The Research Paper (SLOs 1-5)
Due Date: March 26th
The research paper must meet the following criteria listed below in order to receive a grade. The student must follow all of the directions completely. All papers must contain an outline, rough draft, final draft, works cited page, and a final reflection. You will be required to take your essay to a tutor for review.
Your paper will be written in third person (he/she/it) and it will be double spaced following the MLA heading and page guidelines. The paper must be typed in 12 point, Times New Roman font and must follow all of the internal and work cited guidelines of MLA references.
Required Steps for your Research Paper:
Step I: Brainstorm your topic and begin your research. Write your thesis statement, and begin to write a tentative outline to focus on the paper’s organization. Once you have evaluated your research sources, you will select what sources will be included in your paper based on your thesis statement. Once you have completed this task, formulate an outline (topic/sentence) and begin to write a rough draft of your paper. The rough draft may exceed a four (4)-page minimum length requirement.
Step II: You will use your researched sources and begin to implement them into your rough draft and begin to cite your sources on the works cited page. The final draft will continue to develop from your rough draft. It is not recommended that you pursue another topic at this time since you have already done the majority of the work, but if you are unable to continue, you must begin to work on your “new” topic. The final paper may exceed the required six (6)-page minimum. In addition to your primary sources, the works cited page will include a minimum of six (primary and secondary) sources.
Step III: You will type a one-page final reflection of your writing experience and analysis of the research paper in first person.
Paper Topics: Choose one of the two topics listed below for your research paper:
A) Fiction Analysis:
Choose two short stories written by South American/Central American/Middle Eastern writers and examine how these literary works connect/disconnect through characterization, style, and themes. [A few short story writers to consider: Luisa Valenzuela (Argentina); Isabel Allende (Chile); Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina); Clarice Lispector (Brazil); Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia); Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic); Aida Bahr (Cuba); Samira Azzam (Palestine); Yusuf Idris (Egypt); Muhammed Zafzaf (Mocorro); Etgar Keret (Israel); Sadeq Hedayat (Iran); Simin Daneshvar (Iran)]
OR
B) Film and Fiction Analysis:
Argue the importance of critical literary analysis by selecting a film and a short story [by a South American, Central American or Middle Eastern author] and comparing and contrasting both with a focus on the following areas: Setting, theme(s), characterization, and irony.