James Benge wrote the following proposal when he was a first-year college student. His interest in science — and his knowledge about the disappearance of honeybees, specifically — led him to consider...

James Benge wrote the following proposal when he was a first-year college student. His interest in science — and his knowledge about the disappearance of honeybees, specifically — led him to consider solutions to this problem. To research the problem and the solutions that other scholars have offered, he consults several scientific studies, which he cites in his essay. Ultimately, though, Benge offers his own solution to the problem, a solution that he believes gets at the root of the problem.

Before you read, consider what you know about honeybees. Are you familiar with their importance to agriculture or that the number of honeybees is decreasing?

As you read, consider who Benge assumes his audience is. Is it laypeople unfamiliar with the subject? Biologists or other scientists knowledgeable about the subject? A combination of the two? How do you know?