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College English- Research Paper Assignment

Select a writer and book from the list.  Be sure to select one that interests you, because you will be spending a lot of time with your writer.

Big picture:  Your final research paper will be organized as follows:

• 1/3 of the paper will deal with the defining events in the life of your writer. (What are the two or three most important events that pointed your person to a writer's life?)  NOTE: This is not to be a biographical report on your writer's life, rather an analysis of what led him/her to the life of a writer.

• 1/3 of the paper will deal with your writer's career (important works and critical reception should be discussed, style and major themes should be explored).  NOTE: this will not be a book report of the book you have already read- again, you will be analyzing you writer's career and how he/she was received by critics, by readers...themes that are present in his/her works.

• 1/3 of the paper will deal with your writer’s place in the tradition of literature.  Why is your writer still important to the literary world?  What has he/she done to influence literature, film … other writers?  What major prizes or recognition has your writer won … or not won?

The primary emphasis of this assignment is to allow you to become familiar with the idea and practice of research, and to produce a paper in MLA format.  There will be timelines/deadlines to meet… this is a process that follows step by step – it is very important not to procrastinate, as much of this will be done outside of the classroom, so you will need to utilize your time management skills.  

A research paper is a combination of your ideas and the ideas of others.  Primarily the paper should consist of your ideas, work, and most importantly, words.  Whenever you use the exact words or phrases of someone else, or even if you paraphrase someone’s ideas, you must give credit to that author.  Failure to do so is called plagiarism.  The implications of plagiarism are always serious, but in college, plagiarism may result in the expulsion from a university. 

The final phase of this assignment will be an ‘oral defense’ of your work.  I will ask questions about your paper, and you will discuss/answer these questions in front of the class … others may ask questions if they wish.  Obviously you will want to be knowledgeable and enthusiastic about your writer and his/her work(s).

Step One: read your selected book – apx. Two weeks.

Step Two: begin research process – finding and reading relevant books/critiques – watching films … always taking notes according to the MLA process.  All research will be completed by Christmas break – note cards and working outline handed in for evaluation.

Step Three: begin writing rough draft – understand that you will need to allow for at least two revisions.  There will be a due date for your rough draft. 

Step Four: Submit final copy on or before the due date.

You are to hand in and/or complete items for approval on the due date.  Failure to submit an item on time will result in an automatic deduction.   For research paper assignments, absence is not an excuse.  Have a friend bring your assignment or accept the late deduction.  This policy is an attempt to level the field for those who might be tempted to take a day off because a step is not complete.  You must complete the process in the correct order … for example, I cannot accept a rough draft of a paper if I haven’t first approved the note cards and working outline.