GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH PAPER (35% of FINAL GRADE)

DUE Saturday, April 25 at 11:30 PM VIA EMAIL

The documented research paper will show evidence of the extent to which students meet course objectives including, but not limited to, developing an analytical argument appropriate to the assignment, demonstrating the ability to manage essay structure and utilize MLA format. The paper will demonstrate originality, critical thinking and research skills, cite primary and secondary research sources, and include a Works Cited page.

As we discussed in class, you will write a fully documented and sourced research paper of between 7-10 pages based on one of the other major works we have discussed during the second half of the semester. This essay is worth 35% of your final course grade and will be written utilizing Modern Language Association guidelines. 

Again, you are welcome to revise and expand a previously submitted essay. You are also free to write on a different text from the course readings. If you want to focus on  “Bartleby the Scrivener,” or “Benito Cereno,” be sure to take notes. Suggested topics for some of these works include violence, morality, slavery, education, abolitionism, religion, alienation, industrialization, passive resistance, racism, manifest destiny, and the concept of the “unreliable narrator” (as exemplified in the short stories “The Tell-tale Heart” or “Bartleby the Scrivener” and the novella “Benito Cereno” ). Some of these themes overlap—your thesis should reflect your theme in a clear, well-articulated manner. 

 GUIDELINES

You must use no less than four (4) secondary sources in the final version of your essay. At least two (2) of these secondary sources must consist of recent (no earlier than 2000) literary journal articles on your primary text. The additional two (2) sources may be books--biographical, collected works, or bound essays. They must be literature-based works based on your primary text and/or its author—not books or journals from other disciplines (i.e., sociology, psychology, education, anthropology, etc.). PLEASE REVIEW PREVIOUS POST ON DATABASE RESOURCES FOR PAPERS.

For this final research paper, YOU MAY NOT USE the following as sources, as they are NOT considered scholarly works: SparkNotes, 123HelpMe, GoodReads, Wikipedia, CliffsNotes, ClassicNotes, Enotes, GradeSaver, or any other student guides. All electronic sources must be approved by me at the time you submit your working bibliography. 

PLEASE NOTE: Simply re-wording summaries or analysis from another source constitutes plagiarism—your work must consist of YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND WRITING—please don’t fail this course because of plagiarism. Make sure that you use quotation marks when you are using someone else’s words, and that you give proper credit to the source if you are paraphrasing.

Any Instance Of Plagiarism In The Research Paper Will Result In An Automatic “F” On The Entire Paper With No Possibility Of Revision.

Papers Graded Using the Following Criteria:

Clear thesis statement, well-organized supporting points and conclusion:     10 points

Cited adequately and correctly from the texts (primary and secondary):      10 points

Demonstrated writing strength (sentence structure, spelling, grammar):       10 points

Works Cited Page (properly formatted in MLA style, per guidelines):         5 points

PAPERS MAY BE SUBMITTED EARLY.

FINAL GRADES WILL BE POSTED ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29