each of these four questions. My comments/questions under each main question are only suggestions of things to consider; you can respond to them directly, or go off in your own direction and answer the four main questions in another way. It’s up to you. 1. What do you plan to write? First, describe the piece as it exists so far in your imagination. What do you want it to be “about”? (It can be about many things, of course.) What question(s) would you like to answer with your writing? (In other words, what’s your “guiding question” or “research question”?) What genre(s) would you like to write in? (Again, you could combine several genres if you want!) What do you want your work to look like, feel like? What effect do you want it to have on your readers? Is it connected to a larger project or idea of yours? 2. Who is your intended audience? Don’t say “I want to write for everyone and anyone.” If you write for everyone you’ll end up writing for no one. Get more specific. Narrow your target. Think of a particular group which you want to reach. Even writing with just one specific person in mind (your “ideal reader”) can be very helpful for some people. Last year, for example, one of my students wrote a beautiful personal “tour guide to Brno” addressed directly to her daughter; another student wrote an essay about university life in the form of a letter to her friend. 3. Which specific language and writing skills would you like to develop? Don’t say “I want to work on my grammar” or “I want to improve my academic vocabulary.” Be much more specific. If you want to improve your vocabulary, which specific set of words would you like to develop (sensory words, medical vocab, political terms…)? But also—remember that there might be more important and interesting writing goals than just improving your English. Do you want to focus on a particular structural element, like introductions? Do you want to get better at responding to arguments politely? Do you want to get published in a particular journal? The more specific you are here, the better the advice I can give you about what to write/read. 4. What are 2 pieces of writing which you will take inspiration from? Say the title and author of at least two pieces of writing which you will use as models for your own writing. I don’t mean sources for your research (content); I mean pieces in which you admire the writing itself (the form). These could be essays we’ve already read for this class, or ones you’ve found on your own. After mentioning each piece, write a couple sentences about how this model will inspire you. Think about form—can you “steal” formal elements from your models? Could you combine formal elements from them into something new? And think about style—do you wish you could write like this author? At the end of your proposal, feel free to add any other comments, thoughts, or questions you have about your writing which you haven’t mentioned earlier. If you’d like some inspiration from other students, check out the “Student Essay Hall of Fame” on IS (in the “Writing Resources and Model Essays” folder), where I’ve placed some of the best essays from previous semesters. They might help you get a better sense of what’s possible. Be ambitious, and be adventurous! Follow your curiosity.