Most often, writers are influenced by their lives, experiences, and what is happening in the world around them. Societal issues, historical events, and literary movements may also influence them. For this project, you will write about Margaret Atwood and examine how one or all of these factors influenced her.
You will examine either one play, three short stories, or five poems. You will have to examine five of her poems and determine how they relate to one of the above factors. You can find other short stories, plays, or poems online or in other books.
Once you have read the works of Margaret Atwood and have a good idea of her writing style and overlapping topics, you will start conducting your research. In your research, you will want to learn about her life, the period in which she lived (focus on culture and societal issues), relevant significant historical events, and literary movements.
Requirements
•The essay will be a minimum of 4 full pages but no more than 6 pages (annotated bibliography does not count towards page requirements)
•The essay will be in the literary present tense and adhere to formal, academic writing standards (i.e., no contractions, no first or second pronouns)
•The essay will be in MLA format.
•The essay will have a minimum of 6 sources (3 of these sources must come from the ATU databases)
•Copy/paste your annotated bibliography entries from your Annotated Bibliography Project at the end of your research paper to help the reader reference your in-text citations. (Students can update their annotated bibliography to add or remove entries based on their research utilized within the project. The annotated bibliography will be graded based on the previous submission, so any changes within the annotated bibliography section will not be graded.)
Research Paper Revision Guide
(Check the following during the revision process:)
•At least 4 full pages but no more than 6 pages (The Annotated Bibliography does not count towards the minimum page requirements)
•MLA format
-Includes the Annotated Bibliography (copy/paste this from your assignment and place at the end of the research paper)
-Correctly uses in-text citations
•Research Project Style
-Focus is only on 1 author and examine how he/she was influenced by societal issues, historical events, and/or literary movements
-Demonstrates through textual evidence how the influences within the author’s life influenced his/her writing style and/or aspects within their own writing
-Uses literary present (simple present tense)
-Uses an academic tone
~Avoids contractions
~Avoids slang
~Is in third person (no first or second person pronouns)
•Includes at least 6 sources
-Textual evidence or quotes from the primary text/story
-At least 3 Sources from the ATU database
•Free of grammatical errors
-Subject/ verb agreement
-Check spelling
-Check capitalization
-Sentence errors
~Fragments
~Rub-on
~Comma-splices
•Coherent
-Sentences and paragraphs are in a logical order
-Avoids awkward phrasing
~Avoids misplaced modifiers
-Writing is concise:
~Remove redundancies
~Remove cliches
~Remove parts that do not add value to the essay
-Check for consistent verb tense
No more than 20% can be from resources…more than 80% must be your own ideas and your own words
Outline
•Introduction (3-5 Sentences)
-Briefly introduce author and major influences
(2-4 Sentences)
~Present thesis
•Body
-1st paragraph – 1st example of an influence on the author’s life that is expressed through their writing (5 – 9 sentences)
~Transition sentence
~Introduce 1st example (ex. One prominent influence on the author’s life was _________.)
~Give textual evidence of the influence expressed within their work (ex. This influence is expressed within their short story _________ when the protagonist says…)
-Explain how the textual evidence reflects the influence on the author.
~(optional) If there is another example of textual evidence, give textual evidence for the additional example and explain how it reflects the influence of the author, too.
•2nd paragraph – 2nd example (5 – 9 sentences)
-Transition sentence
-Introduce 2nd example
-Give textual evidence of the influence expressed within their work
-Explain how the textual evidence reflects the influence on the author.
~(optional) If there is another example of textual evidence, give textual evidence for the additional example and explain how it reflects the influence of the author, too.
•3rd paragraph – continue pattern for 3rd example (5 – 9 sentences)
•4th paragraph – continue pattern for 4th example (5 – 9 sentences)
•Conclusion (3-5 Sentences)
-Transition sentence
~Summarize essay to reflect thesis (avoid new quotes or research that has not been presented within the introduction or body of the essay)
