At this stage in the module you should be beginning to consider what you would like to develop for your practical investigation.The emphasis of CoP is that you are able to apply research to practice. Therefore, you must produce something having done an amount of reading and other kinds of research (for your essay). You must adhere to a design process (as you would do for studio briefs) and document your developments and ideas - all your design decisions must be justified through your research.
Here are some images of my design decisions for my practical work for my essay 'What is the relationship between branding and the consumer self?'