This assignment constitutes the first step towards the ultimate goal of writing a 
research proposal.

<p>Identify and describe a specific research topic you would like to investigate. 
Your description should include:

<ul>
<li>The broad research area and the specific topic you plan to investigate.
<p> <li> A brief description of your topic (1 paragraph). 
<p><li> A paragraph describing the motivation for your topic. Explain why 
your topic is interesting and important.
<p> <li> Two to five papers in the area that you will use as a starting point, preferably 
with short descriptions of why you think this is a relevant/useful paper. 
</ul>

Here is an <a href="./topicselsample.htm">example</a> containing all elements.