Brenda Forrey

Professor Purdy
English 312
Proposal Reflection
19 September, 2015
1. Before I began researching the topic of the English Technical Communication upperdivision class schedule, I knew that the 400-level classes are offered on a very limited
schedule that restricts how a student can progress through the program. This I knew from
personal experience in mapping out my degree-completion plan. What I learned in
conducting preliminary research is that some institutions offer on-line classes, alternative
compressed schedules, or a combination of both in order to help move students quickly
through their program of study to graduation. I wasnt particularly surprised by this,
because I had heard of programs that operated on this type of model.
I still have a lot of unanswered questions about this topic that I expect will be answered
through research if this topic is chosen as one for completion. For instance, at this point I
know nothing about how the current schedule came to be the norm for the program. I also
dont know how much student interest there is in the topic. Could it be that I am the only
person who sees the current scheduling as problematic? Possibly. Furthermore, I wonder
what other large public universities are doing to ease scheduling difficulties for their
students, since my preliminary research mostly referred to for-profit colleges and
universities. I also dont know if faculty members who teach the 400-level classes would
be at all receptive to making changes.
2. I had some trouble with formulating my persuasive argument before doing any
preliminary research. This seemed backwards to me, and I was afraid I wouldnt be able
to find sources to back me up. I happen to be taking English 304 (Argument) this
semester, so when I felt stuck on this part, I referred to my text for that class to help me
formulate research questions.
3. I was very excited to find a copy of the Academic Strategic Plan for the University. The
stated goal of Facilitate the timely attainment of educational goals of our diverse student
population served as great evidence to back up my claim that investigating how the
English Technical Communication schedule of classes may be modified to move students
through the program more quickly may allow the program to better align with stated
University academic goals. I think this was very important to include in my argument as
a persuasive element.
4. Strengths of my final assignment include ensuring all required elements are present, a
well-constructed argument with good evidence as detailed in the previous question, and a
summary that included all the necessary information and can stand alone as a quick
snapshot of the whole proposal.
The main weakness of my final assignment is the evidence that I provided for the second
point of my argument. This was where I was addressing options that other colleges and

universities have used with success to deal with scheduling issues. I hope that the
secondary research that will be completed as a part of the project will bolster this.