A 15-20 pp. research paper (3750-5000 words) will be worth 40% of final grade. (Exception: if this is your Senior Project, paper should be 20-25 pages in length, 5000-6250 words.) You will present your thesis and a summary of your evidence and conclusion to your classmates as a final oral exercise, over an exam week dinner at Dr. Schwartz's home. (This oral presentation is required, but will be graded pass/fail; you fail only if you fail to attend!)

Students are encouraged (but not required) to choose a topic dealing with the text which s/he presents in class, so that the oral presentation and the accompanying annotated bibliography double as initial research for paper. Students should meet with Prof. Schwartz to discuss possible research topics well before their presentation and in all cases before the fifth week of class. The formal Prospectus is due by the end of week 7; additionally, a question on the midterm exam (day 1 of week 8) will ask you to describe your thesis and main focus of inquiry and to identify some secondary sources which you have found useful by AUTHOR and TITLE.

Paper should be double-spaced with the exception of indented block quotations, which I (unlike the MLA Handbook) ask you to single-space.  Use a standard 10-pt. or 12-pt. font, with 1" margins on all sides. Be sure to PROOFREAD for spelling, punctuation, and basic grammatical errors, as well as for clarity (clearly stated thesis; logical development of argument; adequate and relevant textual support; solid conclusion.)  Consult the ESSAY EVALUATION CHECKLIST both BEFORE and AFTER completing your first draft, and make sure you do not commit the sort of errors listed on the checklist!

Paper must include citation from at least 6 secondary sources (critical writings other than your text), listed alphabetically on a List of Works Cited at the end of your paper.  (Senior Projects must include citation from at least 8 secondary sources.)  Of these, at least one should be from each of the TYPES of resources included on the annotated bibliography: 1) journal article; 2) essay in edited collection; 3) full-length work by a single author); additionally, you should include at least one of each of the following MODES OF ACCESS, which you should specify parenthetically at the end of the Works Cited entry): 1) a work found in the Kennedy Library collections (specify "Poly + Call #); 2) a work  acquired through Link+ (specify "Link+); 3) a work acquired through ILL (specify "ILL");  4) a work accessed electronically (if a full-text article from an electronically accessed journal database, indicate name of database and its URL; if a web page, give title of site, author if known, URL of site and date accessed). You may use the critical apparatus in primary texts (e.g. an introduction, preface, etc.) provided that it is correctly documented (consult MLA Handbook).  The list of Works Cited entry should NOT be annotated.  Be sure to document items correctly, including any items accessed electronically.

Remember that you will need to include citations from every item on your List of Works Cited in your research paper.  I will look for evidence that you have effectively drawn on the items on your bibliography in formulating and/or supporting your argument.  However, do not forget that the purpose of your paper is to argue your interpretation of the primary source(s) -- not to present a review of criticism.  Your paper should offer an argument based on close reading of your primary texts.  Treat the criticism like a lawyer calling on an expert witness in court: only quote what is needed to bolster a specific point in your argument.  In a good analytic research paper, the total amount of citation from all of your secondary sources combined will typically be less than the amount of citation you include from your primary sources. 

Do NOT begin your paper with truisms, statements of personal philosophy, generalities, or examples from modern life--you don't need a "hook"; you already have my full attention.  Nor should you provide a survey of secondary criticism.  Get to your point, which is an interpretation of the primary text(s). Avoid using the first or second person (I, we, you) in constructing your argument, which should be presented as objectively as possible.  The implication of first-person references is that your paper is just a statement of  personal opinion, and thus no more valid than opposing opinions; why should the reader care what you think?  Instead, aim for a tone of objective neutrality, which is rhetorically more effective than a statement of opinion ("I believe,"; "I think") in convincing the reader of the objective validity of your argument.

For this class, most papers will present a thoughtful comparison of a specific character, relationship, object, theme, motif, event or literary technique as it appears or is used in two works/authors covered in this class. (Should you have compelling reasons to wish to focus on a single work, or to include a third author/work in your analysis, come talk to me about it; please note that prior approval is needed for you to do so. Under no circumstances should you attempt to cover all works covered in class.)  As you consider potential paper topics, be aware that it's not enough simply to note the similarities and differences between the ways in which your chosen topic manifests itself in the two authors/works.  You also have to have something to say about the specific similarities and differences which you note.  Typically, you will briefly acknowledge the similarities between the two works/authors before turning your attention to the differences, since it is these differences which will give you a key to help understand the works/authors in question.

A good way to begin is to ask yourself the following questions:  What seems to be the overall message of each work?  What point is the author (or director) trying to make?  Does s/he (author or director) have any particular agenda s/he is trying to advance?  Is one text/film a reaction to or against another? Do they offer differing reactions to the same thing? (another version of this story? a specific literary source?)  How does THIS particular treatment of the character, relationship, object, theme, motif, event or technique you are exploring fit into the work's overall message or the author's overall agenda or intent? What does this character / relationship / object / theme / motif / event "mean" to this author or in the context of this work?  Finally, WHY might the author have chosen to treat this character / relationship / object / theme / motif / event in this way (or to use this particular technique)?  These questions will help you develop an interpretive framework for your readings; they will remind you that you should consider not only the WHAT (provide an accurate description of content) but the HOW and the WHY. 

Remember that your paper should be analtyic and interpretive rather than merely descriptive.  Yes, you will base your argument upon specific details from the text, but you must do more than offer an accurate description of content.  You must move beyond the astute observation to analytic interpretation of what you have observed.  Otherwise you will have no more than detailed notes for a paper you haven't yet written.  Description and summary, however detailed and accurate, are not a logically organized interpretive argument. 

Keep in mind that your paper should be textual analysis, not description, summary or a list of examples.  Your paper must take an interpretive position concerning a DEBATABLE POINT -- one that is based on textual interpretation and which could conceivably be argued another way.  Be sure to articulate the interpretation you will argue in your paper fully and clearly in the opening paragraph(s). You will prove the validity of this interpretation in the body of your paper by citing carefully chosen examples from the primary texts AND relevant support from secondary readings (criticism) in order to support a specific argument concerning the primary reading(s). Note:  it is unlikely that you will be able to boil your interpretive position down into a simple one-sentence "thesis statement" as you were taught to do for a five-paragraph essay in your introductory writing classes.  An effective introduction reads more like what you were taught to write as the conclusion to such a five-paragraph essay!

In fact, the best analogy for good analytic paper writing is a lawyer arguing a case in court. Your primary text is the client; your interpretation of that text is the client's "plea" -- guilty or innocent of what specific charges. Like a good lawyer, your opening statement (the introduction) will fully articulate your interpretation and suggest how you will structure your argument. While your opening paragraph should not get into the specific examples you will discuss in the body of your paper, it should indicate what kinds of evidence you will use to make your case.

Thus, the introduction should do more than state your topic -- it should clearly state what interpretation you are defending and sketch out the parameters (but not the details) of the argument you will make to prove the validity of that interpretation.  This information should NOT be saved for your conclusion or revealed gradually, one idea at a time, in the body of your paper -- it should be fully articulated UP FRONT, letting your reader know where the paper is going and how you intend to argue your case.  As you articulate your argument (a sort of narrative outline of your paper), make sure its organization is dictated by logic, not by the order in which passages or events occur in the text you are writing about.  You should be able to generate topic sentences for each section of the completed paper, in order, from what you say in your introduction. 

In the body of your paper, introduce textual evidence in support of EACH LOGICAL STEP in your argument. Citations from the primary text(s) and secondary readings (criticism) are the evidence which you are presenting in court; your analysis of those citations is the cross-examination of witnesses and/or interpretation of the evidence -- what will make or break your case. If you don't make your points explicitly, they are not entered into the court record and cannot be considered by the jury (your professor) in deciding whether or not you have successfully defended your client (proven the validity of your thesis) -- nor can they be considered by the judge (also your professor) who assigns the final grade!

Support your thesis with textual evidence, but keep paper analytic rather than descriptive. A summary of events or list of examples of a given theme or stylistic device is NOT textual analysis; you must have something to say ABOUT the examples you cite. Be sure to explain the relevance of the material you quote to your argument -- don't just stick it in and expect it to speak for itself. It must be interpreted for the reader; be sure to indicate clearly its relevance to your argument.

Don't forget to give paper a title which identifies authors or work(s) discussed and gives reader some idea of what you are arguing (your thesis). Remember that your paper title should not be underlined or italicized, but the title of most primary texts should be.  Don't end your paper with a quotation -- it's your work; you, not someone else, should have the last word.

All documentation should be in the form of parenthetical references immediately following citations in the body of your paper. 

SECONDARY SOURCES:  Bibliographic information concerning secondary sources (works of criticism) is provided on the list of Works Cited at the end of your paper.  The parenthetical reference should give only the last name of the author and the specific page number(s) cited.  If you cite more than one work by the same author, or works by two authors with the same last name, provide whatever information is necessary (e.g. first name or initial; date of publication; abbreviated title) to identify clearly the work from which your citation is taken.  In addition to the parenthetical reference, introduce citations in such a way as to make clear whose words you are citing, e.g.

As Helen Cooper points out, "[Provide citation here]" (Cooper, 27).

PRIMARY SOURCES:  Include ONE foot- or endnote the first time you mention or quote from a primary source. The note should refer to the primary work by AUTHOR (if known) and SPECIFIC TITLE (e.g. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Miller's Tale, NOT simply as the Norton Anthology) and give full bibliographic information: the editor/translator of the specific text, anthology title (if applicable), editor of anthology (if applicable), edition and volume numbers (if applicable), publisher, place and date of publication, and inclusive page numbers for the text which you are discussing (if it is in an anthology or collection). Your note should also explain the system used for parenthetical references, e.g.:

Chaucer as the narrator apologizes in advance for the crudity of the Miller's Tale, suggesting to the reader that if he finds it offensive, he should "Turne over the leef, and chese another tale" (MT 69). [End of example.]

This parenthetical reference means that "Turne over the leef. . ." is quoted from line 69 of the Miller's Tale in the edition (here, the Norton Anthology) which you have specified in a foot- or endnote the first time you quoted from or mentioned the text.

Punctuation with parenthetical references: note that in the above example, final punctuation for the quotation is placed after the parenthetical reference, rather than before the closing quotation mark. An exception: question marks or exclamation points which are part of the quoted passage remain within the quotation marks; in that case, the parenthetical reference would still be followed by whatever punctuation is appropriate to the construction of your sentence (period, colon, semicolon, comma), e.g.:

Allison asks Absolon, "Who is ther/ That knokketh so? I warente it a thief" (MT 682-683). [Here, the final period of the quotation has been moved after the parenthetical reference.]

Chaucer the narrator warns that he may need to speak "nevere so rudeliche and large,/ Or elles he moot telle his tale untrewe" (GP 736-7).  [NB: final punctuation of preceding citation follows parenthetical reference] In the interest of accuracy, therefore, he asks the readers to excuse any rough language he might use: [please don't skip an extra line before single-spaced block quotation--use normal double spacing]

Your analysis then continues, double-spaced, below the indented, single-spaced quotation. Note that for indented block quotations, final punctuation precedes the parenthetical reference; for quotations within the body of your text, final punctuation of quotation follows the parenthetical reference. 

Contents of this and linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1999-2008

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