Literature Research paper

1

Research Essay Assignment for ENGL 2131

Due Date in GaView

Your research paper must come from any author or time

period represented in Becoming America p. 1-1543 or must be listed in the option 2 topic selections or must fall within the time frame of American Lit. I and be approved by your professor.

Note that there are two options here:

OPTION ONE: Assignment: Combine Literary Analysis

with Historical Analysis (If you select this option, you may

want to do some preliminary research on Historical Literary

Analysis. This is not just a history paper and I caution you to

avoid turning in an old history paper.)

Students will select a period of United States history from

the list below, and then write a research paper analyzing the

period and how the literature of the time reflected its values,

struggles, and ideas. Less than one-half of the paper will

focus on historical analysis because the goal of this paper is

to put the authors in their historical context. The second half

of the paper (or more) will be analysis of prominent authors

(at least 3) and their works of the time.

The research paper must make a connection between the

authors and the time period. How does any one writer

express the ideas and sentiments of the time? Are they

representative of the times or are they in opposition to ruling

attitudes and ideas of the time? How did the authors feel

about the historical events of their time? What themes

permeate their works and how do they connect to history?

Select one of the following times periods established in your

text Becoming America:

1.Pre- and Early Colonial Literature

2. Seventeenth Century English Colonial Literature

3. Revolutionary and Early National Period Literature

4. Nineteenth Century Romanticism and Transcendentalism

An author must be represented in one of these four periods

to be acceptable for this American Literature I research

paper.

OPTION TWO: choose one of the topics listed in the

separate folder (There are 30 to choose from.) THE

FOLDER IS LABELED RESEARCH TOPICS.

REQUIREMENTS for Research Papers

Each student must write a literary research paper

of 1500+ words from Option 1 or Option 2.

The paper should present your interpretive ideas and use

research to support your argument for interpretation of the

work(s) and/or history.

TOPIC PROPOSAL: The first step is to choose a topic and create a topic proposal in which you discuss what you will talk

about, how it is relevant to the work, and what your basic

premise for the paper will be. Do not just say I choose Option One or Option Two. Explain your topic. Your topic proposal should include evidence of preliminary research, a working thesis, and a good basic understanding of the author(s) and works you intend to write about in your paper. Include a statement of the importance of the topic and any special interest or knowledge that you have about it. . Demonstrate in your topic proposal that you are

not just writing an encyclopedia type paper but that you

have an idea or thesis that you want to prove about your

topic. (Some resources about thesis statements will be

provided in the research folder in GaView.)

Remember your work has to fall within the time period covered by American Literature I-- from the arrival of Columbus’s ships in 1492 in the Caribbean to 1885.

You will need to have a strong thesis to guide your research

paper that identifies specific points about the text(s) and/or

history and explains your interpretation of the textual or

historical situation.

Regardless of the option you choose focus on the writing or literature. Remember – this is a literature research project – so just concentrating on historic events or author biographies without a major focus on the writing will not meet the requirements of the paper.

To support your thesis, throughout the

paper, you should use quotes from your primary text(s) and

quotes or paraphrases from your research material. You

should also analyze rather than summarize the materials. A

plot summary is not necessary in a paper of this type.

Analysis answers the “why” question and the “so what”

question. That is, why is your discussion of the

literature/history important and how can your discussion

clarify important issues in the literature/history? The paper

should be organized with a clear introduction, body, and

conclusion, which recaps your main ideas.

A research paper basically should be an exhibition of your

ideas about your chosen work or historical topic with a

sprinkling of research material added in.

Ways to integrate research: 1) Introduce critical opinions

and discuss whether or not you agree with other

interpretations which may vary with yours. 2) Offer

additional information about an author’s background and

other works which relate to the one in question. 3) Discuss

your chosen work as a part of a certain genre. 4) Discuss the

relationship between your chosen work and its historical

setting and the effects of history upon the work. 5) Introduce

historical and material evidence to support your claims. 6)

Integrate factual information about historical situations

and/or figures.

Research Essay Assignment Guidelines for ENGL 2131

· Your paper will need a catchy title.

· Synthesize your ideas with research materials to reach new

· conclusions

· Demonstrate originality of thought and creative insight

· Use MLA format correctly for formatting, in-text citations,

· and works cited page

· Integrate research sources effectively, fairly, and ethically

· The research paper should be 1500 words at a minimum.

· Avoid word substitution programs or plagiarism. Obviously plagiarized papers will receive no credit. Papers that show evidence of the pretentiously obscure language or gibberish that is a hallmark of word substitution programs will also receive no credit.

· Your paper must have at least one primary source and at

least 4-6 secondary sources to reinforce the premise of the

paper. PRIMARY SOURCES ARE ORIGINAL WORKS:

For example, MARY ROWLANDSON’S NARRATIVE IS A PRIMARY

SOURCE. AN ARTICLE ABOUT ROWLANDSON’S

NARRATIVE IS A SECONDARY SOURCE. Article about the development of the captivity narrative in this time period would be secondary sources. Articles discussing King Philip’s War would be secondary sources.

· Sources should be paraphrased and summarized in clear,

concise language; paraphrased sections and summarized sections must be documented in MLA citation format.

· Direct quotes from sources should be integrated into the

paper with signal phrases and grammatical transitions.

· Sources should be used ethically and stay true to the intent

of the text(s).

· Paper should be formatted according to MLA guidelines.

· All summaries, paraphrases, and direct quotes should be

accompanied by in-text citations.

· The works cited page should contain properly constructed

MLA citations for all primary and secondary sources used in

the paper.

· The paper should synthesize the writer’s ideas with

research information to reach creative insights into the topic

at hand.

· NO Quotations of more than three lines and no more than

two quotations on a page. Your Turnitin originality report

should not be higher than 22%.