Research Paper

(Total value: 20%)

I have seen some D2L issues with regard to some text on a given page loading properly. I suggest that you immediately use your F5 key and refresh this page now and each subsequent time you view it.

Due in D2L drop box ten minutes prior to the beginning of class (to the minute, or it is one calendar day late).

After 48 hours, to the minute, the paper will not be accepted, and you will have failed this course. Moreover, it must be turned in as a MS Word DOC, DOCX, or RTF file.

Due Date: 4/28/10

General Guidelines:

· Required word count is 1000 to 1200 words. If your paper falls short of the minimum required word count the grade will certainly suffer.

· Work in a Times New Roman 12 point font, and use all formatting guidelines established during class lectures.

· Use MLA Style Guidelines.

· Remember to title your essay in the form of a two-part title. The two parts should be separated by a colon, and neither part should read Research Paper.

· This is an argumentative paper, so you must have a strong thesis and you must advance an argument.

· Use a document header, as you should on all assignments, regardless of their length.

· Review the lectures under the content tree of Desire2Learn. I suggest that you read them very carefully.

· Do not use humor in your title, or in any other part of the paper.

· Locate a minimum of five scholarly articles, which you must quote and paraphrase from in your paper. We will spend time going over this in class.

Prompt:

Choose ONE short story, play, or a group of no more than three poems that we have read or will read this semester. Write an argumentative paper over your selection, which means that the paper must have a thesis (debatable claim) as the final sentence the introductory paragraph. IF YOU CHOOSE POEMS, THE GROUP MUST BE APPROVED BY ME BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR PAPER.

· Using the Temple College library resources, either online or at the physical facility, locate five articles, not books that relate to your choice.

· Below I list the criteria for what constitutes a valid outside source.

· Devise your own argument.

· Although my instructions above are simply to devise your own argument, you are not alone in this process. Stop by my office and visit with me about this paper. The success of this paper will largely be determined by its thesis and the research. Exactly what will your argument be, and what sources will you choose? Not only am I happy to look over your research and discuss ideas for a thesis with students, but I enjoy the process.

Remember:

· Use direct quotes from the primary text(s) and your five articles throughout your essay, which must be followed with an in-text citation and a corresponding citation on your works cited page.

· Your works cited page will cite a minimum of three texts: Literature: Craft & Voice (for the primary text or texts), and both of your scholarly sources.

Other Important Points:

· Remember that MLA Style Guidelines is a critically important element of this course, and if you negotiate them at an exceedingly low skill level this paper will receive an unsatisfactory grade at best.

· Remember that you are to write an argumentative paper, which means that you must have a thesis, which is defined as a debatable claim. Frame your thesis as the final sentence of your introductory paragraph, and write a persuasive paper about it.

Criteria That Determines a Valid Outside Source:

· You cannot use magazines, newspapers, websites, or any web-related material that can be reached with just an Internet connection. In other words, you must use the Temple Library interface to use databases to which the Temple library subscribes.

· Your outside source must be an article from a peer-reviewed scholarly journal, and the article must have the equivalent of a works cited section at the end, which might also be titled as one of the following: references, bibliography, sources cited, and so on. Alternatively, there may be no such section at the end, but the article might be footnoted throughout, which is also acceptable if the footnotes give the publication information that is typically found in a works cited citation.

· The article must be a minimum of five pages in length, or it will be considered invalid.

· Do not use articles from anonymous authors, or they will be considered invalid.

Additional Sources (optional):

· Students may use additional outside sources beyond the five valid sources, and they may come from newspapers, magazines or websites, but do not use these to replace the five valid outside sources.

Due Date: 4/28/10