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After viewing the video for the topic proposal, please complete the following points.
Use MLA format to complete this assignment.
Please provide 1-2 paragraphs, or a minimum of 300 words, to propose what you’d like to write about for Essay 2.
This proposal should provide some context/background information about your topic, your rationale describing the significance of your topic, what you plan to cover or focus on in regard to your topic, a source from the databases to support your claims, a connection to Born a Crime, and a thesis statement.
Hint: For the Argumentative Research Essay, it is a good idea to think of your argument as a problem and solution scenario. Identify a problem within your topic; then, include a thesis statement that includes the problem and a possible solution—that will be your thesis statement (your argument).
Take a look at this as a possible example of a thesis statement (argument).
Example: Welfare programs in California, such as CalWORKS

, focus on the parents and places all resources in ensuring that the parents will successfully obtain training to join the workforce; however, more focus needs to be placed on the children in order to ensure that they can break the cycle of poverty in their families.
Additional Notes:
Note that the above example is just my thesis statement, which also has my argument about public assistance programs. If I were writing about this, I’d also need to include some background information about this topic.
Remember, you are not married to this topic. The whole point of writing a topic proposal is to see if a topic is appropriate to write a substantially longer essay, so don’t feel pressured; you could change your topic even after you complete this assignment (but be sure to check in with me to get some help).
If you purchased the textbook, you may refer to chapter 20 from our textbook, The Norton Field Guide to Writing, to read more about topic proposals; read pages 242-4.