English 1102

Research Project

For this assignment, you will complete a research project on a topic related to either of the reading units this semester. (Sample topics are listed below.)  The research project counts as 20% of your course grade. The assignment will be based on your fiction readings.

The research paper should present a thesis developed from your topics. For a paper of this type, you should have 4-5 points of discussion (rather than the 2-3 for an essay). The research, in the form of direct quotations and paraphrases, should support your points, not dominate the paper. Papers containing more than 30% quoted material will not receive a passing grade.

Sources: You will be required to cite a minimum of four critical articles, secondary sources, that support your thesis.  These articles must come from academic journals from GALILEO and e-books or physical books available through the GHC library. Instruction in using Galileo will come later in the semester. Online sources found only through GALILEO and through the GHC library will be accepted. Make sure you read the actual article and not a synopsis or review of it.   In addition, please ensure the articles you are reading are analysis-based, not plot summary.  The quotes you use should be commenting on the story, not quoting from it. Also, you will be expected to support your points with specific examples from the text of the story, which is the primary source. You are required to print a copy of each secondary source, highlight each quote used, sort them into the order that they appear in the paper, and placd them in the research paper notebook to be turned in with the final draft.

Text: Your paper should be between 1500-1700 words (5-7 pages), typed (10-12 point Times New Roman font with one inch margins) and double-spaced with a cover sheet and Works Cited page and in MLA format.  Papers shorter than four pages or longer than eight pages will not receive a passing grade.

Cover page:  consists of your name, due date, course name and paper title. It does not count in the page total.

Works Cited: a separate page at the end of the paper. Your Works Cited page should consist of the works you are writing about and the critical articles you discuss (at least 5 sources in all).  It will not count in the page total. All information should be in MLA format. This will be discussed later in the semester. (Examples of each of the above will be posted in D2L).

             Do not write a summary of the story. The paper must demonstrate and will be graded on thorough knowledge of the selection, proper structure (unity, development, coherence), use of research material, citation mechanics, spelling, grammar, punctuation, correct citations adherence to MLA format and original thinking. Evidence of plagiarism or use of AI to generate analytical content will result in a zero for the assignment.  We will cover citations and bibliographic information later.  The project consists of several components due by the dates listed below:

Tentative Topic Due                                              September 4 (2 points)

Topic, Thesis Statement, Outline Due             September 9 (4 points)

Library Instruction                                                 September 9 (4 points)

Annotated Bibliography Due                              September 16 (10 points)

Draft Check-in                                                         September 23 (25 points)

Final Draft (Final Project Notebook) Due*      September 30 (55 points)

*All parts of the assignment will be turned in electronically to D2L, but the final draft notebook will also be turned in.   

Keep up with this schedule! Turning in the components one at a time is effective but only if you stay on track.      

Sample Topics: (All assume you will discuss 4 points in the paper). If you choose a topic not on the list, be sure to run it past me asap. Any topic you choose must equally discuss at least two of the primary sources you have read this semester.

• Compare/contrast Wit and The Death of Ivan Ilyich as commentary on the medical or psychological aspects of death and dying.
• Compare/contrast “The Story of an Hour” and Trifles as pieces of feminist literature.
• Compare/contrast Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” and John Donne’s “Death, Be Not Proud” in their characterization of a personified death.
• Compare/contrast how “Shiloh” and “Home Burial” present the consequences of the loss of a child on a marriage.
• Compare/contrast “Shiloh” and “The Story of an Hour” as commentaries on marriage.
• Compare/contrast Anne Bradstreet’s “To my Dear and Loving Husband” with any other work from the marriage unit.
• Compare/contrast how Vivian Bearing and Ivan Ilyich face and ultimately accept their deaths.
• Jessica Mitford’s “The Embalming of Mr. Jones” and Margaret Edson’s Wit both serve as arguments. Compare/contrast each work’s main argument.
• Compare/contrast A.E. Housman’s “To an Athlete Dying Young” with another poem about death (either from this semester’s readings or another one you’re familiar with. I can give you suggestions of others to read).