This is a paper proposal about Iranian cinema, which means how to learn about Iranian society through Iranian movies.  The paper proposal has to relate to Iranian cinema and Iranian society problems.

The following is the paper proposal instruction:

How to Write a Final Paper Proposal

[1]

Your final paper proposal, which must be two-three double-spaced pages (not inclusive of the cover page), needs to have five components:

1. Working title
2. The central research question that your paper seeks to answer and a paragraph on its significance.
3. Thesis statement
2. Outline
4. A bibliography of at least 4 sources (including films) from the syllabus and 4 peer-reviewed, scholarly sources from outside the syllabus.

*** An e-copy of the book, The Craft of Research, is posted on Canvas under “Files.” Chapters 3 and 4 are especially useful to reference for insight into choosing a research topic and formulating a central analytical question. Also refer to the writing handouts posted on Canvas under “Files” for additional instructions on how to formulate a thesis statement, introduction, topic sentences and paragraphs, and conclusion. The following link provides even more useful guidance on paper development as well as on citation styles and grammar:

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

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1. Working Title

A working title simply means a title for your final paper that best describes what the final paper is all about. It must be descriptive and crisp. You want to grab your reader’s attention. So, it has to be clear and inviting. The reason why it’s called a “working title” is that you may change it, if needed, as you progress through writing your paper and get a better sense of the material.

1. Central Research Question

The central research question is the significant analytical question that you aim to answer in your paper. An example of a central research question: Why does hunger persist in Appalachia? A good research question usually asks how or why questions, which require analysis, rather than what/when/who questions that lend themselves to summary.

You must also include a statement explaining why your research question is significant and important to study.

1. Thesis Statement
2. What is a Thesis Statement?

The thesis statement is the answer to your central question. Almost all of us—even if we don’t do it consciously—look early in a research paper for a one- or two-sentence condensation of the argument or analysis that is to follow. We refer to that condensation as a thesis statement.

1. Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement?

• To test your ideas by distilling them into a sentence or two,
• To better organize and develop your argument,
• To provide your reader with a “guide” to your argument.

1. How Can You Write a Good Thesis Statement?

Here are some helpful hints to get you started.

Your thesis statement needs to answer a question about the issue you would like to explore. In this situation, your job is to figure out what question you would like to write about.

A good thesis statement will usually include the following four attributes:

• Take on a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree,
• Deal with a subject that can be adequately treated given the nature of the assignment,
• Express one main idea,
• State your conclusions about a subject.

Let’s see how to generate a thesis statement for a social policy paper.

Brainstorm the topic.

Let’s say that your class focuses upon the problems posed by drug addiction. You find that you are interested in the problems of crack babies, babies born to mothers addicted to crack cocaine.

You start out with a thesis statement like this:

Crack babies.

This fragment isn’t a thesis statement. Instead, it simply indicates a general subject. Furthermore, your reader doesn’t know what you want to say about crack kids.

Narrow the topic

Your readings about the topic, however, have led you to the conclusion that not only do these babies have a difficult time surviving premature births and withdrawal symptoms, but their lives will be even harder as they grow up because they are likely to be raised in an environment of poverty and neglect. You think that there should be programs to help these children.

You change your thesis to look like this:

Programs for crack kids.

This fragment not only announces your subject, but it focuses on one main idea: programs. Furthermore, it raises a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree, because while most people might agree that something needs to be done for these children, not everyone would agree on what should be done or who should do it. You should note that this fragment is not a thesis statement because your reader doesn’t know your conclusions on the topic.

Take a position on the topic.

After reflecting on the topic a little while longer, you decide that what you really want to say about this topic is that in addition to programs for crack babies, the government should develop programs to help crack children cope and compete.

You revise your thesis to look like this:

More attention should be paid to the environment crack kids grow up in.

This statement asserts your position, but the terms more attention and the environment are vague.

Use specific language.

You decide to explain what you mean about “the environment”, so you write:

Experts estimate that half of crack babies will grow up in home environments lacking rich cognitive and emotional stimulation.

This statement is specific, but it isn’t a thesis. It merely reports a statistic instead of making an assertion.

Make an assertion based on clearly stated support.

You finally revise your thesis statement one more time to look like this;

Because half of all crack babies are likely to grow up in homes lacking good cognitive and emotional stimulation, the federal government should finance programs to supplement parental care for crack kids.

Notice how the thesis answers the question, “Why should anything be done for crack kids, and who should do it?” When you started thinking about the paper, you may not have had a specific question in mind, but as you became more involved in the topic, your ideas became more specific. Your thesis changed to reflect your new insights.

1. How to Tell a Strong Thesis Sentence from a Weak One?

• A strong thesis takes some sort of stand.

Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. For example, if you are writing a paper for a class on fitness, you might be asked to choose a popular weight-loss product to evaluate. Here are two thesis statements:

There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea Supplement.

This is a weak thesis. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrase “negative and positive aspects” are vague.

Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss that results in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential danger to customers.

This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand.

• A strong thesis justifies discussion.

Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a paper on kinship systems, using your own family as an example, you might come up with either of these two thesis statements:

My family is an extended family.

This is a weak thesis because it states an observation. Your reader won’t be able to tell the point of the statement, and will probably stop reading.

While most American families would view consanguineal marriage as a threat to the nuclear family structure, many Iranian families, like my own, believe that these marriages help reinforce kinship ties in an extended family.

This is a strong thesis because it shows how your experience contradicts a widely accepted view. A good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your point.

• A strong thesis expresses one main idea.

Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example:

Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and web pages can provide both advertising and customer support.

This is a weak thesis statement because the reader can’t decide whether the paper is about marketing on the Internet or web pages. To revise the thesis, the relationship between the two ideas needs to become clearer. One way to revise the thesis would be to write:

Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential, companies should exploit this potential by using web pages that offer both advertising and customer support.

This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related. Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements contain words like “because,” “since,” “so,” “although,” “unless,” and “however.”

• A strong thesis statement is specific.
  A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you write a paper on hunger, you might say:

World hunger has many causes and effects.

This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, “world hunger” can’t be discussed thoroughly in five or ten pages. Second, “many causes and effects” is vague. You should be able to identify specific causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this:

Hunger persists in Appalachia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable.

This is a strong thesis because it narrows the subject to a more specific and manageable topic and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of hunger. It also answers the research question in (2) above by providing a debatable statement.

Outline

You must provide an outline for your proposal, detailing how your final paper will be organized. This outline is a road map that lists those ideas or points (that support your thesis statement) in the order in which they will be discussed in the essay. In other words, the roadmap provides the reader with a map of the route the paper will travel. The outline consists of topic sentences for each section of your paper and insight into the evidence you will use to make your analyses.  The more detailed your outline, the easier it will be for you to write your final paper and the higher grade you will receive.

1. Bibliography

Your paper proposal must have a bibliography. This is a list of at least 4 sources from the syllabus and at least 4 peer-reviewed, scholarly works from outside the syllabus that you have read carefully (or will read) in relation to your paper, which address aspects of your thesis question, and which you will critically analyze in order to support your thesis statement.