Chapter 11 of our Bedford Book of Genres textbook was titled “Exploring Topics and Creating a Research Proposal.” In it, Amy Braziller uses a girl named Jasmine Huerta as a prime example of how to (just as the title entails) create a proper research proposal. The specific section of this chapter that I paid attention to was how to “Commit to a Single Topic.” This is normally done after the writer has identified a general topic area. Jasmine was able to narrow her topic down to Diabetes. Since she was passionate about this topic, she was able to make a strong argument, as well as stick to it throughout the entire paper. Obviously though, the first thing you should always check is if the topic you’ve closed-in on is compatible with the prompt. I myself have been trying to figure out what community I should choose to write about for my English class’ project(s). Another thing to take into account is finding out when the paper is due, and figuring out what sections of paper to plan/write out first. But the most important thing to know before writing your paper is if you’ll be able to back up your topic with reliable sources. If can’t find any valid online websites or books to support your argument, then it really isn’t a “research” paper is it?