Interpreter of maladies mla citation

Annotated Bibliography

Research Paper Assignment

Requirements

Paper Topic Selection Due: 4/16

Annotated Bibliographies: 4/18

Rough Draft Due: 4/23

Final Draft Due: 5/7

Works Cited Page

3 - 4 peer-reviewed secondary sources (At least one source must take a stance that disagrees with your stance)

Proper MLA Formatting and citation

Only 3rd person; NO 1st or 2nd person

Times New Roman, 12 pt., Double-Spaced

6 – 8 Full Pages

Only two blocked quotes are allowed for this essay. No more than 4 – 8 lines

For this paper, students will craft a thesis-driven research paper using either Oedipus Rex, one short story we have read, or two poems from the Norton textbook that students have not written about before. The thesis for this paper may center on any aspect of the human experience, including but not limited to the themes we’ve explored so far in all of the works we have read: culture, morality, psychology, prejudice, society, love, family and relationships.

Basically, students are tasked with crafting a paper revolving around the theme of what it means to be human.

Some Examples to Help with Formulating a Thesis:

Examining issues of race and culture using James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues“ or Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” ;

Death in Emily Dickinson’s poems or love and lust in Browning’s or Shakespeare’s poetry.

Examining the theme of free will vs. destiny in Oedipus Rex.

Tips:

Think about the texts from the course that you liked - It helps if you can either make them current or connect them to a common problem facing today’s world

It may help to pick a which theme concerning the human experience you want to center on first or pick your literature first, depending on what you would like to do with the paper.

Remember to keep your paper focused on a clear thesis

The resources available (like the Writing Center, Me, or library resources) can help you with MLA formatting or crafting a thesis.

Outside sources can be a source of inspiration for you; just make sure you don’t rely too heavily on outside sources for all of your ideas

Tips to help you picking secondary sources:

Decide the topic of your paper and formulate your thesis first. Then research your secondary sources according to the themes concerning the literary texts you use and the arguments you are going to make.

Do not limit yourself to sources that only discuss the text. Remember, the texts we’ve read have dealt with issues regarding relationships, culture, racism, sexism, death, love, loneliness, and many more. Think outside of the box.

Be selective. Just like you choose your friends wisely, choose your sources wisely. Choose sources that engage within the conversation.

Start your research early. Give yourself enough time to decide if you want to use an article or not. Peer-reviewed sources are oftentimes dense and long. You may choose something at first that sounds like it would be a good fit, but once you read through the whole document, you may find that it is not very helpful to your argument.

Incorporate a little variety. Choose a source that plays devil’s advocate, or that may both agree and disagree with your stance on an issue. Or maybe a source that helps us to look at the problem in a different way. When you are conversing with your peers on, say, whether uniforms should be required in school or not, you might be opposed to it because it takes away from individuality, another friend might agree because it helps to eliminate peer pressure to be “cool,” and another friend might agree with you, but also because uniforms are too expensive, and still another friend might agree with you just because it takes away from individuality. Still, one friend might say that they see your point, but think that uniforms are only permissible in certain situations – such as in private schools. Variety is the spice of life, and it’s true for papers as well.