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 pick one author from the textbook and examine how one or all of these factors influenced him/her.
After you have chosen an author, you will examine either one play, three short stories, or five poems. So, if you choose Langston Hughes, you will have to examine five of his poems and determine how they relate to one of the above factors. While you must select an author from the book, the works you examine do not have to come from the textbook. You can find other short stories, plays, or poems online or in other books.
Once you have read the works of your author and have a good idea of his/her writing style and overlapping topics, you will start conducting your research. In your research, you will want to learn about the author’s life, the period in which the author lived (focus on culture and societal issues), relevant significant historical events, and literary movements.
This project has two parts:
the annotated bibliography (due April 8th)
and the research paper (due April 29th)
Part 1: Annotated Bibliography (50 Points)
The annotated bibliography is a working bibliography. The annotated bibliography comprises the sources you have used to learn about your topic, and you may cite information from these sources in your research paper.
Requirements
Your annotated bibliography needs to include a minimum of 6 sources:
one primary source: (interview of the author; interview or first-hand accounts with people who personally knew the author; autobiography; original books, poems, articles written by the author)
three scholarly sources from the ATU database
two other sources: (this may include websites)
Each source needs to be at least 100 words and should do the following:
cite the source
summarize the source (no more than 3 sentences for summary)
evaluate the validity of the source
reflect how it will help you support the claims that you are making in your research paper.
You should have more evaluation/reflection than summary in your annotation.
The assignment will be formatted according to MLA guidelines.
Part 2: Research Paper (150 Points)
The second part of your research project will be your research paper. In your paper, you will present your evaluation of the author’s work(s). You will use the information in the primary works and your research to help develop and support your ideas.
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.)
