Research Paper

English 272 World Literature II

Research Paper

Length: 5-10 pages (Works Cited page counts as one page.)

Use MLA 2009 Format and 12 point font

The research paper must be written about one (or more) of the literary (aka Primary works/sources)

works from the syllabus. You may write a research paper about the same topic you used for the

Preliminary Research assignment, or you may choose other works/topics that you wish to explore

more fully.

You must use at least three and no more than five critical sources (aka Secondary or “outside”

sources), as well as quotes and specific references to the primary text. Please do not use .com

sources.

Here are the guidelines:

1. You must use an argumentative thesis, stating a claim that must be proved.

2. Remember to follow the general ground rules for an essay. You will need an introduction, which

will set the context for a reader who may not have read the work, a clearly stated thesis, body

paragraphs that relate to the thesis and use specific references to support a clearly stated point, and a

conclusion that not only re-states and thesis, but returns gracefully to the ideas in the paper’s

introduction.

3. You must document your quotes and paraphrases in the body of the paper with parenthetical

documentation using MLA 2009 style. For help, visit the MLA 2009 section of the Online Writing

Lab at Purdue University: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

4. You must have a Works Cited page listing all your sources in MLA format, including the primary

source (ie. the literary work from the syllabus). Remember that a source must be cited in your paper

in order for you to list in on the Works Cited page. You will not get credit for a source unless you

cite it in the paper.

5. For internet sources, please do give URLs. You may shorten these as per MLA 2009.

Here are two examples:

“People and Events: Women’s Roles in the 1950s.” The Pill. American Experience. PBS Online. Web.

10 March, 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/>.

Shannon, G. Sandra. “The Ground on Which I Stand: August Wilson’s Perspective on African

American Women.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 222. Gale, (2006). Literature

Resource Center. Gale Resource. Web. 10 March 2011. <http://go.galegroup.com.>.

6. The format for this essay will be like the one for your Response Essays. Use the MLA style

heading on the first page; next, center your paper’s title; then, indent and begin your paper.