Comp II: English 1302

Research Paper Assignment

Comp II: English 1302

Summer II 2020

Topic: Choose any author , playwright or poet , living or dead, who you are familiar with, that you discover in your textbook, or that you have always wanted to know more about. Helpful Hint: Get my verbal approval before continuing with your topic proposal.

Topic Approval: Submit a question about the author, his/her work or style that intrigues you or that you find interesting. If you cannot explain why you find the question intriguing or interesting, or if you know the answer, then you need to find another question or perhaps another subject. This assignment is not a summary of the author’s life. Possible topics might include examination of the author’s style and/or genre as well as the innovations, techniques, or characteristics of his/her writing.

Discussion Board-Topic Proposals Sunday, 7/19/20 by 10 pm (For more details, see Lesson 3)

Your final topic proposal should include the following:

1. Your working title

2. The work(s) you will examine

3. Your provisional thesis

4. An outline of the approach and argument that you think you will use in your paper.

The Research Paper: Your paper should focus on the approved author of your choice. You may focus the paper on the author’s work, structures, themes, style, or another approved element. (See Lesson 12 for more detail)

The paper should contain four sections:

· You author’s biography and background;

· A summary of your author’s style and significant techniques;

· A discussion of at least one major work by your author;

· A summary of your author’s contributions to literary history.

In addition to containing an astute and interesting new insight about your author’s work, your paper must comply with the current edition of the MLA Style Manual . You are responsible for proofreading your paper for content, documentation, and grammar.

Your final paper should be submitted to BOTH the Essay Assignment link in Blackboard AND to Turnitin.com on the due date of SUNDAY, 8/6/20 by 10 pm including the following items:

1. 5-9 page text

2. Works Cited page

Works Cited Page: For your research paper, you should compile a Works Cited Page of at least 10 primary and secondary sources. 4-5 of these should be usable for your final copy. Your complete Discussion Board-Works Cited Page is due to the Discussion Board on Sunday, 7/26/20 by 10 pm. (See Lesson 8 for more detail.)

You should use the TCC databases to compile your Works Cited page. .Com and .Net websites ARE NOT VALID academic sources and CANNOT be used as sources. Again, your sources must come from the TCC Databases and be scholarly, academic sources. You are NOT allowed to use Wikipedia, Sparknotes, etc. These websites are not academic sources.

Final Grade: The Research Paper will count 30% of your final course grade.

*Your final draft of this paper should be typed, double-spaced in font no larger than 12 point. Your paper should include a heading that includes your name, class, time and title. Follow standard MLA formatting conventions and adhere to formal academic standards for language (no first or second person).

**Your final draft must be submitted to Turnitin.com; otherwise, you will not earn credit for this assignment.  Once you submit your final draft to Turnitin.com, you may not make any changes; therefore, you should not submit your final draft to Turnitin.com until you have made all necessary revisions.