You begin by writing a literary research proposal that describes your topic and your familiarity with the topic through preliminary reading and thought, your purpose for studying the topic, what you seek to understand, a brief survey of your sources, your focus and a summary of your expected findings, a description of your procedures for conducting your researching of sources, and your main thesis idea. Then you compile an annotated bibliography of 10 sources. (see the discussion below.) See #28d in Hacker and Sommers’ A Pocket Style Manual (105-106).
Here is an example of a literary research proposal and bibliography. Your proposal will include an annotated bibliography rather than a bibliographic list as is found in the sample. https://www.brynmawr.edu/sites/default/files/media/documents/2022-03/Sample-Research-Proposal-1.pdfLinks to an external site.
Turn to Meyer and Miller’s Literature to Go and find ch. 21 (586-604). Read through the chapter carefully. At the end of the chapter you will see a heading Suggested Topics for Longer Papers (603-604). Find question #2 on page 604. Use this question as your launching point but it is merely a means of getting started! This will give you a chance to integrate poems in the chapter with poems from web research in to Billy Collins’ work. You will be creating a research paper and you may begin with an analytical focus but it will ultimately be an argument about a unique aspect of Collins’ work and artistic philosophy.
You need five secondary sources: a book, two scholarly articles, and two web-based articles (one textual and another visual). These five sources are in addition to the articles collected in Meyer and Miller, ch. 21. There are six articles in Meyer and Miller and an interview. There is also a web site (603), but it appears to be out of commission. Use instead: https://poetsonline.blogspot.com/2007/04/billy-collins-action-poetry.htmlLinks to an external site.
That will get you started. Your research must go beyond analysis though you should analyze a few poems as suggested in #1 (603). You may also analyze poems as suggested in #2 (604). You should identify a theme as in #3. That will provide you a thesis. A good thesis strategy is to uncover a gap or an unusual and interesting aspect of a writer’s work that needs further exploration in some depth. You will find that depth in academic sources that support your thesis.
So, all told, you will use three poems (a combination of #1 and #2) and arrive at a theme that prompts a thesis. Then, you find five additional secondary sources. In addition, you have the interview, the biography (586-592), and several photographs. (MLA has a method of citing photographs. Check your Pocket Style Manual.)
To repeat: In your Annotated Bibliography AND your Works Cited list you will need to find five secondary sources beyond those provided in Meyer and/or the You Tube action poetry links. Use a Google Scholar search for articles and books on Billy Collins. You will use 10 sources. All sources in-text must appear in the works cited.
