2. A research paper means that you will have gone out and researched something other than what was required for the course. I would recommend exploring a theme or topic that has sparked your interest, or to which you were already drawn even before taking this course. From there, find a way to bring in an outside source into the discussions we have engaged in over the course of the semester. An outside source is most often a text – an essay from jstor or a book – but sometimes, depending on the course and the topic you choose, it can be a film, novel, or a work of art. An outside source needs to be cited at least twice in your research paper. If this is not done, the paper will not be accepted. The key to remember here is that a research paper gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of what we have discussed in class by applying this understanding to something we did not discuss or read in and for class. Papers will be graded based on how well this is done.
3. Research papers must also refer to and cite (cite means you quote a sentence or passage from the text) at least one of the texts we read for the course. Papers that do not do this will not be accepted or graded. You must also, in addition to bringing in passages from the text that we covered in the course bring in the themes and discussions of the course. Remember, the research paper’s task is to take what we have done in the course, hence the need to draw from what has been done in the course, and apply it to something we did not cover in the course (which is where the research comes in).
4. There is no minimum number of outside sources you must cite or refer to. Sometimes one really good outside source is sufficient, but other times multiple sources need to be cited in order to cover the topic well. You do not need to cite every outside source you refer to. It is only required that there be at least two citations from outside sources. Where these come from is up to your discretion. The key here is to cite those passages that are most relevant to what you are saying in the context of your essay.
5. Finally, you can use the format and style you are most accustomed to using – e.g., MLA, Chicago, etc. My only concern is that outside sources and citations are properly documented.
