The Pitch
Formal Project Proposal (Written)
You will each be delving into an inquiry this semester. This inquiry can revolve around any number of topics. You do not yet have to have a solid inquiry question, but you will need a starting point for an inquiry proposal. For example, you might be interested in comics or graphic novels and the role of the super hero. Perhaps you wonder, “Why are we clinging to expired notions of a hero, which do not reflect our modern-day values and are not as identifiable to our current-day context?” Remember that a line of inquiry requires that we leave ourselves open to exploration, understanding that knowledge will be gained but an “answer” may still be found wanting and new questions may surface. Also, it is important that we, as the inquirer, do not already have a narrow viewpoint that is unchangeable.
For your proposal, you will need to relate your interest in the topic and provide some “why it matters” context. Also, you will want to provide some stating points of questioning.
After you write your proposal, you will give a “pitch” to the class on your inquiry project idea. Then, as a class, we will vote on topics of interest and divide into groups. In these groups, each member will take a unique direction to the inquiry and after some time, once you have had time to further explore the topic and expand the inquiry yourself, you will come together as a group to develop a web-text contribution, which we will discuss later this semester.
In-class Pitch (Oral)
What is a pitch and why only two minutes?
A pitch is a short presentation that explains how the what and the how of your idea might come together in the final project. It’s a means of convincing audience members who have some stake in what you are proposing that you know what you are talking about and can take on the project at hand.
Keep in mind that at this point (your pitching-point) you have not completed a ton of research into the topic, so there will be room for change. This is the same basic process used in writing essays; as you research and write more on any essay topic, the topic might change direction.