Assignment Overview 1. Choose an author/novel combination from the approved list. 2. Research your author and write the biographical essay. 3. Read the selected novel and complete the reading log. 3. Choose 3 elements that influenced your author to write the novel that you read. 4. Prove that the author was influenced by these 3 elements by explaining your point of view and supporting it with both textual evidence (examples and quotes from the novel) and outside sources in a well-written, 4 page, MLAformatted research paper. I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY DRAFT OF YOUR ESSAY WITHOUT ALL OF THE FOLLOWING: Typed in size 12 Times New Roman font, with 1 margins, double spaced The length requirement being met A three-prong thesis statement Internal citations A works cited page IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLETE THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS, I WILL RETURN YOUR DRAFT AND YOU MUST REDO IT. YOU WILL BE PENALIZED 10% PER DAY LATE. I WILL NOT GRADE THE FINAL DRAFT OF YOUR ESSAY WITHOUT THE TURNINTIN.COM SUBMISSION.
2 Directions: Choose one of the following author/novel combinations. Be prepared to research the author s life and read the assigned novel. Your goal is to prove that factors from the author s life are evident in elements of the text. Note: All topics are from Novels for Students. Vol. 1 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1) The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (22) Catch 22 by Joseph Heller (89) The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (66) Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (222) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (282) Vol. 2 I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (133) Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (153) One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest by Ken Kesey (218) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (308) Vol. 3 The Awakening by Kate Chopin (45) Grendel by John Gardner (183) A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (231) Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (258) Tess of the d Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy (278) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (300) Vol. 4 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (1) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (88) The Handmaid s Tale by Margaret Atwood (114) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (159) Seize the Day by Saul Bellow (276) The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (297) Vol. 5 The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (27) Ethan Frome by Edith Warton (122) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (254) A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (349) Vol. 6 Gulliver s Travels by Jonathan Swift (74) The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (153) Vol. 7 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (103) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (125) 1984 by George Orwell (233) A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (256) The Trial by Franz Kafka (281) Vol. 8 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (1) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (59) Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard (80) On the Road by Jack Kerouac (180) Vol.9 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (90) The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (132) Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (187) Moby Dick by Herman Melville (190) Vol.10 Howards End by E. M. Forster (179) Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver (216) War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (271) Vol. 11 The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (195) A Room with a View by E. M. Forster (285) Watership Down by Richard Adams (337) Vol. 12 Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver (24) Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (148) Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (256) Vol. 13 All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (27) Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (54) Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (145) The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (212) Vanity Fair by William Thackeray (284) Vol. 14 For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (22) Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (85) Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (126) Persuasion by Jane Austen (152) Vol. 15 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1) The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (60) Vol. 16 The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West (1) The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (102) The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (246) Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad (179)
Vol. 17 Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg (191) The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (247) Vol. 18 Dracula by Bram Stoker (22) Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (119) Vol. 19 Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (1) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (48) The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (218) Vol. 20 Hard Times by Charles Dickens (26) The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (80) Silas Marner by George Eliot (166) The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (251) Vol. 21 Emma by Jane Austen (21) Kim by Rudyard Kipling (161) Vol. 22 Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (84) Vol. 23 The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (20) Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (52) The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (246) Vol. 24 The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (31) Light In August by William Faulkner (124) The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (199) Vol. 25 David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (83) The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper (110) Vol. 26 Dr.Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (1) The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (63) Vol. 27 The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (79) The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (226) The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (250) Vol. 28 Cannery Row by John Steinbeck Cat s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen The Waves by Virginia Woolf Vol. 29 A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann Vol. 31 The Bonesetter s Daughter by Amy Tan Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott Vol. 32 The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle Vol. 33 Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Vol. 34 The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne Vol. 36 The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells 3 In the Library: Review the topic list and complete the Topic/Author Selection Research Organizer using Novels for Students Topics will be assigned based on completed organizer responses. Only one researcher per topic. Be prepared to research your topic in the Library Independent Homework: After you have been assigned a topic, it is your responsibility to acquire the identified novel and begin reading your text. To acquire the text, visit our school library, the local library, online, or a local bookstore. Independently complete the requirements outlined for the Independent Reading Log (view handout), the sooner you begin reading your text, the better
Assignment #1 Total Score: / 30 4 Topic Selection Research Organizer Directions: (1) Review the approved topic list (2) Use the Internet to conduct a brief survey of each selection that grabs your interest (3) Decide on three topic selections and rank them in order of interest (#1 most desired topic, etc ) (4) Use Novels for Students (online or Reference Guide) to complete the following tasks. You will be assigned one of your three identified topic selections 1.) My #1 choice is (author / novel title) 1a.) What is the volume / page upon which the Literary Criticism for your selected topic is located in Novels for Students? Volume: Page(s): 1b.) In 20 words or fewer, provide a description of the selected novel. 1c.) What setting(s) and time period are related to your author s construction of the novel? 1d.) List 3 areas of your author s life and/or times that you believe influenced their writing of the novel? 1. 2. 3. 1e.) In 20 words or fewer, explain why you are interested in this topic.
2.) My #2 choice is (author / novel title) 5 2a.) What is the volume / page upon which the Literary Criticism for your selected topic is located in Novels for Students? Volume: Page(s): 2b.) In 20 words or fewer, provide a description of the selected novel. 2c.) What setting(s) and time period are related to your author s construction of the novel? 2d.) List 3 areas of your author s life and/or times that you believe influenced their writing of the novel? 1. 2. 3. 2e.) In 20 words or fewer, explain why you are interested in this topic.
3.) My #3 choice is (author / novel title) 6 3a.) What is the volume / page upon which the Literary Criticism for your selected topic is located in Novels for Students? Volume: Page(s): 3b.) In 20 words or fewer, provide a description of the selected novel. 3c.) What setting(s) and time period are related to your author s construction of the novel? 3d.) List 3 areas of your author s life and/or times that you believe influenced their writing of the novel? 1. 2. 3. 3e.) In 20 words or fewer, explain why you are interested in this topic.
7 Assignment #2 Total Score: / 50 Background: In order to prove your author s influences when reading your selected topic, you must first have an understanding of your author s life, time period, and stylistic choices. Complete the following assignment in order to gain such insight. I recommend having print copies of all of your sources. Whether this means printing a website or photocopying a book, you MUST have direct citation in your paper. With print copies in your folder and page numbers in your chart you will be able to find quotes easily! YOU MUST HAVE THREE SOURCES! ONE MUST BE NOVELS FOR STUDENTS. THEY MUST BE REPUTABLE! NO WIKIPEDIA/SHMOOP/GOOD READS/. IF YOU ARE UNSURE, ASK! Directions: Locate and cite one or more biographies/autobiographies and utilize your acquired resource to answer the following questions IN YOU OWN WORDS NO PLAGIARISM NO EXCEPTIONS Question Source Pg # 1. Where and when was your author born? (country, city, county, etc ) 2. Who were your author s parents and what were they like? (jobs, personality, finances, etc ) 3. List and explain notable childhood experiences in your author s life. (must find at least 1) 4. Describe your author s educational experiences and background. 5. Where did your author live when he/she wrote? Did he/she travel? Describe and explain. 6. Describe the economic, social and political climate experienced by your author during the time period he/she wrote. 7. What jobs did your author have during his/her lifetime?
8. Describe relationships experienced by your author (marriage, affair, children, friends, etc ) 8 9. What religions, political issues or political leaders influenced your author? 10. What gender, racial, or social issues influenced your author? 11. Who were your author s writing contemporaries? How did they influence him/her? 12. What genre was predominately utilized by your author? Record any additional information pertaining to your author s life and influences in the spaced provided below: Additional Information Source Pg # ESSAY REFLECTION Directions: 1. Write a 1-2 page typed double space informative essay that clearly identifies and summarizes the primary (top 3) personal influences that influenced your author s writing style. Develop a three-prong thesis statement using these influences. 2. Your essay must adhere to MLA formatting requirements. 3. Furthermore, the focus of your essay should be to establish a clear summary of the primary events, places, people, literary concepts, etc. that influenced your author s life and writing career. 4. You must include a works cited page. This is outside of your 2 page limit. I would suggest just copying your general works cited page that I provided into the new document.
9 Directions: Cite all of the sources you used for Assignment #2 in MLA format. Be sure to alphabetize them and use a hanging indent. Consult The Purdue OWL (online) or MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for help. Do not use cites such as EasyBib or Citation Machine. WORKS CITED
10 Assignment #3 Total Score: / 50 Research Paper Independent Work: Reading Log Construction Directions: (1) You are responsible for independently reading your selected research topic novel and completing a reading log. (2) Your Reading Log MUST include all listed requirements (#s 1 5) for every chapter. (4) The final copy of your Reading Log must be in the following format: Typed in size 12 Times New Roman font 1 inch margins MLA heading/header Reading Log Content Requirements FOR EVERY CHAPTER IN THE NOVEL, COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING IN THIS CHART FORMAT: Chapter # 1 Pages - 1. List and define new characters and settings (if there are none record n/a) 2. Provide a one sentence summary of events. 3a. Record and cite the chapter s most significant quote. Page # 3b. Provide an explanation of the quote s significance (Explain why you believe it is important) 4a. Identify themes present in the chapter 4b. In 20 words or fewer, explain how the chapter connects to the novel s theme(s) what conflict is developed, what lesson is learned 5. List a connection to your author s life (if you cannot determine a connection list n/a) NOTE: ALL FORMATING AND CONSTRUCTION QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE COMPLETION OF YOUR READING LOG MUST BE ASKED AND RESOLVED PRIOR TO THE READING LOG S FINAL DUE DATE. I DIDN T UNDERSTAND OR I DIDN T KNOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AS EXCUSES. If your novel has MANY or VERY FEW chapters, you must see me to determine how many entries is appropriate (depending on how the work is divided)
Assignment #4 Total Score: / 30 11 STEP 4: INFLUENCES By now you have already conducted much of your research. You should have an idea of what your author s life was like and a firm understanding of at least one of his/her works. Now it is time to figure out exactly how the two are connected. You will look to the author s life and find out exactly what influenced your author to write the text(s) you have read. Carefully read and follow the directions for Assignment #4 in order to find textual evidence to support your ideas of what influenced your author to write the text(s) that you read. ASSIGNMENT #4: EVIDENCE OF INFLUENCES IN THE TEXT(S) Directions: 1.) Read back over the research you have collected on your author 2.) Decide on three factors that influenced your author to write the text(s) that you read. In order for you to be correct, evidence of these influences must be contained in the text(s) that you read, as well as, supported with outside research. Write each influence in the form of a statement (complete sentence). 3.) After choosing three documented influences (that is, you have recorded proof that these events actually occurred in your author s life), complete the following worksheets in Assignment #4 to find textual evidence that demonstrates that these influences existed in the text. LIST AT LEAST FIVE POINTS PER INFLUENCE. <Follow the attached example>
ASSIGNMENT #4: TEXTUAL EVIDENCE OF INFLUENCES (Complete the following using your author s text(s)) 12 FIRST INFLUENCE: George Orwell was influenced by the outcome of the Russian Revolution, a major event that occurred during his life. TEXTUAL EVIDENCE (Use quotes when citing word for word.) - 5 Year Plan, Snowball initiates this on the farm because he represents Trotsky who historically devised this idea. PAGE NUMBER(S) INFORMATION IS LOCATED 32-34 - Animalism, all animals are equal. This concept is modeled after Communism, all men are equal 5 40-45 - Napoleon executes objectors and lies saying they are traitors, just like Joseph Stalin executed individuals on false claims of treason - Napoleon abuses the ideas of animalism by changing the laws to benefit him and becomes a dictator. This is based on Stalin s abuse of communism. 80-90 - Napoleon institutes spontaneous demonstrations these represent forced patriotic demonstrations in post-revolutionary Soviet Union. 100
ASSIGNMENT #4: TEXTUAL EVIDENCE OF INFLUENCES 13 (Complete the following using your author s text(s)) FIRST INFLUENCE: TEXTUAL EVIDENCE (Use quotes when citing word for word.) PAGE NUMBER(S) INFORMATION IS LOCATED SECOND INFLUENCE:
14 TEXTUAL EVIDENCE (Use quotes when citing word for word.) PAGE NUMBER(S) INFORMATION IS LOCATED
THIRD INFLUENCE: 15 TEXTUAL EVIDENCE (Use quotes when citing word for word.) PAGE NUMBER(S) INFORMATION IS LOCATED
Assignment #5 Total Score: / 10 STEP 5: CONSTRUCTING A THESIS STATEMENT You are now ready to construct a thesis statement. The thesis statement is the specific claim that you will explain in-depth using the evidence you have collected from both your author s text(s) and outside sources. Carefully read the example below. Use it as a model in order to construct your own thesis statement. 16 Be sure your thesis statement includes the following: REQUIRED 1.) Your author s first and last name REQUIRED 2.) The three factors that you will prove influenced your author REQUIRED 3.) The title of the text(s) in which these influences are evident OPTIONAL 4.) You may also want to include specifically where or how these influences are evident in the text(s) (EXAMPLE: in the characters, setting, themes, etc.) or s name EXAMPLE THESIS STATEMENT 1 st influence eorge Orwell was a democratic socialist whose time spent serving in the Spanish Civil War, iews on totalitarian government and retirement on a farm ultimately influenced him to write the olitical satire, Animal Farm. influence 3 rd influence Title of text (Using the above example as a model, record your thesis statement on the next page to complete Assignment #5)
ASSIGNMENT #5: CONSTRUCT YOUR THESIS STATEMENT (Record your thesis statement in the space provided below) 17 THESIS STATEMENT: Assignment #6 Total Score: / 40 STEP 6: CONSTRUCTING AN OUTLINE Now that you have written a thesis statement, it is time to create an outline in order to prepare for writing your research paper. Your outline will be a map of how your paper will look. It will show the order in which you will organize facts you have collected in order to support your insights. Directions: 1.) Follow the example of an outline under Assignment #6 in order to complete your outline. 2.) Your outline must be typed in size 12 Times New Roman font, have 1 inch margins, and follow MLA format.
OUTLINE 18 Fill in the framework below to create a skeleton of what will become your essay. You should have many quotes pulled already in your author biography essay, reading log and annotations, so this step is mostly organization and moving information into a place that will make the rough draft easier to create. You can recreate this below OR erase my original text and put your own work in the same spot. I. Introduction Paragraph A. Attention Getting Device (Use a question, quote, statistic, or vivid description that is related to your thesis in order to grab the reader s attention and spark interest at the start of your paper.) B. Transitional Statement (This is the sentence or sentences that specifically relate your Attention Getting Device to your thesis. Often it is the answer to a question you have posed or a brief explanation of background information) C. Thesis Statement (What you will prove and the order in which you will prove it.) For your supporting influences, you will/should end up with more than one paragraph. The info below is just to gather everything you want to say. You may have a 3 or 4 paragraphs, with each number representing a new paragraph for each influence. Hence, influence one should have 2-4 paragraphs of explanation. Also each influence needs at least one direct citation from the novel, and at least one direct citation from research. Everything indirectly cited also must have a parenthetical reference when they are written into the actual paper, they are not necessary in this step. Connect these facts with your own original ideas and thoughts. II. First Influence (You should devise a topic sentence that indicates each influence and relates it directly back to the thesis statement) A. Topic Sentence to show the first influence (Applies to all support paragraphs for this influence) B. Direct Quote from Novel (cited correctly) C. Direct Quote from Research (cited correctly) Place any additional Direct Quotes you may use as D, E, etc. III. thesis statement) Second Influence (You should devise a topic sentence that indicates each influence and relates it directly back to the D. Topic Sentence to show the first influence (Applies to all support paragraphs for this influence) E. Direct Quote from Novel (cited correctly) F. Direct Quote from Research (cited correctly) Place any additional Direct Quotes you may use as D, E, etc. IV. Third Influence (You should devise a topic sentence that indicates each influence and relates it directly back to the thesis statement) G. Topic Sentence to show the first influence (Applies to all support paragraphs for this influence)
H. Direct Quote from Novel (cited correctly) 19 I. Direct Quote from Research (cited correctly) Place any additional Direct Quotes you may use as D, E, etc. V. Conclusion - A TRUE conclusion is the place where you take all of the ideas you presented and collect them to make a point. You are truly drawing a conclusion. It s not a restatement or summary. This is your last chance to show me that you are correct in your analysis. Do not add new information. Do not use in conclusion or any phrase using I or you. A. Final statement of fact (can contain a transition) B. Reiteration of major points. Clincher sentence (RECONNECT to the AGD from paragraph one. Bring it full circle, show how that opening statement is proven by the paper.) Assignment #7 Total Score: / 50 STEP #7: CONSTRUCTION OF DRAFT #1 Now that you have organized your research and ideas in an outline it is time to put those thoughts into a rough draft. You will take the ideas organized in your outline and connect them in sentence form. The rough draft must be typed in MLA format. Be sure: To use effective transitions between all paragraphs. Each paragraph of the body contains a topic sentence that clearly relates it back to the thesis or a main point (one of the influences) To use internal citations for every paragraph To proofread for punctuation and spelling errors
20 Many students get confused as to what a rough draft really is. A rough draft is not just what you got around to doing. It is a complete paper that is just not perfect. It is proven that the better your rough draft is, the better your final paper will be. If a draft is too poor or incomplete for me to review, then you won t have my guidance for improving it and your grade suffer. The rough draft must: Be a minimum 4 page paper (Use the Wiley fold test) Have a clear thesis For each supporting topic, there must be at least one direct quote and one paraphrase EACH from the novel and the research. (This means you will have a minimum of 6 direct quotes and 6 paraphrases throughout the paper.) Have a complete and accurate Works Cited page (must include the novel you read, Novels for Students, and at least two additional reputable outside sources) Not contain 1st (I) or second (you) person pronouns Proper MLA formatting See my grading checklist for specifics about expectations and requirements Final Hint: Do you want to catch all the spelling and grammar errors in your paper? Do you want to increase your score? If the answer is yes, before you turn in your paper, READ IT OUT LOUD! By reading out loud you will not be able to skim over mistakes. You will hear all of your mistakes, have the chance to catch them, and greatly improve your writing. Assignment #8 CONSTRUCTION OF DRAFT #2 Total Score: / 25 Assignment #9 CONSTRUCTION OF FINAL DRAFT Total Score: / 200 Assignment #10 TURNITIN.COM SUBMISSION