Research Problem Exercise

I want to hold on to what we read in The Craft of Research, and the exercise we struggled to get through our second day of class. Answering the "So what?" question has always been the biggest challenge for me, so I feel strongly that if I can fill out the three parts of what Booth, et al. consider to be a good research problem (Topic, Question, Significance), my papers will basically write themselves.

So I've been working on this for a few days, using a paper I wrote for a class I took over the summer, and I wasn't actually able to do it (to my satisfaction). But the good news is by using this model, I performed some fantastic brainstorm-style gymnastics. And I think I have a pretty good idea of where I could go to take the paper to the next level.

Here was my paltry attempt:

1. I am studying the structural ingredients of Emily Dickinson's religious poetry because I want to reconcile (?) the paradoxical nature of Dickinson's spiritual (and poetic?) relationship with God in order to illustrate her influence on 20th century (American? Women's?) poetic depictions of prayer (for example, Adrienne Rich).

Alright, I know that's horrible. It doesn't even really make sense, but the point is I was forced to examine my writing (and thinking) process in a way I never have before. Usually I spend hours researching, hoping to come across a problem somewhere along the line, and then spend the last 36 hours before it's due whipping out a subpar paper. The exercise was uncomfortable and frustrating, but ultimately productive. It will become a crucial part of the planning stages of my paper from now on, to guide my research, and keep me focused on my task. If I can actually address the three elements of a good research problem, I might even finish my papers before "the night before."