Write an essay on Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mary
Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein, or Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. Focus on a
specific passage or passages that are crucial to the novel, and show how, if interpreted correctly,
this passage resolves questions about the work as a whole. You may take as your starting point
class discussions or study questions that I handed out.
In your essay you must use and cite at least three outside sources; you must quote in some form
from at least two. “Outside sources” are texts that are neither the primary subject of your paper
nor readings on the course syllabus; presumably they will be critical or historical texts. At least
one of the three outside sources must be a book published by a university press (e.g., University of
North Carolina Press, Stanford University Press). At least one source must be an article in a
scholarly journal (e.g., The Journal of Modern History, Contemporary Literature). The best
research tool for locating relevant secondary sources is the MLA International Bibliography. “Subject” searches are particularly useful.
Disagree with previous critics or use them as background for your argument, but do not ask them
to make your argument for you. For example, do not support your thesis only by quoting several
authorities who see your topic the way you do.
You should end your essay with a Works Cited page. Attributions to the works listed there,
including page numbers, should be given parenthetically in your essay—e.g., “(Baym 69)” or
“(Burke 3: 271).”
Here is some guidance on finding sources for your final essays. I mentioned that the best research
tool for locating relevant scholarly articles is the MLA International Bibliography
The sources for which you look will be primarily either sources that provide historical,
biographical, or literary contexts for a work of fiction, or (more likely) sources that argue for
specific interpretations of the work. Obviously, a single article can serve both purposes. When
you draw upon critical articles that interpret the work, you should use them to situate your
argument; that may involve either extending or criticizing their conclusions.
