Proposal Essay This assignment has three interrelated goals: 1. To help you develop the necessary skills to create a class A proposal, considering context, research questions, sources, timeline, and larger implications. 1. To give you practice working with the Research Proposal as an academic genre. 1. To provide an opportunity for working on stylistics and effective academic discourse. FORMAT: Your essay should be at least FIVE FULL PAGES and in MLA FORMAT. Please include page numbers, a heading, in-text citations and a properly labeled and formatted works cited. You may use images in your draft if you wish – just please use them rhetorically, not decoratively. In addition, be sure to cite any credible sources (textual or image-based) that you include in your draft and to include a bibliography/works cited at the end that includes a minimum of five sources. These sources must come from the Dallas College database or Dallas College library. If not, there should be a reason why. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND STRUCTURE Your proposal should have a well thought out title and contain effective visual rhetoric as appropriate. It should be a traditional, linear Word document in MLA format. Make sure you are hitting the following parts within your essay (do not include subheadings. They are not needed): Introduction. This introduction should be designed to interest your reader in your topic and proposal and provide some historical/cultural context for your project. At the end of your introduction, include a tentative thesis to indicate to your reader that you are entering your project looking at your topic through a critical, analytic lens -- this thesis can state your intentions, but it SHOULD NOT BE IN FIRST PERSON. A good formula for an introduction is context + problem/complication + proposed argument or research question. Each stage in this formula should be a few sentences long. Body In your body paragraphs, make sure that you are addressing the problem and its solution. MORE SOLUTION THAN PROBLEM should be in this essay. What are you proposing? What are you offering to the world? Conclusion. In your conclusion, address the "So What?" of this research. That is, why does what you are investigating matter as more than an academic exercise? Why should your audience want to read it? Why does it matter? Works cited When you cite sources, you'll also need to have a works cited at the end of the proposal, with the citations in MLA format. Any parenthetical citations in the text itself should also follow MLA guidelines. You can find more help on in-text citations and works cited format through the Dallas College website or Purdue OWL. EVALUATION CRITERIA At a minimum, there needs to be some content for each of the sections listed above. Students who submit drafts that represent very little effort and are pronouncedly incomplete will receive a ½ grade (i.e., A- to .

1. Proposal Essay
This assignment has three interrelated goals:
1. To help you develop the necessary skills to create a class A
proposal, considering context, research questions, sources,
timeline, and larger implications.
1. To give you practice working with the Research Proposal as
an academic genre.
1. To provide an opportunity for working on stylistics and
effective academic discourse.
FORMAT:
Your essay should be at least FIVE FULL PAGES and in MLA
FORMAT. Please include page numbers, a heading, in-text
citations and a properly labeled and formatted works cited. You
may use images in your draft if you wish – just please use them
rhetorically,
not decoratively.
In addition, be sure to
cite any credible sources (textual or image-based) that
you include in your draft and to include a bibliography/works
cited at the end that includes a
minimum of five sources. These sources must come
from the Dallas College database or Dallas College library. If
not, there should be a reason why.
PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND STRUCTURE
Your proposal should have a well thought out title and contain
effective visual rhetoric as appropriate. It should be a
traditional, linear Word document in MLA format. Make sure
you are hitting the following parts within your essay (do not
include subheadings. They are not needed):

2. Introduction.
This introduction should be designed to interest your reader in
your topic and proposal and provide some historical/cultural
context for your project. At the end of your introduction,
include a tentative thesis to indicate to your reader that you are
entering your project looking at your topic through a critical,
analytic lens -- this thesis can state your intentions, but it
SHOULD NOT BE IN FIRST PERSON.
A good formula for an introduction is context +
problem/complication + proposed argument or research
question. Each stage in this formula should be a few sentences
long.
Body
In your body paragraphs, make sure that you are addressing the
problem and its solution. MORE SOLUTION THAN PROBLEM
should be in this essay. What are you proposing? What are you
offering to the world?
Conclusion.
In your conclusion, address the "So What?" of this research.
That is, why does what you are investigating matter as more
than an academic exercise? Why should your audience want to
read it? Why does it matter?
Works cited
When you cite sources, you'll also need to have a works cited at
the end of the proposal, with the citations in MLA format. Any
parenthetical citations in the text itself should also follow MLA
guidelines. You can find more help on in-text citations and
works cited format through the Dallas College website or
Purdue OWL.

3. EVALUATION CRITERIA
At a minimum, there needs to be some content for each of the
sections listed above. Students who submit drafts that represent
very little effort and are pronouncedly incomplete will receive a
½ grade (i.e., A- to A-/B+) deduction from their overall grade
from this assignment.
An exceptional research proposal revision will contain •
· An interesting, focused introduction that captures the reader’s
attention, clearly identifies the topic, and concludes with either
a hypothesis or a research question
· Clear articulation of topic; a move toward sophistication and
complexity of approach to the topic, one which narrows a broad
topic to a manageable scope
· Strong transitions between sentences and ideas, producing
prose that is fluid and organic, with clear and logical structure,
producing an overall sense of coherence in the proposal
· Use of clear, concrete language and example to develop ideas;
attention to detail
· Strong sense of audience, including an understanding of the
readers’ values, assumptions, expectations, and level of
expertise in the topic under discussion
· Strong control of style, language, word choice, diction,
syntax, sentence structure, and consistent and authoritative
voice in writing
· A strategic, powerful, and appropriate use of rhetoric appeals
· Effective use of source material (textual and visual as
appropriate), which is integrated into the author’s prose and
argument, and is meticulously documented in proper MLA
parenthetical citation form
· Attention to strategic and powerful document design
· Well-developed paragraphs that create a strong underlying
structure for the proposal
· A research method & sources section that includes specific
examples of texts, methodologies, and search strategies, with

4. rationales for the use of that particular research plan
· A timeline that integrates attention to deadlines for the
research project with the student’s individual research practices
and academic/extracurricular commitments
· A conclusion that synthesizes earlier sections of the proposal
while thoughtfully addressing broader implications (the "So
What?" of the project)
· A works cited and/or preliminary bibliography (as
appropriate) containing at least 5 sources, in correct MLA form
with notation as to how the author searched/located the sources
DRAFTING TIPS
Since this is a formal piece of writing, be strategic in your
stylistic choices, especially in your introduction and conclusion.
Think about starting with example, a quote, a statistic, a
question, a fact, an opposing opinion, etc. Also, use concrete
language and specific example to grab your reader. And for
your conclusion -- don't trail off at the end. Conclude with a
solid statement, something that makes us think, or at the very
least makes us understand your project and want to read more
about it.
Think of it this way: if you were writing a proposal for a
$10,000 grant, how would you convince your readers that they
should fund your project? Would you use bland language, or
would you finely craft it?
Don't forget the power of visual presentation. How your
proposal looks reflects on your argument and your persona as a
rhetor. For instance: Do you want indented bullet lists or ones
flush against the left margin? Do you want to use horizontal
lines, color (it is going to be read on-line after all), boxes,
shading, etc. to format your text? Do you want to embed
relevant images -- not as decoration -- but as evidence for your
argument?

5. Don't forget to format your sources correctly: Article titles
should be enclosed in quotation marks; titles of books should be
underlined or italicized. Also, if you quote, remember to cite
your sources.
Overall, don't just go through the motions -- use specifics and
concretes in your language and development as much as
possible. Make your proposal an interesting read!
Preparing an Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography is a useful way to start a research
project because it asks you to collect and summarize sources
that you might use later in a research paper. Collecting and
summarizing sources early in the research process helps you
narrow your research topic. The bibliography can also help you
evaluate the possible usefulness of source material for later use
in a paper.
This handout is designed to show you how to create an
annotated bibliography. Specifically, it will guide you through
the process of creating an annotated bibliography by:
1) describing in general terms the meaning of the words
“annotated bibliography,”
2) explaining in general terms how to write an annotated
bibliography, and
3) offering an example of what an annotated bibliography
could look like.
You might be confused about what the words "annotated" and
"bibliography" mean. The word “annotated” is the past tense
form of the verb “to annotate” which means to summarize. An
annotation is simply a summary of a book, article, or some other
written source. A bibliography is a list of sources on a
particular topic. Put together, an annotated bibliography is a list
of sources on a topic that offers a summary for each source.

6. An annotated bibliography has two parts. The first part is the
bibliography line which should be written according to the
format your professor requires (for this class, it is MLA
format). The second part is the summary paragraph. Both parts
taken together are called an “entry.” Entries are typically
organized in alphabetical order according to the bibliography
information, such as the last name of an author or the title of a
book.
The number of entries in a bibliography depends upon the
assignment. The attached example is made up of two entries
which offer a good example of the bibliography line and
summary that are the key parts of any good annotated
bibliography.
What is included in the summary part of an annotated
bibliography also depends upon the guidelines the instructor has
given you. However, if the instructor is flexible about these
guidelines, Timothy Crusius and Carolyn Channell in The Aims
of Argument suggest that your summary should include the
following elements:
(1) a sentence or two that describes the author's credentials,
purpose, and audience,
(2) a brief “capsule” summary of its content, and
(3) a sentence at the end of the summary that explains “why
this source seems valuable and how you might use it” (255).
What is the assignment?
1. Following the above guidelines, you will create an
annotated bibliography that has a minimum of ten sources,
worth 10 points each:

7. · At least three of these sources will be BOOKS,
· two sources will be WEBSITES,
· and the rest will be from the database online.
2. Your annotated bibliography will be over YOUR
PROPOSAL ESSAY TOPIC. This is how you will collect the
sources YOU WILL USE in your PROPOSAL ESSAY
3. You will complete your annotated bibliography in MLA
format.
1
School of Nursing QEP Writing Prompt
NUR 2811L (Professional Nursing Leadership NUR2811C)
For this course, you will write a scholarly paper on Nursing
Philosophy. Utilizing the four
domains within the nursing metaparadigm you will include the
following:
• A definition of the four domains: Nursing, Environment,
Health and Person
• Your personal definition of each domain and how these fit into
your philosophy of
nursing.
• Compare and contrast the philosophies of Miami Dade College
Benjamin Leon School of
Nursing and at least one hospital.
• Conclude by summarizing and reflecting on what was learned
from the assignment and
how it will impact your practice in the future.
NUR 2811C Domains

8. 1. Nursing
2. Environment
3. Health
4. Person
Requirements:
o Your paper must be APA format and at least 750 words not to
exceed 1000 words.
o Double space your paper and use Times New Roman standard
12-point font.
o Proofread your paper; visit and present proof of seeing a
writing tutor before submitting
your paper to “Turn-it-in”.
o A minimum of two (2) scholarly references (ex. journal
articles) must be used. APA
format must be used in citing and referencing sources.
NUR 2811L (Professional Nursing Leadership NUR2811C) QEP
Assignment
Introduce the concept of the nursing metaparadigm and its four
domains. Outline what you will accomplish in this paper.
Definitions of four domains
Provide definitions of the four domains (nursing, environment,
health and person) and identify their sources. Which theorist
says what these different domains? How do they define them?
Personalized definitions of domains
You can write in first person in this section. Provide your
definitions of the four domains (Nursing, Environment, Health
and Person). Reveal your nursing philosophy.* How do your
domains fit in your philosophy?
Analysis of two institutions
Compare and contrast the philosophies of Miami Dade College
Benjamin Leon School of Nursing and at least one hospital.

9. How are they different? How are they similar? Keywords:
mission, values, philosophy, theory, nursing practice models,
beliefs, vision
Summary
Summarize most important points from paper. How does your
nursing philosophy match up to the nursing philosophy of MDC
School of Nursing and/or your hospital? Draw any final
conclusions about your nursing philosophy. You can write in
first person in this section.
Reflection
You can write in first person in this section. Address these
questions in this section in a narrative fashion:
Did you experience any “a-ha” moment(s)? What did
you learn about yourself? How will your nursing philosophy
impact or guide your practice? Did you connect more with the
nursing philosophy at the MDC School of Nursing or with your
hospital? How?
* You could use this template when crafting your nursing
philosophy:
Because I believe that ____________________________, my
philosophy as a nurse is to
_________________________________in order to
________________________________.
What to put in the blanks?
Because I believe that [
definition of person] and [
definition/role of environment], my philosophy as a
nurse is to [
the role/definition of nurse] in order to [
concept/definition of health].