Write a research paper over identity and how it relates to the following novels: Saga, desiree’s baby, When a fat girl get skinny, ad infinitude, and much a du about nothing.
Research Paper Assignment (worth 20 points)
The goal of this course is to identify and analyze the different literary genres of fiction, poetry and drama and understand how their respective elements affect their quality and context. For this assignment, you must write a literary analysis research essay using the assigned readings from the Fiction, Poetry and Drama Units. To assist you with the writing process, select 6-7 texts that are similar in topic; you must use at least one text from each unit. Then, review the Questions for Writing about Fiction / Critical Perspectives document in the Research Paper folder. Select a critical perspective that you will apply in your analysis and critique of the texts.
Choose one of the following topics:
Justice
Forgiveness
Love
Friendship
Shame / Secrets
Identity
Family
Literary element (irony, humor, suspense, etc.)
Other (be specific)
Next, do some research on your subject and see what information is available on the topic, authors and/or the short story/poem/play/ graphic texts you chose. You must include three outside resources as material to support your analysis. Acceptable materials will derive from library research databases, journal articles and critical studies (books). Note: internet-based materials such as a website (eg: sparknotes.com) or a review /summary (eg: Amazon.com user review) are unacceptable. Use the library catalogue and databases to locate research materials that provide a critical analysis of your topic.
Use your unit exams, Analysis Essay, and notes to help formulate your essay! Because journal publications are more current than their book-manuscript counterparts, it is required that at least one of your secondary texts be from a peer-reviewed journal publication. Also, at least one of your outside sources must derive from a book (this does not include the graphic texts). The third source can be from another book, news (such as CNN or NYT) or from a journal publication.
In order to successfully complete this Research Paper assignment, write an essay of 3000-3500 words in Times New Roman 12pt font. In order to support your claims, you must include in-text citations and a Works Cited page. For standard MLA usage, it is understood that citation quotes from all the required sources should be included within the essay and those texts should be listed in the Works Cited. Adhere to MLA format and paper guidelines; papers improperly formatted will be penalized. As you should know, the Works Cited page is not included towards the word count and cover pages are unacceptable. Refer to your syllabus and the MindTap English Handbook for formatting instructions.
