The Bedford Book of Help with Everything

In Chapter 5 of The Bedford Book of Genres, the process of choosing a topic and crafting a research proposal for a project is outlined with incredibly specific details. The chapter outlines the process in specific detail by breaking it down into three steps. At the end of each of these three steps, a very useful checklist is provided to the reader to make sure that everything in the step is completely understood (the checklists are located on pages 276, 291, 294, and 301). The first step in the process is choosing a topic through basic research. In this step, brainstorming is encouraged by using broad sources such as google and Wikipedia (carefully). This is the step in which maps and flowcharts are utilized to organize the writer’s thoughts. After brainstorming and exploration, the final event in this step is choosing a single topic to focus in on, and adjusting that topic so that it caters to the research question that the writer is trying to answer. The second step in this chapter is the process of moving from the question that was produced in step one to crafting a research proposal. In this section, extensive examples are given on how to conduct research into the topic. After enough research has been conducted, the writer is encouraged to begin creating an actual research proposal. To help focus on the given topic, questions regarding things such as the working title, a summary of the project, and challenges that may be faced are asked. The third and final step explores the organization of gathered sources. Multiple examples of ways to hold on to sources are provided, including keeping a word document with URLs, taking screenshots, and most importantly – keeping a working annotated bibliography. Overall this chapter is a very useful guide for the beginning stages of crafting a project. Not only does it provide step-by-step, in-depth instructions and tips for both the narrowing and research of a topic, it also offers incredibly specific examples for each of the steps, including annotated screenshots of other student’s research. This chapter would certainly be a superb tool to have up your sleeve when working on this semester (or any semester’s) projects.