Determine whether the following function is proper or improper: \(f(x) = \frac{x^{2} + 2x + 1}{x^{3} + x^{2} - x - 1}\)

Step 1 ：Step 1: Check the degrees of the polynomial in the numerator and denominator. The degree of the numerator is 2 and the degree of the denominator is 3.

Step 2 ：Step 2: If the degree of the denominator is greater than the degree of the numerator, then the function is proper.