The document outlines the requirements for a 6-8 page research paper for an English class, highlighting the importance of original insight, a strong thesis, and the integration of outside sources. It emphasizes avoiding plot summary and encourages a deep, informed analysis of the texts discussed in class. Several potential topics for exploration are provided, along with a reminder about submission guidelines and the importance of proper formatting and citation.

1. McClintock-Walsh ENGL 151
Assignment Sheet: Final Paper
Length: 6-8 pages (not including Works Cited List)
Due Date: Rough draft: in our conferences
Final: See syllabus
No late papers will be accepted!
Write a 6-8 page paper (that incorporates research) on any of
the works we have read in this class. (If you choose to write
about a work you have written about already, the content of this
paper must be significantly different from what you have
already written.) Although this is a research paper, remember
that YOUR ideas are important. I do not want you to turn in a
book report or a Wikipedia entry. Rather, you should be
developing an insightful reading of one or more works that you
support with the text and with outside sources. Remember, we
research to fulfill our curiosities, to deepen our knowledge of a
subject or author, or to make ourselves more of an expert on the
works we are covering. We do NOT research to mimic or
regurgitate someone else’s ideas.
Remember it is of the utmost importance that you develop a
specific thesis, or argument, that you will be able to prove with
research and textual analysis. Remember: a thesis statement
should arise from a question you have about the work(s) (i.e.,
What is the significance of the Perseus and Danae myth in
Room? OR What confines characters in Room, “The Hunger
Artist,” and/or “The Yellow Wallpaper” ? OR According to
Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and/or Anna Deavere
Smith, where does racism come from, and how can society
overcome it?). Your thesis statement should be an answer to this
question (i.e., Donoghue uses allusion to Greek mythology to
both illustrate all of the levels of imprisonment Ma and Jack
face). You should use the rest of the paper to support your own
unique argument with close readings of the text and with
research. Think of the thesis statement as your radical

2. declaration; think of the rest of the paper as the evidence that
supports your radical declaration. (A strong thesis statement in
a research paper will be very narrow and focused. A thesis that
seems too narrow is always preferable to a thesis that is too
broad.)
Please AVOID PLOT SUMMARY. I have already read these
works, so you are writing for an informed audience.
You may choose to write your paper on one work we have
discussed this semester, or you may compare/contrast two
works. Remember that research should help you become more
of an expert on your subject, and that research should be an
organic process that helps you fill in gaps in your own
knowledge, or deepens your understanding of a work, author, or
concept. Let your own questions and curiosities guide you in
your research.
I do not like to set an exact number of sources that you must
use, but this type of paper will likely require you to consult and
use at least three outside sources that you will incorporate in a
meaningful way into your paper. You may not use the internet
alone for your research; I will be unimpressed by flimsy,
general internet sources (such as schmoop.com or
bookrags.com). Remember that books and databases are your
friends. It is not enough to just find your research; you must
USE your research in the paper itself. A research paper that
does not use research cannot get higher than a “D.” The options
for research are limitless: you might choose to look up a name
or word’s meaning as part of your research; you might look up
or read about historical references in a work; you could read an
analysis of the work you intend to write about; or you could
research the author or time period of the work under
consideration. Sink yourself in your topic and prepare yourself
to write about your topic in an authoritative, informed way. Pay
attention to words or moments in these works that confuse you;
a work calls for research if it confuses or perplexes you in some
way.
Because you are consulting outside sources, your paper must

3. include a Works Cited list (see library handout and the section
on MLA formatting in our books). Be aware: formatting counts
in a Works Cited list! Proofread and punctuate carefully.
Your final draft should both be posted on Blackboard and
handed in as a hard copy. Your rough draft will be due on the
date of your conference with me.
Don’t forget about the Writing Center if you want further help!
You may choose one of the topics below to explore in your
paper, or you may come up with an idea of your own that you
would like to pursue. However, if you would like to write about
a topic of your own, please be sure to run your idea by me first.
In this paper, you may focus on one of the works we have read,
or you may compare/contrast two works. Also, the questions
listed under each topic are just meant to get your mental wheels
turning; do NOT feel like you have to answer all of the
questions listed. Again, they are just meant to help you begin
to brainstorm.
POSSIBLE TOPICS
Take any one of the reading questions we worked on in
reference to Room and develop it into a paper topic.
Take any one of the readings questions we worked on in
reference to Twilight: Los Angeles and develop it into a paper
topic.
Race. Gwendolyn Brooks, Anna Deavere Smith, Langston
Hughes. All of these authors tackle the issue of race in
America. What do these authors have to say about race? What
struggles do African-American face in America? What causes
racism? What is the toll of racism? Is there any way out of the
divides these authors expose?

4. Lives of Women. Olds, Rich, Brooks, Smith, Gilman,
Donoghue. Many of our female authors (and some of our male
authors) reflect on what it means to be a woman in
contemporary society. What challenges to women face? Do
they overcome these challenges? How so or why not? What do
women participate in, in terms of society? What are they barred
from? How do they make their voices heard? (Try to avoid
generalizations in this paper.)
Outcast/outsider. O’Connor, Smith, Heaney, Hughes, Whitman,
Kafka, Gilman, Carver, Donoghue, Eggers. Many of these
stories and poems feature an outsider who dramatically changes
the lives of the characters in the stories. What do the outsiders
bring to these communities? What effect do they have? Why are
these outsiders necessary? What do they challenge? What do
they represent? How does society treat the outcast? What have
these personas done that is so offensive to their culture? How
does society use the figure of the outcast? What is the outcast’s
relationship with the dominant culture? What does the outsider
represent? What does he/she challenge? Is the outsider ever
accepted by society? Does the outsider have a lesson or message
to convey?
Change, Metamorphosis. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” Carver,
Ferlinghetti, Heaney, Smith, Kafka, Marquez, Donoghue,
Eggers. In what ways do the protagonists change or fail to
change in these stories/poems? Is this change meaningful and
lasting, or is it only temporary? What causes these characters to
change? What keeps them from changing? Is the change a
positive or negative one? Why? What do these characters learn
(or fail to learn) from their metamorphoses?
Social Change/Social Criticism. Possible authors: Adrienne
Rich, “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”; William Wordsworth, “The
World is Too Much with Us”; Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “The
World is a beautiful Place…”; Emma Donoghue; Anna Deavere

5. Smith, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; Kafka; Gilman; Eggers.
All of these works challenge society’s values in some way.
What do these works criticize about society? What is the
general world like in these works, and what does the world fail
to value or appreciate? What in particular do they criticize?
How has society failed these authors? What are these authors
attempting to find in society? Do they find what they’re looking
for? Are these writers outsiders, or are they a part of society?
Do the authors’ attitudes toward society change or remain the
same?
Searching for Love/Belonging. Possible Authors: Sharon Olds,
“Sex Without Love”; Seamus Heaney, “Digging”; Adrienne
Rich, “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”; Carver, “Cathedral”; Kafka;
cummings; Eggers; Gilman. In all of these works, characters
struggle to feel accepted, or try to find a connection to a mate
or a family that in some way rejects them. Why are these
character rejected? How do they view love? Do they find love
or connections in surprising places? What keeps these
characters in solitude? Do they ever break out of this solitude?
What does love provide, or fail to provide, these characters?
Roles of Men/Women. Many of our authors explore what it
means to be a man or a woman in society. What roles to men
and women occupy? Do men and women break out of or
transform these roles? What happens when they do? Do
characters always meet gender expectation or do they try to
overturn them? Why do some characters insist that women
occupy certain roles? What makes it so hard to break out of
these roles?
Religion. Carver, Kafka, Donoghue, and Eggers all use
religious allusions in their works. Write about spirituality in
the modern world. What is the modern world like? What does
religion bring to this world? How does religion transform these
characters? What damns or saves these characters? Are they

6. capabale of change?
Vision/Sight/Blindness. “Cathedral” features a blind man as a
main character. Analyze the themes of sight and blindness in
this work. What can the blind man see that the sighted
characters cannot? How does the blind man transform the other
characters? What does blindness signify in this work?
Symbols and Imagery. Analyze one or two of the major
symbols in any of the works we read in this class. Why is this
central image or symbol so important? What does it reveal or
suggest? How does it emerge or reappear in the work as a
whole? What do these images mean to these authors? Does the
significance of these images change? What different meanings
do these symbols embody? (You could apply this topic to
anything we have read in this course.)
Divided Worlds. Carver, Smith, Donoghue, Kafka, Gilman,
Whitman, Hughes, Olds, and Eggers all write about characters
who struggle to negotiate the divide between worlds. What are
these characters split between? What causes these divisions?
Are the characters able to heal this divide or must they forever
live in divided worlds?
Names and Naming. Authors pay special attention to names and
naming in their works. Why are these names (or lack of a
name) significant? Why do these authors name their characters
in the way that they do? What do they use names to represent?
Do these names accurately represent their characters? How so or
why not? What do these names suggest about the characters
themselves or the worlds around them?
Views of American Society/American Identity. Carver, Eggers,
Whitman, Ferlinghetti, Brooks, Hughes, Donoghue, Gilman, and
Smith offer a critique of American society in their works.
What in particular do they criticize? What are these authors

7. attempting to find in America? Do they find what they’re
looking for? Are these writers outsiders in America, or are they
a part of America? Do the authors’ attitudes toward America
change or remain the same? What IS America, according to
these authors? What does it mean to be American?
Art. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” Room.
Greek mythology
Nature