Our research paper is due on the due date (TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2024). Late papers will NOT be accepted.
There is no revision on the research paper. If you want to submit a draft to me before the due date, I will look at it and provide input.
Your research paper should be 7 to 10 pages.
The research paper follows formatting guidelines for take-home essays.
IT MUST BE TYPED, DOUBLE-SPACED, WITH ONE-INCH MARGINS AND READABLE FONT (I SUGGEST TIMES NEW ROMAN).
You do not need a title page but the first page should have a heading in the upper left-hand corner including your name, last 4 digits of your MEC ID, course number (ENG150.015), my name, and the date you turned it in.
You need an ORIGINAL title for your paper.
You are required to have AT LEAST FIVE OUTSIDE REFERENCE SOURCES.
These are IN ADDITION to the texts (stories, poems, or plays) you are writing about.
A reference source is an OUTSIDE source of information, such as a book, journal article, magazine or newspaper article, or website.
AT LEAST ONE OF YOUR REFERENCE SOURCES CANNOT BE A WEBSITE; IT HAS TO BE A SOURCE THAT EXISTS IN PRINT FORM (online journals, books, newspapers, and magazines are acceptable as long as they also have a print equivalent).
NO WIKIPEDIA!!!!!
Your reference sources AS WELL AS the texts you are writing about need to be listed in a separate Works Cited page at the end of your paper.
Your Works Cited page needs to be in MLA format.
Your texts and reference sources should be listed in alphabetical order by the last name of the author.
Tips for determining your research paper topic:
Part of the final paper assignment is for you to determine YOUR OWN topic. Therefore, I will not be giving you a list of topics.
Remember that in this class we have been talking about different methods of critique – various ways of looking at and talking about what we read. You should apply a method of literary critique to the texts you choose. Some methods of literary critique we’ve discussed include:
Historicist Critique: discussing how works Giovanni’s Room relates to actual historical events.
Gender/Feminist Critique: discussing how Giovanni’s Room portrays gender (male and female characters).
Psychoanalytic Critique: discussing how Giovanni’s Room portrays human nature and psychology.
Religious/Mythological Critique: discussing how Giovanni’s Room relates to particular religious beliefs and/or mythological systems.
Biographical Critique: discussing Giovanni’s Room works in terms of James Baldwin’s life and background.
Cultural Critique: discussing Giovanni’s Room terms of the culture irt represents or discusses.
Racial Critique: discussing how Giovanni’s Room portrays race.
Socio-economic Critique: discussing what Giovanni’s Room says about social class.
If you are having a lot of trouble coming up with a research paper topic:
Pick your favorite story, play or novel from our class.
Do one of two things:
Find another story, play or novel by the same author.
Find another story, play or novel that deals with a major theme present in the text you picked.
Do some library and online research to find out what other people have said about your texts and/or the author.
Helpful hints:
Think hard about what part of our class was most interesting to you. You CAN incorporate personal remarks or experiences into your research paper; you will write best about issues that matter to you.
You can always discuss how “non-traditional” forms of expression such as film, rap music, hip-hop, or other types of art forms and expression relate to some of the traditional literature we’ve read in class.
When in doubt, ASK ME!!!!! I am more than happy to help!
