outline and essay

Final Project Our final project is a research paper where you will compare Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” with Sara Teasdale’s poem “There Will Come Soft Rains”. A research is NEITHER a summary NOR a critical analysis through both of those components are used in writing the research paper. In a research paper you make an observation based on your understanding of the texts. This observation is turned into a statement, called the thesis, which is specific, analytic and can be backed up with references from the text/s.

For our assignment, you can come up with a thesis that addresses one of the following:

1. How does the post-apocalyptic world of the poem compare with that of the post-apocalyptic world of the short story?

2. What is the role of humanity in each of the two texts? Expand by illustrating the relationship between nature and humanity as represented in the poem and between humanity and technology as represented in the short story.

This project has TWO stages.

The first stage calls for an outline and a bibliography (MLA).

In the second stage, you will develop the essay based on your outline and bibliography.

Outline and Bibliography: Once you have chosen one of the questions from the options offered above, think about a statement that can answer the question raised in your chosen option. Your answer would become your “working thesis”. For your outline you will need a working thesis + topic sentences for each paragraph + quotations from both the poem and the short that you would be using to support your claim/thesis/observation.

For the bibliography, you will create a Works Cited list that would include the information for Sara Teasdale’s poem + Ray Bradbury’s short story+ three secondary sources. Enclosed you would find a list of six secondary sources; you can choose your three secondary sources from this list. Please remember to consult the MLA style guide for the Works Cited page.

Examples of Secondary Sources: Websites and Blogs:

a. https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/there-will-come-soft-rains/

b. https://bmfowler.edublogs.org/2011/03/03/august-2026-there-will-come-soft-rains/

Newspaper Article

c. “VISIONS OF THE FUTURE FROM THE PAST.” Financial Times, 2005, p. 12.

Journal Article Available through the Library

d. “Fiction That Gets Al Right.” MIT Technology Review, vol. 120, no. 6, 2017, pp. 64–65. Journal Article on Sara Teasdale

e. Monroe, Harriet. “Sara Teasdale.” Poetry, vol. 25, no. 5, 1925, pp. 262–268.

Article on Sara Teasdale’s position on war and its influence on humanity

f. Girard, Melissa. “‘How Autocratic Our Country Is Becoming’: The Sentimental Poetess at War.” Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 32, no. 2, 2009, pp. 41–64.