Contexts: Literary Research Essay/Independent Novel Project

Transcription

1 Cntexts: Literary Research Essay/Independent Nvel Prject Please adhere t deadlines prvided; n extensins will be granted. In accrdance with class plicy, late wrk is nt accepted fr credit. PROMPT: Select a wrk frm the apprved nvels list and develp a research questin that will help yu g in search f answers abut the histrical and cultural influence f the era n the authr s wrk, and/r a framewrk in which yu can apply t interpret the deeper meaning f the nvel verall. Fr example: Did the perid f industrializatin that fllwed the Civil War and preceded WWI adversely affect sciety s acceptance f traditinal literature? Were writers pushed t develp innvative techniques in writing t sustain a readership that acknwledged and embraced the changing cultural climate, r as a result f sciety s jaded view fllwing the great atrcities f war? Culd traditinal literature, with its prescribed cnventins, survive in the 20 th century? Is the wrk f Mark Twain better read frm a Marxist literary perspective? These types f questins, while brad, give the writer a directin in which t mve t gather infrmatin. As yu read yur selected wrk and research the time perid in which it was written, develp a thesis/claim yu want t fcus n and write abut in yur essay, which yu will supprt with yur research. As yu cnsider yur independent reading nvel, ask yurself the fllwing questins: When, where and fr whm was the wrk (r wrks) written? D the wrks in questin have an verall message (r purpse), and if s, what is it? What pint is the authr (r scribe) trying t make? Is the authr r scribe trying t advance a particular agenda? Hw des the aspect f the wrk yu are writing abut fit int the wrk's verall message r the authr's verall agenda r intent? WHY might the authr have chsen t treat the tpic yu are writing n in this way? These questins will help yu develp an interpretive framewrk fr yur readings; they will remind yu that yu shuld cnsider nt nly the WHAT (cntent) but the HOW and the WHY? Make sure that yur tpic is apprpriate t an academic setting and prvides evidence f understanding the time perid and its effect(s) n the authr f yur selectin. Keep in mind the length f the paper s that yur tpic is narrwed apprpriately. REMINDER: Beynd classrm instructin and use f library and nline research tls, additinal instructin is available thrugh the Kent Stark-Stark State branch library (the Learning 1

2 Resurce Center), Stark State s digital library, and the Writing Center. The Writer s FAQs prvides frmatting infrmatin and the Stark State writing center staff has created PwerPints available thrugh yur M drive (at mystarkstate) fr individual viewing r classrm prjectin. Since yu are expected t incrprate academic surces, take advantage f all f these pprtunities t becme mre prficient with the research prcess. REQUIREMENTS: - typed: 12 pint Times New Rman fnt, duble-spaced n clean, white paper - MLA frmatting: running head cmprised f last name and page number; interir heading - yur name, instructr s name, curse title, due date; 1 margins - page length: 6 pages minimum - surces: minimum f 8 surces; integrate and prperly cite surces; use MLA - 6 must be SCHOLARLY, 2 must be RELIABLE - Prvide an effective intr. - set up tne/purpse f essay and include clear, cncise thesis statement. - Utilize apprpriate rganizatinal structure, include apprpriate transitins fr clarity and cherence. - Prvide a cnclusin that reiterates the main pints and slidifies the thesis presented in yur paper. CONCEPTS TO BE DEMONSTRATED: - Inquiry (questins t help yu discver a fcus and pint f view) - Critical Thinking (demnstrate understanding f the cmplexity f the task; d nt merely prvide an encyclpedic bk reprt n an era) - Academic Research and Dcumentatin that supprts yur tpic (primary and/r secndary surces in print and nline frmats; establishes yur credibility thrugh apprpriate selectin and use) - THIS IS NOT A RESEARCH REPORT! Yu will nt gather infrmatin abut yur tpic and just restate it. Yu will supprt an idea yu have generated with the research yu gather the research is intended t supprt yur thinking, nt replace it. The nature f the wrk itself is mildly argumentative. Preliminary Research and Tpic Yur instructr must apprve all tpics. If yu change yur tpic withut permissin, yur paper may nt be accepted. Yur paper will be based n the literary wrk yu have pted t read fr this class. Submit yur prpsed tpic in writing, explaining briefly hw it ties int the wrk yu have been studying this semester. 2

3 There are several types f papers pssible. Fr instance: Pick a cntrversial pint in the wrk yu ve studied, discver hw several schlars interpret the pint, and argue in favr f the interpretatin yu think is mst likely t be crrect. (Examples: wh/what is the Old Man in Dctr Faustus; what happened t the Fl in King Lear?) Analyze a particular aspect f a wrk (Example: blindness and visin in King Lear) Use a critical literary thery t reinterpret yur wrk frm a new perspective, and argue fr the use f that interpretatin f the piece. Befre yu ask fr apprval t d a tpic, d sme preliminary research t make sure yu can find infrmatin n it. Yur material must cme frm academic (cllege r university) databases r an academic library. The best surces fr a literary paper are the MLA Internatinal Bibligraphy, Stark State Digital Library and Ggle Schlar. Fr a cultural/histrical paper, yu will need t use ther databases. Yu will prbably nt find many surces that have the exact cmbinatin f tpics yu re trying t find. Rather, yu will have t search fr the parts and link them yurself. Fr example, let s say smene s thesis (this is a general example, nt literary, bviusly) is Althugh many peple think therwise, in actuality, demcracy has been declining in Lithuania since Wrld War II. The student might nt find much by searching fr demcracy AND Lithuania, but there is a lt f infrmatin available n demcracy, and there is a lt available cncerning Lithuania. The student will research bth issues and make the cnnectins, making the case t prve his r her thesis using analysis. If yu have truble finding material, g t an expert: a reference librarian in an academic library. Yu can g t the SSC Digital Library in the Atrium, r t the Kent-Stark Learning Resurce Center, a five-minute walk frm the Infrmatin Desk at the SSC main entrance. Yu can als g t the University f Akrn, Munt Unin, Kent State main campus, etc. Finding an acceptable tpic by ding preliminary research is nt easy. In rder t d it well, yu need t spend a number f hurs wrking n it, lking at articles, and seeing whether yu can use them. The mre effrt yu spend upfrnt, and the better the infrmatin yu find, the easier it will be t write a cnvincing paper. Anntated Bibligraphy Yu can t have a gd research paper withut gd research. In rder t make sure yu have enugh gd material fr yur paper, yu will prepare a wrking bibligraphy cnsisting f a minimum f six schlarly (peer-reviewed) surces f at least five pages. Fr literary research, the best databases t use are the MLA Internatinal Bibligraphy and Ggle Schlar. 3

4 T use the MLA site, use the handut Finding Schlarly Surces thrugh the MLA Internatinal Bibligraphy. Yu may nt use the bk reviews r abstracts (yu must use the bk r article itself). If yur surce is five pages r less, there is a gd chance is it ne f these, and is therefre unacceptable as a surce. Yu can als use the KSU catalgue r anther cllege/university catalg t find schlarly bks. Public libraries have very few schlarly literary surces which are written fr a cllege r university audience. Find articles/bks that seem t be relevant t yur tpic. Save r print the citatin r bibligraphy page fr each ne, using MLA style, r the descriptin frm the nline catalg. Prepare yur wrking bibligraphy Use the same frmat as fr the analysis papers, but mit the Essay Optin number, and add Anntated Bibligraphy (withut the qutatin marks) as the title. This is NOT wrks cited, since yu have n paper cntaining citatins. Remember t duble-space thrughut (n extra space between entries) and t use hanging indents fr each entry. Alphabetize yur entries. Yu must have 6 schlarly surces f at least 5 pages; in additin, yu may have thers, r nn-schlarly wrks, web pages, etc. but n dictinaries, encyclpedias, review web sites (like SparkNtes) r ther general reference wrks). D nt simply cpy the citatin yu printed because these are ften wrng. It is yur respnsibility t check the citatins and t change what is incrrect. (Capitalizatin f article, jurnal, and bk titles is by far the mst cmmn prblem. Databases are nt usually in MLA style, and even when they are, the cmputer ften makes mistakes.) Yu can f curse g t the Writing Center fr help with MLA style. Submit the anntated bibligraphy, paperclipping it t yur apprved tpic page. Yur anntated bibligraphy is due April 18 th Writing the Paper Yu must use at least fur schlarly surces in yur paper, but yu are encuraged t use mre. In additin, yu may use ther reputable surces. Remember, hwever, that schlarly wrks carry far mre weight than nn-schlarly surces. Read yur surces, taking ntes, and think abut what this infrmatin means in relatin t yur primary surce. Make cnnectins 4

5 between and amng thughts, ideas, and the primary and secndary surces. Print ut r phtcpy the first page f each article, bk, etc. that yu use in yur paper. Use the SSC Writing Center s page n integrating surces t help yu use yur surces effectively and withut plagiarizing. G t Under Current Students, g t Writing Center Online. Under that, g t Critical Analysis. Finally, n the left, click n Resurce: The Nuts and Blts f Integrating Surces. Write the paper using apprpriate literary terminlgy. Refer t the handuts and t the web sites (such as the Purdue OWL) fr additinal tips. Mst f the writing will be yur wn, using the primary and secndary surces t help supprt the pints yu make. In mst cases, yur secndary material will be paraphrased and cited, rather than quted and cited. Lengthy qutatins are unacceptable. Yur paper must be in MLA style, like yur analytical essays, and like them, yu must have a wrks cited page and parenthetical citatins. In general, fur r mre cnsecutive wrds frm a surce shuld be quted and cited. Be particularly careful nt t plagiarize. If yu d nt use qutatin marks t indicate the wrds f ne f yur surces, fr instance, it is plagiarism, whether yu did it intentinally r thrugh carelessness. 5