Research Paper Assignment



English IV-CP Research due: ________________________

Critical Analysis Research Paper Outline due: ________________________

Rough Draft due: ________________________

Final Draft due: ________________________

Late work policy: NO preliminary assignments (research, outline, rough draft) will be accepted for partial credit if they are late or incomplete. If you are absent on these due dates, your work must still be submitted. Final draft will receive a 10% deduction each calendar day it is late.

Assignment Overview

The research paper assignment for this course will be based on one of the “major works” we have studied so far this semester. Therefore, choose as your primary text one of the following: The Tenth Man, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales or The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Using this text as your primary source, you will conduct academic research to collect research notes, develop an argumentative thesis, and then defend this thesis in a critical/analytical essay using both your own ideas and the support of secondary sources – that is, books and/or essays of literary criticism or analysis.

What is literary criticism/analysis?

Literary criticism is the study, analysis, and history of literature. Criticism seeks to uncover what literature is, what it does, and what it is worth. When looking for criticism, be conscious of the credentials of the writer and the quality of the sources.

When choosing your sources, always avoid:

|print or on-line encyclopedias (No Wikipedia, etc. ) |non-scholarly discussion groups |

|basic summaries and study aids (No CliffsNotes, SparkNotes, , Gradesaver, |the works of other students |

|etc.) |author biography |

This project will be scored as two (2) separate MAJOR GRADES (each equivalent to a unit test). The first grade will be a combination of points earned in three (3) parts: research notes (30%), a pre-writing outline and “working” thesis statement (30%), and a rough draft with Works Cited (40%). The second major grade will be based solely on the quality of your final draft, and will be evaluated using a separate grading rubric.

Here is an overview of the step-by-step process we will follow. Individual handouts will be given along the way:

1. Choose a literary work and topic. Topic must be approved by me before end of class Thursday 3/9.

a. Choose a current issue. (i.e. PTSD, Depression, woman’s rights, Current beliefs on fate, Religious influences on behavior, Different forms of government, the effects of war, belief in the supernatural, mental illness, and so many more options.)

b. Select a work covered in class.

c. Decide on a focus or topic for that work. For example, how does PTSD affect Lady Macbeth? How do religious changes affect our reading of “The Pardoner’s Tale”? Is misogyny reinforced in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”? Essentially, you are applying an issue to a text and using your research of and the history of that issue to analyze your literary work.

1. Create research notes (see separate handout for further details).

a. Find, read, and summarize five (5) pieces of authoritative research on a topic from your work of literature.

b. All critical essays from DISCUS are approved; however, do not use a text summary as a source. All other websites must be approved. Websites like the ones listed above are not considered authoritative research. Generally, the website or source should be associated with a university, and the author should have relevant credentials that relate to your topic. You will not receive credit for the use of unapproved sources.

c. Your research notes must follow MLA guidelines for citations and contain a 3-4 sentence summary of the source and its relevance to your research. This assignment must be submitted electronically (via Google Docs). It counts for 30% of the first Major Grade.

**FYI: LOOKING AHEAD: All essays that you USE in your rough & final drafts will be required to be printed off. Do Not Print All Sources. Wait until you KNOW that you’ll use it, then you can print and highlight it. Just be sure to plan appropriately and give enough time to get this done. **

1. Write an argumentative thesis statement and complete an Essay Outline.

a. An argumentative thesis statement should make a claim about a topic and then justify this claim with specific evidence.

b. The claim could be an opinion, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation.

c. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided. Your thesis should be unique from the research you have conducted. In other words, you must either refute the claims of other critics, or you must build on the views of others by adding your own original insight.

d. Create an Essay Outline which contains your complete thesis statement and summarizes your supporting arguments, including the criticism and primary source evidence you plan to cite.

e. Type your Outline according to MLA format (example outline in MLA Format) and submit it using Google Docs.

f. The Outline will also count for 30% of the first Major Grade.

1. Create a rough draft with evidence from primary and secondary sources as well as a Works Cited page.

a. Follow the structure presented in your Outline to write a complete rough draft.

b. To receive full credit for this part of the assignment, you must have at least 2-3 pages of text typed and double-spaced, which should include three (3) different secondary sources cited in the paper and three (3) direct quotations from your primary source. You must also include a complete Works Cited page (in MLA form) – though this is separate from the minimum length requirement mentioned above.

c. You are required to type your essay in Google Docs and share it with your instructor via your shared folder. Eight (8) points will be deducted if you neglect to do so. Please name your file using the following: “Block # - Last Name, First Name – English 4 Research Paper - Title of Work” (ex. Block 1 – Mozzarella, Joe – English 4 Research Paper - Frankenstein).

d. You must print a hard copy of your rough draft and bring it to class on the day that it is due. Do not ask your instructor to print your copy. This needs to be done before you arrive to class.

e. You must print off all sources that you have cited and highlight the information that you’ve quoted and/or paraphrased in your paper.

f. Be sure to make a copy of your rough draft on Google Docs so you have a copy to compare to your final draft. Rough drafts and final drafts should be noticeably different. Failure to make appropriate revisions may disallow the acceptance of your paper. In other words, your rough draft will not be accepted as your final draft.

g. The Rough Draft will count as 40% of the first Major Grade.

1. Complete a Peer Revision activity in which you give and receive specific feedback.

a. After the completion of the rough draft, you will trade papers among a small group of classmates. You will “mark up” your peers’ essays, offering specific suggestions aimed toward improving the overall quality of the paper.

b. You will complete a Peer Evaluation Form to ensure that required elements of the assignment have been met satisfactorily.

c. The Peer Evaluation Form will be turned in separately so that the quality of your commentary may be evaluated. Participation in this activity (and completion of the form) is mandatory. If you are absent or unprepared on the day of this activity, you must make it up on your own time. Failure to do so may result in a deduction of points earned on your final project grade.

2. Revise your essay to perfect your argument with regard to structure, quality of evidence, reasoning and analysis, and a clear thesis statement.

a. Make sure your thesis is clear and that the body of the essay mirrors the structure of your thesis.

b. Make sure each body paragraph begins with a claim/argument/topic sentence that has a direct relation to your thesis statement. Do not begin or end a body paragraph with a quotation or paraphrased evidence from a secondary source.

c. Avoid using too much plot summary. If half of a paragraph is plot summary, please revise to eliminate it.

d. In general, your argument(s) should follow this structure:

• Begin the paragraph with a claim that directly supports and connects to your thesis.

• Then present a quotation from either the primary or secondary source that illustrates this point.

• After each piece of evidence, explain its significance in relationship to your topic sentence and/or thesis.

• Repeat as necessary, adding additional evidence and commentary.

e. Be sure to appropriately introduce and signal all ideas you are citing from your research.

f. Always offer your own commentary after every piece of evidence from either primary or secondary sources. Either explain how it supports your argument, or refute its reasoning if it is the counterargument.

g. Cite ALL borrowed information, whether it is quoted directly or summarized or paraphrased in your own words. Follow MLA guidelines for all documentation.

1. Edit your final draft for spelling, grammar, tone, and readability.

a. Avoid 1st and 2nd person pronouns such as I, me, my, we, our, you, your, yours.

b. Avoid vague words such as things, it, they, good, bad, very, “the story”, etc.  

c. Avoid contractions.

d. Write about a work of fiction using the present tense. For example, do not say “Macbeth killed Duncan off stage,” but “Macbeth kills Duncan offstage.”

e. The required minimum length for your final draft is 1000 – 1200 words (approximately 4-ish typed and double-spaced pages).

f. Share your final draft with your instructor via Google Docs and print a hard copy to turn in on the due date. Handwritten papers will not be accepted.

g. Papers that lack noticeable revisions and improvements from the rough draft may not be accepted. Likewise, papers with an excessive number of errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and so on may not be accepted. The final draft will be counted as 100% of the second MAJOR GRADE.

1. Turn these items in on the due date in the following order:

a. Copy of the rubric with your name written at the top.

b. Final draft (3 – 4 typed and double-spaced pages with a separate page as your Works Cited page). The Works Cited page must include your primary source and all secondary sources and must follow MLA format. This draft should be noticeably different (hopefully improved!) from your rough draft.

c. Marked-up rough draft and completed Peer Evaluation Form.

d. Copies of the articles (at least three!) that you quoted/paraphrased in your paper. Please highlight the information that you quoted and paraphrased in the article.

e. Do not include your Annotated Bibliography or Outline. These items will be viewed separately.

Late Work

For this assignment, late papers will be accepted, but 10% of the overall score (approximately one letter-grade) will be deducted each day the paper is late. And there will be a cut-off. Unless you have significant extenuating circumstances, no papers will be accepted more than five (5) school days beyond the original due date.

Keep in mind, however, that absence is not an excuse for late work. Get your paper to me somehow when it is due – use Google Docs, email, a classmate, friend, sibling, parent, neighbor or FedEx. Whatever it takes, turn in your work on time!

English 4-CP Grading Rubric name ___________________________________

Critical Analysis Research Project

PREWRITING ACTIVITIES (Major Grade #1)

|Project Component |Emerging |

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