Writing a Proposal and Writing a Proposal and Annotated Annotated

BibliographyBibliography

You know when you think about writing a book [or a research paper], you think it is overwhelming. But, actually, you break it down into tiny little tasks any moron could do.

Annie Dillard

A short proposal needs to have four elements:

•An overview of the problem.

•The question or questions you wish to investigate

•Your methodology

•A list of possible sources

An overview of the problemAn overview of the problem

Since, as it turns out, invading Iraq may have been a major snafu, and since the rest of the world seems to think that the American public are a flock of sheep that can be led by any mad piper, it makes sense to explore the way the war was marketed…

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Example

Briefly explore the background that has led up to this becoming an issue worthy of investigation.

The question or questions you wish to investigate

Enumerate the question(s) that you mean to explore in your paper. A good question involves the who's, how’s and why’s of an issue:

Some of the questions I will explore are:

What marketing techniques commonly used in advertising were employed to sell the idea of a war in Iraq to the public?

Who exactly was behind this?

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Your methodology

How do you plan to go about investigating these questions? Remember a research paper is usually in future time:

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This paper will look at some of the classical appeals used in advertising (i.e. fear and safety) as well as logical fallacies often employed in public relations campaigns such as buzz words, straw man, ad hominem attacks, and the famous Texas sharpshooter’s fallacy.

On the other hand, it will explore some of the rebuttals to the idea that the war was based on PR and not “flawed intelligence.”

A list of possible sources

According to LEO online, the steps to preparing an annotated bibliography are:

Process for Writing an Annotated Bibliography

1. List the completed bibliographical citation. 2. Explain the main purpose of the work. 3. Briefly describe the content. 4. Indicate the possible audience for the work. 5. Evaluate the relevance of the information. 6. Note any special features. 7. Warn readers of any defect, weakness, or

bias.

Research paper assignments often ask for a list of possible sources to be submitted before writing the paper begins. This is known as an annotated bibliography.

Book sources:Book sources:

Rutherford, Paul. Weapons of Mass Persuasion: Marketingthe War with Iraq. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. PrintIn this book Rutherford brilliantly shows exactly how, step by step, the idea of war with Iraq was marketed in the post 9-11 atmosphere of fear and suspicion. While not even handed –there are no equivocations here- it is useful for seeing one side of the issue presented clearly and methodically. Rutherford is a well-known expert on advertising and propaganda. This will help me explore the question of how advertising techniques were employed.

Herman, Edward S., and Noam Chomsky. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Press, 1988. PrintThis book was cited in Rutherford’s book and is a classic in the genre. Again, it does not look at both sides of the issue. Rather it is a scathing denunciation of the complicity of the mass media in selling government policy. Both writers are academics specializing in language. Chomsky is considered the father of modern linguistics.

Magazine and Journal Magazine and Journal SourcesSources

Wolff, Michael. “How to Sell a War”. Vanity Fair. Jan. 2006: 45 – 49.

This article caused a lot of flap because it was published in a main stream magazine, a place that is harder to ignore than the “liberal” and left-wing venues that this debate had heretofore raged in. Although it draws heavily on earlier research, such as Weapons of Mass Persuasion, it is well written and Michael Wolff provides some choice quotes that I would probably want to use. Wolff is the editor of adweek.com and an authority on and early pioneer of the internet.

Database SourcesGaines,Brian J., and James H. Kuklinski, Paul J. Quirk, Buddy Peyton, Jay

Verkuilen “Same Facts, Different Interpretations: Partisan Motivation and Opinion on Iraq” The Journal of Politics 69 (4), 957–974 (2007). EBSCOhost. Web. 20 October. 2007.

Although this does not specifically address the use of advertising techniques, it will be useful to me for background information and its insights into the framing of facts to spin different interpretation of reality. Furthermore, it is a scholarly journal, and although I may use only a few quotes or definitions, it will spiff up my work and make it look more academic. Hee hee.

Loeb, Harlan, Misconceptions Unfairly Tar PR Name, PR Weekly, 1/16/2006. Lexis Nexis. 19 October. 2007

This is an op ed from a PR trade publication that was written as a response to Michael Wolff’s article in Vanity Fair. On the one hand it presents an opposing point of view, one thing I am short on at the moment. On the other, it convincingly shows the impact that an piece in a main stream magazine can have. Note: Loeb, while defending PR, never actually claims that these techniques were not used.

Web Sources:Web Sources:

Shuman, Miriam. “Can You Hear Me Now? Marketing the War With Iran”. Southern Christian University. Web. 21 October. 2007.

I can use this in my conclusion: Is the same process happening now vis-à-vis Iran? Shuman persuasively argues that it is. While it is hardly a balanced view, such a view is unlikely to be found.

Interview with George Tenet. NBC NEWS “MEET THE PRESS”. msnbc.msn.com. Web. 22 October. 2007

In this interview, Tim Russet pointedly asked Tenet why the head of a government agency was marketing war. Tenet denied this and outlined his reasons why. This will be a very useful rebuttal of the point of view of most of my sources. One of very few I was able to find.

Cite all sources

http://weknowmemes.com/2012/06/the-credible-hulk/