Honors American Literature Research Paper



The Great Gatsby Research Paper

4th Marking Period Project

English 10 Honors

You must write a multi-paragraph analytical, critical, or comparative essay on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. By multi-paragraph, I mean this is more than your standard five-paragraph essay. You will spend time researching and formulating a thesis on a topic of your choice, relating to The Great Gatsby. Outlined below are possible topics, the paper requirements, and due dates. Keep in mind, we will be moving along in our American Literature studies while you continue work on your papers.

Possible Topics: Feel free to use one of the following suggested topics, or use one as a starting point for your own topic. If you wish to formulate your own topic, that is fine too. Make sure to have any original topics approved by Mrs. Gerardi.

▪ How are F. Scott Fitzgerald and his life represented through the novel? What parallels can you draw? Research more on Fitzgerald’s life and make connections to the novel.

▪ How do all or some of the characters/events in The Great Gatsby represent the disillusion and cynicism that followed WWI? Research the disillusion and cynicism that followed WWI and connect how all or some of the characters in The Great Gatsby represent those sentiments.

▪ Analyze and evaluate the accepted social and moral behavior exhibited by the wealthy people in the novel. What was Fitzgerald criticizing? Research other critics who have speculated on the same subject.

▪ Is Gatsby a tragic hero? Define the term “tragic hero,” research other tragic heroes, and analyze whether Gatsby fits the description.

▪ Compare some or all of the characters in the novel and speculate on Fitzgerald’s purpose in creating such parallels in his characters. (Tom and George; Gatsby and Nick) Research other critics who have speculated on the same subject.

▪ How does The Great Gatsby capture the essence of the 1920s? Research the 1920s and analyze the book in light of that information – is it an accurate representation of the 20s?

▪ Analyze and discuss one of the themes that we have discussed in class and its relation to the book as a whole:

• The American Dream and the reality of it as seen through The Great Gatsby and the 1920s

• The corruption of the American Dream . . . how its original idealism has been replaced by materialism and greed.

• The corruptive nature of wealth and power

• Social Status

• Dishonesty

• Or other ideas . . .

Research other critics who have speculated on the same subject.

▪ Analyze and discuss one of the symbols or patterns of imagery and its relation to the book as a whole:

• Is there morbid symbolism throughout the novel leading to the tragic ends of Gatsby, George, and Myrtle? Analyze the pattern of death and ghosts throughout the novel.

• What role does color play? What is its purpose? Focus on one or more of the colors used as symbols in the novel.

• Trace the patterns of weather and seasons throughout the novel and analyze how weather does or does not fit the narrative mood.

• What are the different settings and what are their symbolic meanings?

• What is the symbolic role of The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg?

• Or other ideas . . .

Research other critics who have speculated on the same subject.

Grading

20% of final marking period grade

Five (5) points will be deducted for every day that the final paper is late and also for every day the paper is late on .

Final paper grading will be based on the following rubric:

|Category |4 |3 |2 |1 |

|Organization |Information is very |Information is organized |Information is organized, |The information appears to |

| |organized with |with well-constructed |but paragraphs are not |be disorganized. |

| |well-constructed paragraphs |paragraphs. |well-constructed. | |

| |and subheadings. | | | |

|Support of Thesis |Thesis statement is well |Thesis statement is |Thesis statement could have |Thesis statement lacks the |

| |supported through |supported fairly well |been better supported either|proper amount of support. |

| |combination of both outside |through combination of both |through additional outside | |

| |research and textual |outside research and textual|research or more textual | |

| |analysis. |analysis. |analysis. | |

|Analysis |Excellent analysis of the |Good analysis of the |Fair analysis of research |There is little or no |

| |research materials; student |research materials; student |materials. Student makes an |analysis of the research |

| |is able to integrate his/her|attempts to integrate |effort to integrate his/her |materials. The student |

| |own ideas about the topic |his/her own ideas about the |own ideas about the topic |simply repeats what he/she |

| |and literary work into the |topic into the paper. |into the paper, but ends up |read from the sources. |

| |paper. | |simply repeating his/her | |

| | | |sources. | |

|Mechanics |No grammatical, spelling, or|Almost no grammatical, |A few grammatical, spelling,|Many grammatical, spelling, |

| |punctuation errors. |spelling, or punctuation |or punctuation errors. (4-5)|or punctuation errors. (6+) |

| | |errors. (1-3) | | |

|MLA format |Entire paper is properly |Almost entire paper is |Some MLA standards are |Little evidence of following|

| |formatted to MLA standards. |properly formatted to MLA |followed, but there are |MLA standards. (5+ errors) |

| |(page numbers & last names |standards. (1-2 errors) |problems. (3-4 errors) | |

| |in header, no title page – | | | |

| |title appears centered | | | |

| |beneath first page heading | | | |

| |information, double spaced, | | | |

| |12 pt font, correct margins)| | | |

|Parenthetical Citation |All parenthetical citations |All parenthetical citations |All parenthetical citations |Many parenthetical citations|

| |are accurately documented in|are documented, but a few |are documented, but many are|appear to be missing from |

| |MLA format. (At least 6) |are not in MLA format. (At |not in MLA format. (5-6 but |paper. (less than 5 and/or |

| | |least 5) |1-3 errors) |more than 3 errors) |

|Sources |All sources are |Most sources used appear to |Some sources appear to be |Limited number of reliable |

| |exceptionally reliable and |be reliable. |reliable, but quite a few |sources were consulted. |

| |represent a variety of | |are questionable. | |

| |source types. | | | |

|Works Cited |All sources are accurately |All sources are documented, |All sources are documented, |Less than four sources are |

| |documented in MLA format. |but a few (1-2) are not in |but many, if not all, (3+) |documented. |

| | |MLA format. |are not in MLA format. | |

Requirements

▪ The research paper should be 5-10 pages in length (not including the Works Cited page). Anything less than 5 pages will not receive full credit. Anything longer than 10 pages will not be read.

▪ Format: typed, double-spaced, 1” margins, 12 point Times New Roman font. All elements (heading, header, citations, Works Cited) must be in MLA format.

▪ : All rough drafts and final papers must be posted on . It is important that you properly cite your sources because detects plagiarism. Plagiarism is not tolerated and any student caught plagiarizing will automatically receive a zero.

o Papers must be posted on on or before the due date. Five (5) points will be deducted for every day that it is late.

▪ You must have at least four (4) sources for this research paper

o 1 primary source (The Great Gatsby)

o At least 3 secondary sources (a work written about the primary source or one that relates to the topic)

▪ At least one source must be from a book (not The Great Gatsby)

▪ At least one online source (cannot be Wikipedia)

▪ Other source – websites, newspaper, articles, etc.

▪ All sources found online must be from a reliable source (which is why you may not use Wikipedia).

▪ Do not use: I, you, we, us, my, my opinion, etc.

▪ Your paper should not be a collection of direct quotes. Most of it should be paraphrased.

▪ Any quote longer than 3 lines should be indented as a block quote.

▪ Quotes should not state or end a paragraph.

▪ Do not say: The paper will explain…

▪ You must hand in your rough draft with outline when you hand in your final paper with outline.

Due Dates

We will be working on this paper for a little more than one month. Each piece along the journey will be graded, and these pieces will incorporate a large portion of your grade. Failure to hand in a step on the due date will lower the final grade for the research project. For example, if a student does not bring in the rough draft on the date assigned, the final assignment grade will start at an 85% instead of a 100%.

| |Percentage of Grade |Due Date |

|Topic Choice |5% |Thursday April 26th |

|Working Annotated Bibliography |5% |Tuesday May 1st |

|Thesis and Outline |5% |Wednesday May 9th |

|Note Cards |10% |Wednesday May 16th |

|Rough Draft with Outline |15% |Wednesday May 23rd |

|Final Paper with Outline |60% |Tuesday May 29th |

Source



Plagiarism

- Using someone else’s work without giving them credit.

- Always give credit to your source for:

o Quotations (exact words)

o Paraphrased information (changing ideas into your own words)

o Summarized information

o Facts that are not common knowledge

o Ideas, including opinions & thoughts about what particular facts mean

o Maps, charts, graphs, data, and other visual or statistical information

Steps in Researching and Writing a Paper

1. Start to research to determine your topic. Look at various books and sites.

2. Create a working annotated bibliography of potential sources you may use for your paper. This should be written in proper MLA format and should also explain why each specific source may be useful.

3. Narrow your topic and write a thesis statement based on your topic. Do not make your thesis statement too broad. Make sure you have a complete declarative sentence.

4. Decide on the sub-topics you want to include in your paper.

5. Write the outline for the paper.

6. Get at least four sources for your paper. Be sure to vary sources as noted for you.

a. At least 1 book

b. At least 1 website

c. At least 2 miscellaneous

7. When you decide to use a source for your paper, write an index card for that source. Be sure to use the correct format for these note cards.

a. Write on only one side of each card, and write about only one main idea. (You will then be able to arrange and rearrange your note cards easily according to their main ideas.)

b. Write a heading or theme – a key word or phrase – at the top of the note card and underline it. The heading tells the main idea discussed on the note card. Usually, the heading is one of the topics or subtopics in your working outline.

c. Make a conscious effort to use your own words when you take notes. It may help to close the book and explain to yourself what the author has written, then transfer that “explanation” to your note card. You do not need to write in complete sentences. Use abbreviations and symbols.

d. Enclose direct quotation is large quotation marks. Make sure you have quoted word for word, exactly as the author wrote it. If you wish to leave out any material from the quoted passage – a sentence or phrase or even a single word – you must show that you have done so by inserting ellipses at the appropriate point.

e. At the bottom of each note card, write the author and page number(s) where you found the information.

f. Before you go on to a new note card, double-check to see that you have written the author and page numbers. If you haven’t done this, your note card will be useless because you will not be able to find and document the source of your information again.

Direct Citation Indirect Citation

|Theme |Theme |

| | |

|Wright believes that Brooks’ use of “the black dialect rings true in her poetry |According to Wright, Brooks shows how African Americans think and feel by using |

|and reveals the voice and attitude of young African Americans.” |the black vernacular in her poetry. |

|(Wright 35) |(Wright 35) |

8. Take notes based on your thesis statement and topics.

9. Write your paper based on your notes. Be sure to use parenthetical citations when you are paraphrasing or taking text verbatim.

I am aware of my student’s research paper and due dates.

Signature ______________________________________ Date ______________________

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