Research Essay Assignment
Length: 5-6 pages
This essay asks you to build an analytical argument about your selected novel that presents a strong central argument that is in conversation with other critics who have addressed your novel. It also asks you to put into practice some of the analytical moves that you have been learning about in various schools of literary criticism.
Step One: Identify a conversation that readers or critics have had about your selected text.
Rarely do texts provoke the kind of explicit debate that we've seen around TOS, but in your preparation of your Annotated Bibliography, you should have noticed recurring preoccupations, arguments, or critical approaches. You should select one of these "conversations" to enter into.
Step Two: Identify what "they say" within this conversation.
Using the materials from your Annotated Bibliography, work to identity some of the major positions that other readers or critics have taken on this issue. You may not find dramatic differences of opinion (as we saw with TOS) but you should be able to differentiate between two or more possible interpretations of the issue.
Here, you are working to summarize the various critical approaches that your text has generated. But, you are only really interested in those approaches that you are going to build upon or respond to - so you should tailor your choices accordingly. Where possible, you should work to label the approaches according to their relevant school of literary criticism. This may not always be possible because many critics combine multiple critical approaches.
Step Three: Identify your contribution to the conversation.
Develop your own argument to enter into the conversation over the specific topic or debate. Bear in mind that the strongest arguments do not simply agree but either agree with a difference, somewhat agree and somewhat disagree, or disagree altogether. Beware of making an argument that merely restates what others say.
You will then support your analysis with close textual analysis of the novel/story.
You may considerrelying on a particular school of literary criticism to assist you in explicating the text. In other words, you may feel that, while most critics have used a feminist perspective to analyze your text, a more useful approach would be a Marxist one. If and when you implement a particular form of critical analysis, you should work to use as many appropriate terms and concepts as necessary - and you may cite Parker in doing so.
The most critical element of your argument is answering the "So what? Who cares?" question.
Essay Guidelines:
• Each essay should have a thesis statement.
• Each essay should utilize a minimum of FIVE SECONDARY SOURCES. While these will likely all be drawn from your Annotated Bibliography, you are not limited to these sources, if you discover that additional research is necessary.
• You should use a combination of paraphrase and direct quotes in your implementation of these sources.
All writing assignments must follow MLA Format and Citation form, including a Works Cited. Students should consult their MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for complete information on MLA form and citation. Assignments will lose 5 points if the MLA Documentation.