Research Paper A.P. Literature & Composition
Assignment. Find a topic that derives from something we have studied this year. Choose a major work or an author we have read, a novelist, playwright, or short story writer. Or choose a poem or poet we have studied. Consider literary theories, such as New Criticism, Reader Response, New Historicism, etc. The topic should be suitable for a 5-7 page research paper using a minimum of three legitimate outside sources. Your paper must follow MLA guidelines for manuscript format and citation conventions.
Getting Started. Begin with a *school-sponsored site (e.g. Bloom or Gale Group) or begin with a book. *Your school Librarian, Mrs. Hatcher, will provide an overview of the information resources available as well as instruction on a preliminary works cited page using Noodletools.
The subject should be one that you are interested in. It may be one that you have already thought about (e.g., female characters in Hamlet), or it may be a question you have not yet considered (e.g., How much did Dylan Thomas and Elizabeth Bishop use “closed form” in their poetry?)
Read pages 2179-2184 in your textbook. This will give you an overview of what this kind of paper entails. It also addresses important issues like internet reliability and plagiarism.
