What contemporary story/stories seem to exhibit modern understandings of human nature? How do they exhibit this understanding? Is that understanding different from earlier cultures?

Handout 3: Research Paper

Total Points: 200

You will write an 8-10 page research paper on a topic related to our course material. This assignment is broken down into two parts, each of which is focused on a different aspect of the research process. Your micro-presentation topic may be used towards this assignment, so if it works with your topic you may re-use the source for the paper.

For this paper, you are to find a contemporary novel, play, short story, or film that we are not covering in class, and create an original thesis about it that answers ONE of the following:

• What is our modern understanding of the “Hero”? How has it changed from earlier understandings, and why?
• What contemporary story/stories seem to exhibit modern understandings of human nature? How do they exhibit this understanding? Is that understanding different from earlier cultures?
• When or why did the anti-hero develop? What changes in the anti-hero type have occurred, and why?
• How do the conventions of video gaming narrative reflect or change the conventions of literary narrative? Why?
• Have gender roles really changed from ancient times in stories? How/why?
• In what way(s) do gods and/or monsters function in contemporary narratives?
• Other topic (must get approved by instructor before beginning)

Your paper should offer an original thesis for an argumentative/persuasive essay. If you have trouble with thesis statements, check out this website: Thesis Generator.

You are to use readings from our class as appropriate to compare, contrast, or otherwise connect with your chosen reading for the paper. You are to engage with scholarly sources that interpret or analyze course readings and your chosen reading. The goal is to use what you’ve learned in the course, and then move beyond that and apply it to something else in order to make a claim about our contemporary literary landscape. In this way, you will learn more about the material and make a connection between older literatures and our contemporary stories.

Sequence

You will write this paper in two chunks. I will offer feedback on the first draft. You should begin this paper right after the Midterm Exam (or earlier!). I strongly urge you to use the Writing Center (Council 143) while working on this paper; in fact, you can earn 5 points extra credit for the first draft if you do, and 5 points for the second draft (each visit must correspond with one draft). To earn the extra credit, print off the Writing Center Form from Blackboard and have the tutor fill it out after your session. You can visit the Center as often as you like, but only one visit prior to each due date will earn the extra credit (in other words, the maximum extra credit for the whole sequence is 10 points).

Draft 1

The first draft is to be 4-5 pages, and is due as noted on the schedule. For this draft, you are also required to create an annotated bibliography of your research (see below), which is to be turned in with the draft. At a minimum, this draft must have a thesis, supporting points, and have 5 sources (including the primary ones—see below). The draft will be submitted directly to Turnitin.com, so no hard copy is needed. It will be graded and returned to you by email, and you are to use that feedback to revise and continue researching for the final draft.

Draft 2

The final draft is to be 8-10 pages, and is due as noted on the schedule. For this draft, you are to add any further research sources to your annotated bibliography, and turn it in with the draft. This draft will be submitted directly to Turnitin.com, so no hard copy is needed. Your graded draft will be returned to you via email.

General Paper Requirements:

• MLA format must be followed, including for in-text citations and Works Cited.
• Primary sources (literary works, films, plays, poems): 2-3
• At least one of the primary sources must be from our class reading list.
• Secondary sources (critical articles and so forth): 4-6
• Secondary sources must be at least 50% scholarly sources (peer reviewed journal articles, government documents). Other types of secondary sources can be academic websites, reputable periodical publications, or professional publications. If you aren’t sure whether a source is acceptable, ask.
• You MAY NOT use dictionary sites as sources.
• You may use Wikipedia or other general information websites, but they will not count towards your secondary source total.
• Works Cited list and annotated bibliography DO NOT count towards your page total.
• Last page must be at least ½ full to count as a page.
• Standard English spelling, grammar, and mechanics must be followed.
• NO biographical or “life and works”-type papers on authors will be accepted. Only approved topics may be used for this assignment.
• Paper must be submitted to Turnitin.com by the due date; no late papers will be accepted. SAVE YOUR DIGITAL RECEIPT from Turnitin as proof of submission.

Penalties for Incorrect Formatting, Etc.:

MLA format requires 1” margins in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double-spaced. Your name, the date, and the class number should go in the upper left corner (single spaced), and then double space to the title (if used), which must be centered. Then double space to the body of the paper from the title. There are no extra spaces between paragraphs

If you submit a paper in another font or font size, without proper spacing, or with improper margins, I will simply reformat the paper correctly. This may affect your pagination, with penalties as outlined for papers that are too short as a result.

There should be no Works Cited listings that are not in the annotated bibliography document. If there are, a point penalty will be assessed of 10 points per occurrence.

Plagiarism on the Final Draft will result in a “0” for the assignment, with no do-overs. Other penalties as outlined on the syllabus will also be enforced.

Annotated Bibliography

This document shows your research, and helps you keep track of your sources. It will contain all the information needed for your Works Cited, too. An example of an entry for an Annotated Bibliography is below:

Image from: McGee, Will. Will McGee’s Website: I Teach English. Web. 13 March 2013.

Note that the entry gives a brief summary of the main idea from the source, and then also makes a brief statement on how the source informed the writer’s own paper. Your entry should be around 3-4 sentences long. This document is NOT the same as a Works Cited listing. It is a record of your research and what you learned from it.