Begin by using “Lusus Naturae” BY Margaret Atwood to work with.
Then select your critical approach all of which are described near to the end of our text (see also the attached pdf covering Formalist/New Criticism, Biographical, Psychological, Reader-Response, Historical, Gender, and Cultural).
Submit to me by April 29th a well-written paragraph in which you identify the work you will be covering, your critical approach, and a discussion about WHY you have made this selection (note, this is not an interpretation but rather a discussion of the reasons behind the decisions you have made) – and I will respond.
From this point, submit steps as you are ready for me to see them. There is no set timetable with the exception of the final draft which is due same day as the final exam.
The next step is to devise a thesis statement for your paper. What will you be trying to prove? Usually, the best way to approach this is to pose it as a question. What question would you like to answer in your paper? See if you can develop a three-part question. Then…
Develop a sentence outline in which you answer the question using textual support to add to the evidence. Think of the research paper as being composed of three essays (each 3 to 5 paragraphs) plus an introduction and conclusion. Thus, for your outline, try to come up with three answers to the question (thus I, II and III of your outline), and support each answer with your own reasoning and support from the text.
At the same time, proceed to do your research, looking for five to seven (minimum) sources (books, journal articles, reference guides) from which you can pull quotes to add further support to your outline. Whenever you quote from a secondary source, include within parentheses after the quote the last name and the page number of each source. Important: Avoid Wikipedia, Schmoop and other unreliable sources (which will be disallowed once you transfer to the university/state college). Stay focused on reliable, authoritative sources. Hint: Begin by consulting the web site devoted to your author. This is maintained by experts in your area and will offer links to many helpful sources. Also, our campus library has a wide collection of books and journal articles on each of the authors.
