DUE 12/11/2014 Research Paper Guidelines Literary Research Paper I. Defining the Research Paper  A literary research paper—unlike a research paper on gun control or the legalization of marijuana—focuses on critically analyzing/interpreting the meaning of literature. What’s more, the term “research” implies that you will be incorporating research from reputable secondary sources into your paper. In short, you will be analyzing/interpreting a piece (or several pieces) of literature and supporting your analysis with “research.” Of course, this also means that if "gun control" or "marijuana's legality" are issues related to something we've read, then they are fair game! For instance, I had a psychology major write her paper on stalking and obsession in Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" for her research paper and it was excellent. She used her psych textbook as one of her sources!  I also had a student do a research paper on domestic violence in the early 20th Century African American community, which he tied in to the Hurston readings.  It was great! So really think of what interests you in the stories and go from there. The research paper must be at least eight (8)-ten (10) pages in length, and it must adhere to MLA standards and guidelines. You must include (that means read) at least five (5)-seven (7) secondary sources that will appear on your Works Cited page.  Furthermore, you must pass the research paper with a grade of “C-” or higher to pass Eng102.  II. Getting Started Your first step in writing the research paper is to decide which author(s)/text(s) you would like to write about.  Texts/Authors to choose from: 1. "Araby" and "Eveline" by James Joyce 2.  “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates 3.  “Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut 4.  "Those Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. LeGuin 5.  " The Bloody Chamber " "The Courtship of Mr Lyon" and "The Tiger's Bride" by Angela Carter 6. Selected Short Stories by Donald Barthelme  ("The School," "The Game," "Some of Us Have Been Threatening Our Friend Colby," "Me and Miss Mandible," "The Glass Mountain," "The City of Churches")  7.  "The Gilded Six-Bits" and "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston 8.  "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor 9. "The Mark on the Wall," "Kew Gardens" and/or "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolf 10. "Lost in the Funhouse," John Barth 11. Lorrie Moore short stories 12.  Poetry: Any of the poems that we read for class from the following poets: cummings, Jarrell, Roethke, Brooks, Collins, Kinnell, Langston Hughes, Bogan, Kumin, Frost, etc.  The next and most obvious step in the process is to read and then reread the text or texts you have chosen. In order to say something meaningful about the text, you need to know it inside out! The next step is to develop an angle of analysis. In other words, you need to decide how you want to organize your paper. There are several different ways to organize a literar.

1. DUE 12/11/2014
Research Paper Guidelines
Literary Research Paper
I. Defining the Research Paper
A literary research paper—unlike a research paper on gun
control or the legalization of marijuana—focuses on critically
analyzing/interpreting the meaning of literature. What’s more,
the term “research” implies that you will be incorporating
research from reputable secondary sources into your paper. In
short, you will be analyzing/interpreting a piece (or several
pieces) of literature and supporting your analysis with
“research.” Of course, this also means that if "gun control" or
"marijuana's legality" are issues related to something we've
read, then they are fair game! For instance, I had a psychology
major write her paper on stalking and obsession in Joyce Carol
Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" for her
research paper and it was excellent. She used her psych
textbook as one of her sources! I also had a student do a
research paper on domestic violence in the early 20th Century
African American community, which he tied in to the Hurston
readings. It was great! So really think of what interests you in
the stories and go from there.
The research paper must be at least eight (8)-ten (10) pages in
length, and it must adhere to MLA standards and guidelines.
You must include (that means read) at least five (5)-seven (7)
secondary sources that will appear on your Works Cited page.
Furthermore, you must pass the research paper with a grade of
“C-” or higher to pass Eng102.
II. Getting Started
Your first step in writing the research paper is to decide which
author(s)/text(s) you would like to write about.
Texts/Authors to choose from:
1. "Araby" and "Eveline" by James Joyce
2.

2. “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” by Joyce
Carol Oates
3.
“Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut
4.
"Those Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. LeGuin
5.
"
The Bloody Chamber
" "The Courtship of Mr Lyon" and "The Tiger's Bride" by
Angela Carter
6. Selected Short Stories by Donald Barthelme
("The School," "The Game," "Some of Us Have Been
Threatening Our Friend Colby," "Me and Miss Mandible," "The
Glass Mountain," "The City of Churches")
7.
"The Gilded Six-Bits" and "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston
8.
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor
9. "The Mark on the Wall," "Kew Gardens" and/or "A Room of
One's Own" by Virginia Woolf
10. "Lost in the Funhouse," John Barth
11. Lorrie Moore short stories
12.
Poetry: Any of the poems that we read for class from the
following poets: cummings, Jarrell, Roethke, Brooks, Collins,
Kinnell, Langston Hughes, Bogan, Kumin, Frost, etc.
The next and most obvious step in the process is to read and
then reread the text or texts you have chosen. In order to say
something meaningful about the text, you need to know it inside
out! The next step is to develop an angle of analysis. In other

3. words, you need to decide how you want to organize your paper.
There are several different ways to organize a literary research
paper, but more likely than not you will want to adopt one of
the following organizing principles:
A. Literary Elements/Fictional Devices: A research paper that is
organized around literary elements generally includes a focused
discussion on one or more of the following: setting, speaker,
symbolism, theme, irony, imagery, tone, language, etc.
B. Themes: A research paper that is organized around a theme
and includes a focused discussion on the role a particular theme
plays in the chosen piece of literature. We have discussed so
many over the course of the semester: love, death, sex,
violence, religion, gender issues/relationships,
discrimination/race issues, family, government, conformity,
fantasy vs. reality, natural vs. artificial, beast vs. human, social
class/money, etc.
C. Critical Approaches: A research paper that is organized
around a specific critical approach/lens (like historical,
feminist, psychological, biographical) generally includes a
focused discussion of the text from the chosen critical
perspective.
III. Defining the Parts of the Research Paper
A. The Thesis Statement: A thesis statement is the main (and
significant) point you are making about the literature you are
discussing. All of the information in your paper should, in one
way or another, work to support your thesis statement. A good
thesis statement is ARGUMENTATIVE in nature and is
supported with a detailed interpretation of the text(s).
B. Primary Material: The text(s) that you choose to write about
is/are called your primary text(s), the main material that your
thesis is organized around. In other words, “primary quotations”
will serve as your primary form of support (textual evidence).
C. Secondary Material: The research you will do ABOUT the
author(s), text(s), and/or critical approaches is considered your
secondary or “outside” material. In other words, you will be
gathering information from outside sources that are relevant to

4. your thesis and which help support your main points. Your goal
is to balance your paper with your own analysis, with direct
quotes from the text(s), and with quotes from others (secondary
sources) who have written about the author(s) and/or text(s) you
are discussing. ANd don't think that the sources will speak FOR
you; they won't. They are only used as SUPPORT/evidence for
your thesis/main supporting points.
IV. Some Rules for Writing
• Include the title(s) and author(s) you are discussing in the first
or second paragraph of your paper.
• Assume your reader has read the work(s) you are discussing
but does not remember them in detail. In other words, be sure to
provide your readers with enough information (textual
examples, etc) so he or she can follow your analysis, but DO
NOT simply SUMMARIZE big chunks of the texts!
• When you directly quote something, make sure you
incorporate the quote into your own analysis. Do not simply
stick the quote into the middle of your writing. You must
introduce it and then comment on it. Therefore, make sure the
context of the quote is clear, why it is important, and what it is
helping to prove.
• If you are using a quote that is longer than four (4) lines
(when you type it in your paper), indent the entire quotation and
remove the quotation marks.
• Use quotation marks around titles of "short stories" and
"poems" and "critical essays" and underline (or italicize) titles
of books and plays.
• Don’t plagiarize. Plagiarism is grounds for failing the class
and for possible dismissal from the college. Any material that
you take WORD FOR WORD must be quoted. Any IDEAS that
you take from a source (even if you don’t take the material
word for word) also needs to be cited.
V. Works Cited Page
The “Works Cited” page gives full publication information for
all of the sources you use in your paper, both primary and
secondary. It is the last page of your paper, begins on its own

5. page, and should contain the title “Works Cited” listed at the
top and center of the page.
The rough draft should incorporate your sources in the form of
quotes or paraphrasing; use quotes when using an author or
source's actual words and paraphrasing is putting source
material in your own word and adding parenthesis at the end of
the senence with the author's name or the website or article
title. I would like you to put any quoted material in
boldface
or highlight it, so both you and I will know what is quoted
material and what is yours. Give attribution with simple
introductions like "According to David Smith in his online
article, 'Hurston and Civil Rights,' he argues..." As long as I see
you are making the effort of citing sources and giving credit,
you will be fine.
Also, I would like your rough drafts to be at least 5 pages in
length for credit.