UPDATE POSTED WED. APRIL 18TH - 9:57 AM
Incorporated Schedule for Remainder of the Term
Week #14
Thurs. April 19
“The Modern Theater - Realism and Naturalism” (1677-1679); [1806-1808]
A Doll’s House – Ibsen – Act I – ALL (1679-1702); [1809-1832]
Week #15
Tues. April 24
In-Class Conferences on Research Papers – Meet me in ATC 300 (Writing Center)
Draft Research Paper Due in Class (3-5 pages minimum—Please bring two copies)
Thurs. April 26
“Gender Criticism,” “Towards a Feminist Poetics,” (2204-2205); [2232-2233]
A Doll’s House – Ibsen – Act II – ALL (1702-1718); [1832-1849]
Reflection Paper #9 due in class
Week #16
Tues. May 1
A Doll’s House – Ibsen – Act III – ALL (1718-1735); [1849-1866]
Reflection Paper #10 due in class
Final Outline of Research Paper Due in Class Today!
Thurs. May 3
Discussion of Papers – Bring Refreshments, if you like.
FINAL RESEARCH PAPER DUE TODAY! (5 to 7 pages)
Final Research Paper Instructions
1. Print out a copy of the completed Research Paper
2. Submit the same Research Paper to Turnitin.com. Please do not submit the Bibliography as this will trigger the “copied” mechanism in the system and distort your results. Please be sure it is the same paper—a few people submitted slightly different versions last time. If this happens with the term papers, I will grade the online version, since there will not be time for a resubmission.
3. Attach the two (2) peer edits to the hard copy of the Research Paper
4. Attach your final Annotated Bibliography to the Research Paper
Final Reminder: Please keep in mind that your paper should discuss Hamlet in light of your new research/self-study. This is not a “report” on an outside topic, but a “lens” that you will use to discuss your new understanding of events in Hamlet or the writing of Hamlet. Hamlet is your “Primary Source” and should be included in the Bibliography as such. Your other sources are “Secondary Sources.” PLEASE ask if you have questions!
You’ve all worked very hard this term—I KNOW that! I have seen clear improvements and I will take this into consideration with grades. (Believe me--it will also pay off in future classes.) I wish you all the best in your studies and future careers!
Enjoy your summer—it’s almost here!
RESEARCH PROJECT
Composition and Literature II
EN102-O
Project Overview
For a variety of reasons, students sometimes develop the misperception that each academic discipline is isolated from the others. This research assignment is an attempt to correct this misconception. Although your research project will be inspired by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it will also extend into the larger world of inter-disciplinary study. Since we have already examined different Theories of Literary Criticism (Biographical, Historical, Cultural, etc.) you already have some idea of the variety of “lenses” through which literature can be interpreted. You will now have the opportunity to do your own independent study, i.e., library research, into a particular topic which will help illuminate Shakespeare’s work. In other words, you will be contextualizing Hamlet within a particular time period, social context, literary context, etc. in which it was written. Through your chosen focus you will “re-see” the play itself and the events within it, speculating and hypothesizing from your chosen perspective about the play itself.
Keep in mind that these speculations are NOT random, but carefully and thoughtfully constructed by connecting specific details from your independent reading with very specific evidence from the play. You must make credible guesses supported with evidence, not unsupported guesses. So, which literary approach will you choose?
Beginning Your Project
The first step will be for you to do some preliminary research and reading to determine what kinds of information is out there. Do not delay this or other parts of the project, since you will quickly find yourself further and further behind. The second step will be for you to write a one-paragraph “proposal” which must be approved before you proceed and which must be different from the other topics in the class Once someone has had a topic approved, that topic is taken and you will be asked to select another topic, even if it means writing a second proposal. (See “Writing a Proposal”)
Process
Because process is every bit as important as product, you will be asked to use the process approach in researching and writing. We will follow a formalized research process designed to help you explore and learn about your topic, as well as keep you on track. Process steps will be turned in, commented, and checked off, but not graded until they are submitted in their final form with the final research paper. Process steps will count toward a significant portion of the final paper grade
Furthermore, be sure to budget your time, keeping in mind that you will also be reading, analyzing and writing about our two final plays during your research. It is essential that you to stay on track with the process assignments and that you contact me immediately if you become confused, reach a glitch in your research, or for any other reason need a conference. However, do not come to me at the last minute and say you are lost or are having trouble!
Finally, you should also keep in mind the importance of this project to your grade—it is worth 25 percent of the total grade for the term. Do not by any means fail to complete this project since the impact on your grade would be disastrous.
NOTE: The following is an abbreviated schedule of research paper deadlines. Please see your syllabus for a complete listing of all assignments and due dates for the remainder of the term..
Research Project Deadlines
Thurs. March 29 – Meet at campus library during regular class time for a tour and discussion of acceptable research sources.
Tues. April 3 – Research Paper Topic Proposal, including Research Question – due in class (see handout)
Tues. April 17 - Preliminary Annotated Bibliography Due in class today (see handout)
Tues. April 24 – In-Class Conferences on Research papers to be held in ATC 300 by appointment ONLY. Conferences tentatively scheduled from 9:30 am until 1 pm - Draft Research Paper Due in Class (3-5 pages min.)
You will also be doing (2) Peer Reviews which you will need to arrange on your own either in class or via internet. Due with final research paper. On May 3.
Tues. May 1 –Final Outline of Research Paper Due in Class Today
Thurs. May 3 - FINAL RESEARCH PAPER DUE TODAY! (5 to 7 pages)
Final Paper
Remember--Full Credit on the Final Research will be dependent upon the quality and promptness with which you complete of the Process Steps as well as the quality of the final product. A rubric for assessment will be passed out next week.
NOTE: Many of the questions that arise during your research are answered in your Bedford Handbooks. Of particular interest:
The Bedford Handbook Part X
“Researched Writing” (527)
“Writing MLA Papers” (586)
“Writing About Literature (667)
Library Research
Sources
One of the most important parts of research is selection of sources. We will spend some class time in the library this Thursday discussing sources, but the possibilities are too endless to cover it all. If you have any questions that are not covered in class, please check with me or a librarian! Remember, part of the purpose of this project is to understand how to select good (“credible”) sources that will be acceptable for college level work.
Required Sources
Your research project asks that you have the following distribution of sources for your final Works Cited list. Naturally, you will search, skim, read and even rule out many other sources before choosing the best ones for your paper.
(2) Database Journal Articles (NOT magazines!) – each article must be a minimum of 5+ pages long with a maximum of 15 pages. If you really can’t find anything within this range, you may use something slightly longer, but NOT shorter.
(2) Book Sources – You do not need to read an entire book, but you should read at least a chapter. If the book includes less than a chapter, you must locate another book. Do NOT use Encyclopedias as your book sources.
(1) Web Source – From reputable sites only! Use only official college/university sites; professional societies; professional organizations, etc. Beware of personal sites which are often NOT published by reliable sources and will NOT count for this category.
Library Visit – become familiar with the library and available databases. Research and read a little about two or three different topics that interest you. You should spend about half of your time just browsing different research ideas. Do not choose an article hastily—be discriminating. For this project, articles must be at least 5 to 10 pages in length (although longer will be accepted—just remember that you will be asked to READ these articles).
Beginning Search Terms – Please note that these are search terms for your research—they are not topics! It is your job to find a specific researchable topic. Your actual topic will narrow down the area of research. Remember that the time period for your research is restricted to The English Renaissance (approximately 1485-1603). The following terms should be enough to get you started, but feel free to come up with other combinations.
Globe Theatre of London
The Renaissance and Supernatural
The English Renaissance and ______
The Renaissance and Nature
The Renaissance and Science
William Shakespeare
UR Hamlet
Renaissance Writers
Renaissance Medicine
12th Century Denmark
12th Century Danish Royalty
Evaluating Initial Sources
Your first task is to perform a preliminary search in the library. Following our trip to the campus library on Thursday, you should be well prepared. If you still, have questions—ask!
Evaluating Sources
First of all, it is essential that you use only “credible” sources. Remember, particularly when taking sources from the web that anyone can post information or create a website, even if they have little or no real knowledge of the subject they are writing about. In fact, most of what comes up on your standard search engine is not acceptable as an academic source. This is why part of your task is to sift out “the reliable” sources from the unreliable ones.
There are four main areas you want to consider in evaluating sources:
1. Accuracy – Be aware that some sources have biases. For example, an article written by a cigarette company on the health benefits of smoking!
2. Credibility – What are the author’s credentials? The most respected academic journals are “peer reviewed.” Sticking with these journals rather than Newsweek will assure credibility. Of course, you will need to do your own evaluating for book and internet sources.
3. Timeliness – Some information can “go stale.” If you are trying to compare Renaissance codes of honor with contemporary ones, you would want to make sure some of your articles had been written in the last few years—not in the 1950’s!
4. Sources of the sources – Look at the bibliographies of your sources. This will tell you where the author located information for the article. If all of this information is outdated, biased or from questionable authors, this is cause for concern.
Please see the following Purdue University Online Writing Lab web pages for more details on Source Evaluation (all available from one link):
• “Evaluating a Bibliographic Citation”
• “Evaluating content in the source”
• “Evaluating internet sources”
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_evalsource.html
Source Selection
Please do not settle for the first article you come across—give this step ample consideration. You want articles that discuss your topic in detail and you want a topic that you can live with, i.e., that you will be able to connect with some aspect of Hamlet and not find too tedious to think about! It will also make it easier for you to write a good paper!
Keep in mind that your articles need to be from 5-10 pages long at a minimum. Longer articles are fine, but be sure they are focused and remember that you will have to read them and quote from them in your paper.
Finally, remember that you will be including articles on your Annotated Bibliography that will not be cited in your paper—so you will actually have more than five entries on the Annotated Bibliography and at least five on the Works Cited.
Project Proposal Assignment
After you have had a chance to skim/read 3-4 articles, you will begin to get an idea of the things that are being written about in your area of interest. The articles that you select for to help you write your proposal should help you to formulate a research topic. First, decide upon a “Research Question” that you would like to answer through your research. In other words, what might you like to know more about to help you understand Hamlet? You will then frame this question within a paragraph-long discussion elaborating on the types of ideas you have already read about and why you feel your question would deepen your understanding of Hamlet.
This “Proposal” should be submitted to me No Later Than (NLT) April 3rd in class and I will respond to your topic before the weekend. Please keep in mind that my intention is NOT to censure your research, but to help you focus it enough to avoid spending time on a topic that is either too narrow or too broad (which ultimately results in a weak paper). Consequently, I may respond to your proposal with a few suggestions to refine your focus or to adjust it to better complement our reading of Shakespeare. Finally, will be no duplication of topics; therefore, the first person who selects a topic and writes a clear proposal will get to write about that topic.
NOTE: This assignment can be handed passed in on April 3rd, or emailed to me before then at bdalotto@mountida.edu. Please be sure to send your email return receipt!
Annotated Bibliography
Your Annotated Bibliography will include all of the readings you have consulted in writing your paper, including those you actually cite. What makes this an “annotated” version is simply your 1 to 3 sentence explanation of why used this particular publication. (Annotations area sometimes a paragraph long—see sample—but you are only being asked for 1 to 3 sentences.) You will not need to hand in a list of Works Cited—there’s no point to duplicating.
In your annotation, you should explain WHY you consulted this particular source and WHAT its particular content added to your understanding in writing the paper. In other words, why not another article on the same thing and how did it enrich your interpretation of Hamlet.
Please consult your Bedford Handbook or the OWL website for further information on how to document specific publications in MLA format. The OWL site you need is:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the appropriate links.
Preliminary Annotated Bibliography
Due on April 17th
Final Annotated Bibliography
Due with hard copy of paper on May 3rd – DO NOT SUBMIT this to Turnitin.com!
Sample Annotated Bibliography
Albada, Kelly F. “The Public and Private Dialogue about the American Family.” Journal of Communication 50.4 (2003): 79-110. This article was very useful in making a comparison between family life in contemporary society with that of Shakespeare’s day. It became particularly helpful in understanding why Hamlet’s mother would discourage him from returning to school in Wittenberg.
Fukuyama, Francis. Our Posthuman Future—A Serious Look at Life in the 21st Century. New York: Harcourt, 2002. Reading this book completely explained aspects of the modern family that I had never before considered. Fukuyama examines family life not just in his native culture, but in multiple cultures around the world, including Denmark.
MLA Outline Format
You have a choice of using either a Topic Outline (uses only short phrases throughout) OR a Sentence Outline (uses complete sentences throughout). Use whatever works best for you.
The following is a sample of acceptable MLA outline format:
I.
A.
1.
a.
(1)
(a)
(b)
(2)
b.
2.
B.
II. A., etc.
Please note that I am only asking for detail through the third level. However, you may include more detail if you find this helpful.
Outline
Final due on May 1st
Draft Research Paper
Due on April 24th
What to Hand in on May 3rd
Final Research Paper – submit to Turnitin.com AND attach hard copy to the following:
Final Annotated Bibliography
Two Peer Review Sheets with comments
NOTE: Although you will be turning in a hard copy of your final research paper on May 3rd, grades will only be given following submission to Turnitin.com. You will receive a receipt from Turnitin.com, so you will know whether or not the paper was received and you must retain this as proof of submission. If you would like me to send return your graded research report, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your final paper on May 3rd.
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