We are writing a research essay about a play, short story, film, television show, video game or poem using at least one of the theories of fantasy and/or science fiction that we are studying in class this term (Stephen R. Donaldson’s Epic Fantasy in the Modern World, J.R. Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories,” Kathryn Hume’s Fantasy and Mimesis, or Gary Wolfe’s The Known and the Unknown). The topic of the research essay must be the same topic as our topic for our annotated bibliography and our prospectus. We cannot change our topic.
The essay must be at least 2000-2500 words and have at least a six item “Works Cited” list. All works listed in the Works Cited list must be mentioned by name in the essay. All works mentioned in the essay must be listed alphabetically by the author’s last name in the Works Cited list. The Works Cited list should include the theorist/s we are using as well as the primary creative work we are studying and any other secondary sources we mention in the essay.
We must use the current MLA style and document all sources correctly.
Our essay must contain at least six sources (the play, short story, film, television show, video game or poem that we are analyzing and at least five other secondary sources. These sources must consist of at least two critical responses to the work under discussion and at least one of the theoretical essays we have studied this term (J. R. Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories,” Stephen R. Donaldson’s Epic Fantasy in the Modern World, Kathryn Hume’s Fantasy and Mimesis, or Gary Wolf’s The Known and the Unknown). Other sources may be any other acceptable scholarly work (i.e. the Oxford English Dictionary, any dictionaries of literary terms, biographies, or articles in academic journals, books of literary criticism or history, etc.). The minimum research requirement is six sources. All secondary sources other than the texts we have studied in class must be found through the library databases. We must not just Google and call the process research.
We cannot use Spark Notes, Cliffnotes, general encyclopedias (online or text versions), eNotes, personal blogs, or Master Plots.