SEMESTER THESIS PROPOSAL SAMPLE Your Name: Question: (This is the question you pose that will lead to a possible answer…that possible answer will be your statement of opinion regarding the work of fiction, poetry, or drama you will be writing about this semester for the research essay). Mt question: Define some of the difficulties of teens as described in Anne Tyler''s story "teenage wasteland" Tentative Answer: (This usually comes after you have read the work that you plan on writing about…The question phrased above could only happen if the writer has already read the work and then decided that imagery and characterization in the short story is very important in establishing the story’s major theme). Answer: Anne Tyler uses a combination of literary elements in "teenage wasteland" to develop her central theme. What this statement will require you to do is to make a statement of opinion about your interpretation of Tyler''s central theme. Perhaps that central theme has something to do with the idea that it takes communication and control to make a family work. Whatever you decide, you will need to then support your interpretation by analyzing the literary elements you have selected, such as imagery, characterization, dialogue, metaphor and so on. Reasons to support the claim: (These constitute the specific evidence you will use to support the literary claim made in the tentative answer. They need not be complete at this stage because as you do more primary and secondary research, more evidence will be exposed and added to your essay. However, there should be a few major reasons present since they allowed you to from your hypothesis).