Helpful directions for writing your major author paper

1. WRITING FOR ENGL
205
THE MAJOR AUTHORS
ASSIGNMENT

2. THE PAPER IS NOT:
• An Annotated Bibliography
• A summary of each
individual source
• A book review

3. THE
PAPER IS:
• First and foremost, a synthesis of multiple
resources guided by the fundamental
question: What do we know or not know about
this particular author/issue/ topic/ subject?
• How well you answer this question depends
upon:
• the thoroughness and effectiveness of your
search for information
• the quality and reliability of the sources you
choose
• your ability to synthesize the material,
relating research studies to one another
and to your own thesis or purpose

4. IDENTIFY THE AUTHOR THAT YOU
WILL RESEARCH:
• Select an author from Appalachia.
• Familiarize yourself with the author and the subjects that the
author explores.
• It is important to know the topic well
• Works
• Any arguments or debates regarding the author and subjects
• How the author and subject influenced the socio/cultural
environment of the region
• Read, read, read!

5. TAKE NOTES AS YOU READ
• Decide on a note-taking format and be consistent
in how you record notes.
• Note key ideas, statistics, etc., that you may want to
use in the introduction to your review.
• Select useful quotes that you may want to include
in your
paper.

6. NOTE STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
• Your role as a researcher is to evaluate what you read,
so that your work is not a mere description of different
articles, but rather a critical analysis that makes sense of
the collection of articles that you have found.
• Note the strengths and weaknesses of the authors’
work.

7. THE INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH ESSAY
SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
• Identification and explanation of the author and
the topic he or she writes about most often.
• Why the author and topic are important
• Any necessary background information
• A description of the time frame, location, etc.

8. THE BODY OF THE ESSAY SHOULD INCLUDE:
• Multiple sources, including academic articles, works of
fiction, nonfiction, or creative nonfiction written by at the
author
• Obviously, the name of the author, the author’s connection
to Appalachia, a biography of the author, and a picture of
the author
• The relevancy of the author and any works discussed.
Which, if any, of the works are considered classic?
Controversial?