Student 1
ASU English 2131 Bibliography and Research Paper Guidelines and Templates
GENERAL GUIDELINES AND TOPIC CHOICES
The purpose of a research paper is for students to demonstrate their understanding of a particular
topic within the realm of our class. Our realm is American literature from the beginning until
1865. For your paper, please follow these general requirements:
1. Choose one of the following topics:
a. Take no more than three pieces of literature from the pieces we have covered this
semester and discuss whether given the opportunity to thrive hindered or helped
individuals in you selected pieces.
b. Take no more than three pieces of literature from the pieces we have covered this
semester and discuss what qualities identify them clearly as belonging to their
time and/or literary period (Puritanism, Enlightenment, Transcendentalism,
Romanticism).
c. Take no more than three pieces of literature with the same theme from the pieces
we have covered, and examine how they all treat that one particular theme.
Themes may include slavery, the plight of the Native Americans, women, the
birth of our country.
2. Your paper must reflect the period which we are covering: the beginning to 1865 (the
end of Romanticism).
3. Your paper MUST have a literary focus, but it CANNOT be a simple biography of one or
more authors or the summary of some pieces of literature. Similarly, you CANNOT write
a history, sociology, psychology, etc. paper. For example, if you choose the theme of
slavery, you CANNOT write a story of slavery in the US paper. You CANNOT write a
Student 2
psychological examination of slaves paper. You CANNOT write a contributions of
slaves to Americas development paper. You MUST focus on the literature at hand.
4. The author(s) and the piece(s) you are writing about MUST appear in our anthology.
5. In your paper, present an argumentative point (claim) and use the paper to support it.
6. Write the minimum of 1250 and the maximum of 1500 words. (Writing more than
required is as bad as not meeting the minimum.) If you do not write at least 1250 words,
your paper will have no chance of receiving a grade higher than 70.
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TOPIC PROPOSAL
I will NOT require a topic proposal from you because you do not have a completely free hand in
choosing your topic. However…
1. I will give you three extra-credit points if you send me an e-mail (see the deadline in
the Week 12 section of the Syllabus) in which you answer BRIEFLY the following
questions:
a. Which topic you are choosing?
b. Which literary piece(s) you are choosing (no more than three) from the pieces we
have covered?
c. Why?
d. What is your working thesis (argument)?
Student 4
The Bibliography
1. Your bibliography must contain at least the following:
a. Your primary source(s) from the textbook volumes A and B. The primary
source(s) is/are the pieces you are writing about, so you need at least one. You
may choose two-three pieces if you plan to write a comparison-contrast paper.
b. At least two scholarly books (print or e-books) (your textbooks cannot take the
place of scholarly books!),
c. At least two scholarly articles from an academic journal,
d. One respectable/credible, nationally recognized Website.
2. Here are some credible sources in order of importance (the closer to the bottom of the
list, the less suitable for serious academic research):
a. Books on your topic, written by experts on the subject. Can be print or e-books.
(Your textbook/primary source(s) cannot be one of these books!)
b. Scholarly articles written by experts. You can find such articles in academic
journals at libraries or online at ASUs libraries. Ask a librarian for help.
c. Articles found online (as the result of a Google/Google Scholar search) but
written by experts.
d. Articles published on .org, .edu, and .gov Websites.
e. Articles published in credible magazines and newspapers.
f. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. (references in which headers are organized
alphabetically) are credible sources but CANNOT be one of your five sources.
3. Non-credible sources are (these you cannot use):
a. Sources that do not reveal their authors.
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b. Wikipedia.org (it does not list authors)
c. .com Websites are NOT allowed, unless they are affiliated by credible
newspapers (newyorktimes.com), magazines (forbes.com), and television stations
(cnn.com). (The sites in parentheses are examples; you can use others as long as
they are credible.)
d. There are some college-paper selling Websites, such as shmoop.com,
essays123.com, sparksnotes.com, and others. I hope you do not even consider
visiting these sites!
4. Sources and citations MUST be formatted according to MLA guidelines you have learned
in this class (MLA 8th edition).
5. Alphabetize the entries on the bibliography (and on the Works Cited page in your paper).
Student 6
Susie Student
Dr. Anita Underwood
English 1102
14 September 2019
Bibliography
Avery, Tamlyn E. “The Crisis of Coming of Age in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and the Late
Harlem Bildungsroman.” Limina, vol. 20, no. 2, Dec. 2014, pp. 1-17. Galileo, www
.galileo.org/Coming of Age_Battle Royal_Ralph Ellison.
Claxton, Mae Miller. “Migrations and Transformations: Human and Nonhuman Nature in
Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path.” Southern Literary Journal, vol. 47, no. 2, Spring 2015,
pp. 73-88. Galileo, www. galileo/human nature_ A Worn Path_Eudora Welty
Dilgen, Regina. “Addressing Ageism through Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path.” Radical Teacher,
no. 98, Winter2014, pp. 62-63.Galileo, www.galileo.org/ageism_ A Worn Path_ Eudora
Welty
Howells, William Dean. Editha. Norton Anthology of American Literature, 1865-1914. Vol. C,
9
th ed. General editor, Robert S. Levin, Norton, 2017, pp. 353-363.
Quawas, Rula. “A New Woman’s Journey into Insanity: Descent and Return in the Yellow
Wallpaper.” AUMLA: Journal of the Australasian University of Modern Language
Association, no. 105, May 2006, pp. 35-53. EBSCOhost, proxygsudar1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=h
lh&AN=21532183&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Student 7
Rao, K. V. Rama. “The Yellow Wallpapera Dynamic Symbol: A Study of Charlotte Perkins
Gilman’s Story.” Poetcrit, vol. 19, no. 1, Jan. 2006, pp. 38-44. EBSCOhost, proxygsudar1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=h
lh&AN=20771460&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Student 8
Susie Student
Dr. Anita Underwood
English 2131
14 September 2019
Give Your Paper an Engaging Title
Each paragraph of your paper should be indented by 0.5 inches. Each line should be
uniformly double-spaced. Write between 1250-1500 words.
Make sure your paper has a clear thesis (argument/claim). I will be happy to go over your
thesis if you e-mail it to me in advance.
The bibliography you submitted earlier will become the Works Cited page. You MAY
add and delete sources in the final version of your paper, but only as long as you end up with the
required types and number of sources.
Do not plagiarize. It is not worth it. Quotebut sparinglyfrom your chosen works and
your secondary sources. Cite all quotations. When you paraphrase and/or summarize ideas from
the secondary sources, cite them. Do NOT labor under the misconception that only quotations
must be cite. ALL borrowed information must be cited!
All sources you put on the Works Cited page MUST be presented inside the text with
appropriate, MLA-formatted in-text citations. Using Works Cited page without in-text citations
is a form of plagiarism and I will not overlook it. The opposite it true as well: using in-text
citations but no corresponding works cited entries.
Use the Checklist to avoid mistakes. Submit your paper to the Writing Center on campus
or online or to Smarthinking for an additional pair of eyes. Submit any feedback you receive
from the Writing Center and/or the Smarthinking tutors for 5 extra points.
Submit the Checklist along with the paper.
