Primary Text(s):
Use The Brothers Grimm’s “Cinderella” (1857) in The Classic Fairy Tales)
Secondary Texts:
Find two (2) academic, peer-reviewed sources through the Rutgers library databasesLinks to an external site. (cf. Google ScholarLinks to an external site. as well) that are directly on your primary text(s). In other words, if you chose just the Brothers Grimm’s version of “Snow White,” then you should find two academic articles on the Grimm’s “Snow White.” As a suggestion, if you’re writing on one variant of “Snow White” and one variant of “Bluebeard,” I would suggest you have one source on each, with one directly on “Snow White” and one directly on “Bluebeard,” so as to make the paper critically balanced with regard to sources and argumentation. One secondary source can be from the readings for the course, if applicable.
In total, then, you will have two (2) secondary texts.
Thesis:
Your paper must have a thesis. The thesis is up to you to come up with, so long as you’re arguing something that’s critical and analytical about your primary text(s), using your sources to help make your claim. Your paper will be you quoting and citing from all of your sources—both primary and secondary—and using the historical sources to ground your argument that way as well. In other words, this should not be a book report, but a critical and analytical discussion, using secondary, academic sources to back up a thesis statement.
Length:
This should be 5-6 pages double-spaced, and use correct grammar, mechanics, quoting/citing, etc. Aim for a 25% originality score on Turnitin; this means that you’re quoting in approximately one-fourth of your essay, which will ground your work in the texts you’re analyzing and with which you’re engaging.
Citing/Style:
Be sure you’re citing properly in MLA style; see this page for how to cite fairy tales from your anthology as well as academic articles. All papers must have a Works Cited page or you will not receive credit—you need to document your sources for research essays. See the paper expectations page for more in-depth information about things to watch out for, for examples of MLA papers written by undergraduates, &c. Please also make use of the Purdue OWLLinks to an external site., which is, in effect, the entire MLA Handbook online, for free. Every style and citation question you can think of is on the OWL! With that said, I’m happy to answer any and all questions via email.
