American Identity

English 202 Research Paper Assignment For your research paper, pick two authors from the syllabus. These may be authors from either the same period or different periods. Compare the major ideas put forth in these works, and discuss how these ideas contribute to the American identity. Remember the author and work(s) you write on must come from the syllabus. If you choose an author and/or work(s) not listed on the syllabus, then you will receive a zero on the assignment. Essay Requirements This paper needs to be at minimum five pages long (not including the works cited page), longer is better. At the earliest, then, the content section of the paper needs to end on the bottom of page five. You must use two primary sources. When quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing a primary source, make sure you use the works that are printed in the Concise Anthology of American Literature, so that I can verify the information. In addition to two primary sources, you must use at least four secondary sources, more is better. These secondary sources must be criticism on the primary sources. Scholarly books and journal articles from the library’s electronic databases, such as Ebsco, JStor, or Gale Group are acceptable. However, webpages, encyclopedia, Cyclopedia, Masterplots, literary reviews, and the biography/background section on authors and their works from your class text, Concise Anthology of American Literature, will not count as a secondary source. While you can use class notes, they will not count as a secondary source, either. Essays that are short of the five FULL page can earn only as high as a 60/D. Likewise, essays that do not have the minimum required secondary sources can only earn as high as a 60/D. Once I have considered content and mechanics, essays that do not meet the minimum requirements, will more than likely earn an F. You must cite all sources (including class notes) internally and in an MLA-style works cited page. Failure to use a source and not cite it internally and/or in a works cited page is plagiarism and will result in a zero on the essay. Finally, this paper must be typed and MLA formatted. You must also include a descriptive title (beyond Research Essay). Remember that a good title tells the subject of the essay and gives the reader some idea of the paper’s content. Other Required Materials Along with your paper, you must submit copies of ALL your secondary sources. Failure to do so will result in a zero on the essay—no exceptions. Without copies of your sources, I cannot verify your research and therefore, cannot fairly evaluate the quality of your research. Copies will not be accepted after the paper has been turned in. Also, ALL borrowed material (from the secondary sources) must be highlighted in the original source, so that I can verify all quotes, summaries, and paraphrases. Failure to highlight borrowed material will result in a 10-point deduction per internal citation. In addition to bringing a hard copy of the research essay and all sources, you must upload the research essay to Vericite, which is available through Canvas. Failure to upload the final draft will result in a zero on the essay. Essay Reminders (Very Important to Earn a Good Grade) ➢ Form a strong thesis. Don’t fall into these pitfalls: • Don’t try and argue common knowledge: Bradstreet and Dickinson are two women writers who made important contributions to the American identity. We already know this. It’s a fact. You can’t argue a fact. • Also, don’t give me a sickly thesis that reads something like this: Bradstreet’s and Dickinson’s poems show women striving for freedom. This is too general, and you will find that your essay will quickly go awry if you don’t have a focused thesis. ➢ You want solid research to support yourself. Sometimes, students are unsure of what an instructor means by solid or thorough research. For a shorter research essay, like yours, use this rule of thumb: for every primary source, you should have at least two secondary sources. (e.g. If your two primary sources are Howells’s “Editha” and James’s Daisy Miller, then you should have at least two secondary sources that comment on “Editha” and another two that comment on Daisy Miller. Of course, more than four secondary sources is preferred, so you might look for more sources that comment on the works or sources that comment on that time period in America, etc.) ➢ One quote, paraphrase, or summary is not sufficient support—period. If you are interviewing for a job, and you tell the interview committee that you are the best candidate because you are a hard worker…you won’t sell yourself well. You need more than one reason that you are the one. After all, competition is stiff. Likewise, there are many ways to look at the ideas in these works and see a relation to the American identity. And since, I’m generally stubborn, it will be to your advantage, to give me plenty of support for your ideas. ➢ Biographical information should not be included unless it directly relates to the work and the American identity. Please don’t tell me that Dickinson was generally a recluse and resisted her Calvinist background unless you can relate this information to her poems and the American identity. If you can’t relate it, then it doesn’t belong in your essay. ➢ I am always willing to review a student’s rough draft. Please come see me for help or feedback. ➢ If you no longer have the 101/102 grammar text, then I recommend either purchasing (or borrowing from the library) the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or using the OWL website. (The link is available through our Blackboard page.) I will deduct points for essays that are not properly formatted in MLA style (this includes internal citations and the works cited page, too). Formatting errors are unacceptable in a 200-level English class and, in some cases, have resulted in D and F papers, even when the content is acceptable. Formatting is serious not just in college, but in the work place as well. Due Date See the course schedule. *Remember that if you do not submit the research essay, you will automatically fail the class. (See the syllabus.) Pairing Writers and Their Works You are not limited to this list, but this is a starting point, especially if you’re a bit unsure about which authors and their works will pair well. Remember, the authors and their works must come from the syllabus. ➢ Wharton’s “The Other Two” and James’s “Daisy Miller” ➢ Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and Melville’s “Bartleby” ➢ Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” and Howells’s “Editha” ➢ Howells’s “Editha” and James’s Daisy Miller ➢ Hemingway’s “In Another Country” and Howells’s “Editha” ➢ Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass (excerpt read for class), and Stowe’s “The Mother’s Struggle” ➢ Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” ➢ Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Stowe’s “The Mother’s Struggle” ➢ Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River” ➢ Bradstreet’s poems (from the syllabus) and Dickinson’s poems (from the syllabus) ➢ Franklin’s Autobiography and Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” ➢ Franklin’s Autobiography and Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” ➢ Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” ➢ O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River” and Tan’s “Half and Half” ➢ Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (excerpt read for class) and Cather’s O Pioneers (excerpt read for class) Example of the Comparison & Contrast Structure Smith’s The General History of Virginia and Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation Either format is fine, though you will probably have a more coherent argument with the point-by-point structure. What follows is a review of the different ways to structure a comparison & contrast essay. Overall, I am most concerned that you have a solid argument essay that conforms to the guidelines, is well researched, clearly written, and grammatically correct. Point-by-Point -Introductory Paragraph(s) -Idealism (in a few paragraphs discuss how both Bradford and Smith portray the idealistic nature of their journey…their journey is both physical and imagined… show how this is crucial to understanding the American identity) -Bradford -Smith -Opportunity/Adventure (in a few paragraphs discuss the reasons underlying Bradford’s and Smith’s journey…show how this is crucial to understanding the American identity as an individual journey) -Bradford -Smith -Disillusionment and Hope (in a few paragraphs discuss the reality of disillusionment in both cases, and the hope that is portrayed, particularly in Smith’s…show how this is crucial to understanding the American identity as a journey often marked by disillusionment but continually sustained with hope) -Bradford -Smith -Conclusion Block Format -Introductory Paragraph(s) -Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation (a few paragraphs explaining the ideas represented in the work and how those ideas are crucial to the American identity) -Idealism -Opportunity/Adventure -Disillusionment and Hope -Smith’s The General History of Virginia (a few paragraphs explaining the ideas represented in the work and how those ideas are crucial to the American identity) -Idealism -Opportunity/Adventure -Disillusionment and Hope -Tie together paragraph (need a paragraph to tie Bradford and Smith together and reiterate how those ideas are crucial to the American identity.