McLaughlin/WR 13300/ SPR 2015

Research Essay Proposal/Exploratory DraftDue In Class on 3/17; worth 10 points in the total score for your research paper

YOUR NAME: Martha MurphyTOPIC: I am studying Chicago city festivals and events, such as the Chicago Marathon and Lollapalooza, and how they have significantly shaped and influenced the city over the past two decades. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: I am studying this because I want to find out how these major, internationally recognized events impact the citys tourism, economy, and culture. Not many other cities could host these festivals in the way that Chicago does because they lack the open space, and how does Grant Park contribute to the overall success of these events?AUDIENCE & SIGNIFICANCE: The audience would be focus on the residents of Chicagoland who would be interested to learn how their city is being affected by these events, and any tourists or runners participating/who wish to participate in these events. The audience would probably be more geared toward a younger generation because the age dynamic of Lollapalooza has shifted towards more high school age people in recent years. Additionally, people who run the Marathon tend to be younger. The significance of my research would to help my audience understand just how beneficial and influential these events are to the city and people of Chicago.CONTEXT: This issue is important and timely because these events are currently growing in size and popularity every year. Lollapalooza tickets get harder to buy every year and the Marathon recently switched to a lottery sign-up in 2014 which has never happened before. EXHIBIT: To illustrate my discussion of the impact of these events, I plan to focus on not only statistics about popularity and economic benefits, but also how the events shape the city culturally and artistically. I will also look at age tends and how tourism develops new jobs, businesses, and demands. KEY SOURCES FOUND SO FAR:MLA CITATION/ TYPE OF SOURCE/WHAT DOES THE SOURCE OFFER YOUR PROJECT1. Grimes, Gerlinda. "History of the Chicago Marathon." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. (online article) How the marathon came to be and what it was like starting out, good contrast to today. 2. Hiller, R. "Exclusive Dealing and Its Effects: The Impact of Large Music Festivals on Local Music Venues."Review of Industrial Organization2.45 (2014): 153-75. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. (journal article) How do big music festivals differ from small music festivals, what are the impacts? Statistics3. Fletcher, Connie. "The Marathon Conspiracy."Hesburgh Libraries. N.p., 1 May 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.(journal article) This article would be helpful because it talks about the background of the marathon and why the physical aspect of it has such an effect on people. Background4. Suozzo, Andrew. "The Chicago Marathon and Urban Renaissance."- Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame. N.p., 2002. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.(journal article) This article talks about how the Chicago Marathon effects pop culture in the city and how its presence makes the city more lively.

Exploratory DraftIn this project, I hope to accomplish a better understanding of the impact of large festivals in the city of Chicago. I find the topic interesting because I have been to Lollapalooza for the past five years and watch my dad run in the marathon every fall. The topic is important because the demographic and presence of these festivals have changed drastically in the last 20 years. Many people believe that the city allows these festivals solely for the economic benefits, but in my research I hope to discover the positive impacts the Marathon and Lollapalooza bring to the culture and the tradition of Chicago. The intended audience for this paper is any person who desires to take part in these tourist events, as well as the people of Chicago who desire to know more about the famous festivals in their city. The audience has their own experiences and opinions at stake because statistics and studies may waver their own personal credibility. The people interested in visiting Chicago and attending these festivals will benefit from my research, and the people who believe that these festivals are for economic purposes only will lose something. The people who are unsure of being a part of the Marathon or Lollapalooza will benefit most from my new course of thinking that I hope to display in the paper. I anticipate my essay becoming a discussion about the collective differences and impacts that any and all festivals in Chicago have on the people and the city, and then I will talk specifically about the Marathon and about Lollapalooza. I will includes statistics and any anecdotes that would help demonstrate the points I am trying to make. I will make claims about the economic impacts, the pop culture impacts, the social impacts, and the artistic impacts. I will also introduce the opposing viewpoint. -Intro-Summer Festivals in Chicago and there overall impact-Statistics (collectively) and any anecdotes -changing age demographics and how this makes a difference-the Chicago Marathon-economic stats-tourism-impact-Lollapalooza-economic stats-environmental changes and awareness-park damages-tourism-artistic/social changes-impact-conclusionMy sources seem pretty helpful at this point. Two are for background to explain the origins and background of both the Chicago Marathon and Lollapalooza. The source impacts of large festivals vs small festivals would provide background for my introduction and broad information that could preface talking about both or either festival. Finally, The Chicago Marathon and Urban Renaissance discusses pop culture changes in the city of Chicago because of the presence of the marathon. Other sources I will look for should include peoples experiences and statistics about impacts of the festivals. The audience should expect truthful and helpful sources of information. I will make sure I am using proper sites and scholarly articles to meet these expectations. I anticipate either economists or people unwilling to visit Chicago to agree with me because they may not believe that these events make that much of an economic impacts. Other may believe that these events dont make the city that much better, they are just crowded and overrun. I will point to evidence that shows just how much these events are needed to help the city. I have been concerned that there will not be many sources on my topic, and that I will be too broad most of the time. I will try to use advance searches in the Librarys page to avoid these problems.