Outline/Works Cited - due in 36 hours

EXAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER BODY PARAGRAPH

Imagine, if you will, that this paragraph comes from an essay that talks about how Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” goes against the traditional features of a sonnet in the Renaissance.

One way in which Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” undermines the traditional sonnet structure is that it refuses to idealize its subject. Petrarchan sonnets, which Shakespeare would have been not only familiar with but would likely have modeled his own poems after, typically depict their subject (a love interest) as being perfect. To illustrate this perfection, Petrarchan sonnets will compare the love interest to any number of objects or occurrences in nature. Shakespeare, however, does just the opposite when he says, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;/ Coral is far more red than her lips’ red” (1-2). Instead of using similes to compare the love interest to nature, Shakespeare uses reverse similes to show that natural beauty is NOT present in the face of his love. In her article, “Shakespeare and the Breaking of Rules,” Felicia Jean confirms that Shakespeare, “does gently mock the thoughtless mechanical application of the standard Petrarchan metaphors, although lightheartedly” (24). Shakespeare’s description of the lady as unbeautiful, while it may initially be read as cruel, is actually a lighthearted jab at Petrarchan norms. By subverting the comparisons to nature, Shakespeare shows us how empty those comparisons can actually be as a way of praising a lover.

Notice the following structural features of the paragraph:

1) It begins with a clear topic sentence that gives an overview of the paragraph’s main idea.

2) It gives relevant background information about the work in question so that the quotation makes sense.

3) It includes a brief quotation from the primary text.

4) It analyzes that quotation before moving on.

5) It then introduces and includes a brief, corresponding quotation from an outside source to further illustrate my point.

6) It then analyzes the secondary quotation before concluding.

***Because this sample paragraph is about a poem and not a novel, it has line numbers in the parenthetical citation. All of your citations will just include a page number since you are writing about fiction.