The independent study unit for this course requires students to select, read and analyze a novel with “literary merit a work of literary tiction that possesses cultural value, lterary elements, rhetorical devices, and literary criticism has been written about it), and it will culminate in a literary research essay.
Criteria for novel selection:
-minutumn or 200 baces
-at a reading level that is challenging enough for a grade twelve, university-bound student.
must be the focus or scholarly essays and literary criticism
→ Focus on the most significant literary elements used in the novel (ASK: What literary elements do I notice right away? – symbolism, imagery, situational irony, foreshadowing, etc.)
→ Focus on the themes that become apparent as you explore the content (ASK: What are the main messages in my novel? – the destructive nature of revenge, the power of young love, or the human ability to survive the unspeakable, etc.).
→ Identify and examine how ONE literary device reinforces ONE key theme in the novel, either effectively or ineffectively. Remember that Character, Conflict, and Setting are NOT literary devices.
→ Make continual point-form notes about key literary elements and their connection to central themes, because these can be used as YOUR OWN RESEARCH NOTES.
→ Conduct additional research from a minimum of 3 academic secondary sources; these
ancies must nave oeen oubished in ocer revewed oubtcarions, you will use evidence from these articles to support your thesis and to complement direct quotations trom the novel. Be sure to track your sources carefully to avoid plagiarism. The essay:
-Literary research essay: 1200-1500 words in length.
-Tone: formal–avoid personal pronouns, contractions, or informal language
-Structure: you are not limited to a s paragraph essay structure introduction, s boay paragraphs and a conclusion). If you would like to add additional body paragraphs to
ONE quotation from your research per supporting argument (body paragraph). This brings you to a suggested three pieces of cited evidence per body paragraph.
-Format: typed in a 12 point font, double-spaced, and formatted according to MLA expectations. All citations (in-text and final page of works cited) will also follow MLA conventions. Please use this template to format your thesis:
In the in
the novel (insert your novel title), (insert author’s first and last name) uses
) effectivelv/ineffectively in order to shape and reinforce the theme of
For example:
In the haunting novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte uses symboli:
meredve mordero
shape and remorce the theme of destructiveness of love that never changes.
the book used for this Assignment is Possession by A.S Byatt.
