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Research Paper AssignmentWrite an analytical research paper of 7 pages using Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew or Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, or both. Your paper must include a clear thesis statement in the first paragraph, and you must perform a close reading of the text to support your thesis. Additionally, you must find at least two scholarly sources to support your thesis. Your draft will undergo several revisions, both in the classroom and at home. When turning in your final paper, you must also hand in your annotated bibliography, your thesis statement draft, and the rough draft you workshopped in class. Your grade for the assignment will be based not only on the quality of your final draft, but the extent to which you revised your preceding drafts. Your essays must be double-spaced and follow MLA style guidelines. Both rough and final drafts require a Works Cited page (though your sources need not be annotated at this stage).Assignments (See syllabus for due dates)First Paragraph Rough Draft (5%):In class we will be going over how to write a thesis-driven argument and in groups of two, you will workshop your thesis and topics of discussion. The rough draft of your first paragraph must include a preliminary working thesis statement. For writing prompts, see the next page. Don’t forget to include a working title!Annotated Bibliography (5%): An annotated bibliography should look like an MLA-style Works Cited page, but following each citation you must include a brief (approx. 100-word) summary of each source. Try to replicate what you did in your Critical Essay Evaluation: briefly summarize the main argument and any information relevant to your thesis.First Full Rough Draft & Peer Review (10%): Bring in a hard copy of your rough draft of your research paper. You will be exchanging this with a peer for an in-class writing workshop. Your homework: you will take home a peer’s paper, read it once to understand the general argument of the paper, and then read it a second time and provide comments in the margins and on the peer-review worksheet, which will be due the following class. If for any reason you must miss the following class, please notify me the week before so I can pair peers accordingly. Final Draft (20%):Before you turn in this draft, make sure you’ve gone over the checklist on the Prezi presentation. The final draft of your research paper is due at the beginning of class, printed and stapled. If you cannot make it to class on this day, please email it to me by 11am or it will be considered late.Potential Writing Prompts You may also choose your own research question and topic. If you do so, please write your own prompt and include it with your First Paragraph Rough Draft and Annotated Bibliography.Throughout the semester we have discussed identity, gender, race, humor, and performance. This paper (5-7 pages) is an opportunity for you to take these issues to task by performing a close reading of one or more passages in order to make a larger argument about a character in a play, the world of the play, or the genre of the play. Your task is to synthesize your ideas with the critical research you read to prepare to write the paper. Use direct quotes from the play of your choice and from your secondary resources to support your argument. Remember to cite your sources in MLA format and include a Works Cited page (not annotated) at the end of the paper. The articles I have posted on DropBox may not be sufficient. I highly recommend you visit my office hours for help organizing your paper and to also seek out other resources, articles, and perhaps books online or in the library to help strengthen your paper. Your choice in scholarly sources may make all the difference.In Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, Kate’s final speech is sometimes strongly considered an indication that she has lost her voice to Petruchio and the patriarchy. Do you believe that Kate has really been “tamed”? OR Has she lost her voice? [Note: these are very different questions. You may answer either one.]Much of the focus on sexism in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew draws on Kate’s questionable shift in character and Petruchio’s “taming school” tactics. To follow bell hooks’s claim that patriarchy oppresses both men and women, address what is at stake for Petruchio in the play and how this affects your reading of his behavior: is he genuine; is his masculinity determinative; does he have agency; is he only motivated by money? [Note: these are very different questions. You may focus your answer on just one or two.]Shirley Garner argues that The Taming of the Shrew is a bad play because it is no longer funny: the play’s misogyny undermines its humor—its humor isn’t timeless. While The Duchess of Malfi seems more aware of the tragedies of women in its time, does that make it less misogynist or more timeless? Discuss the effect of genre (comedy vs. tragedy) on the portrayal of women in Shakespeare and Webster’s time. Bosola is responsible for carrying out several murders in The Duchess of Malfi. Is his character sympathetic? Is he a moral character? Many of the characters die at the end of The Duchess of Malfi. Closely examine the end of the play: Delio’s final speech, what is symbolic about each character’s death, and build a case for whether or not the Duchess has defeated her brothers. Other themes lenses through which you might construct your argument: a Freudian analysis of The Duchess of Malfi (the Oedipal Complex, Death Drive, or the Uncanny), a Gender Studies reading of The Taming of the Shrew (focusing on misogyny, or masculinity and femininity equally), or an analysis of the differences of the two genres. ................
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