RESEARCH PAPER INSTRUCTIONS
You will complete the following assignment TYPED, double-spaced, with 1″ margins and no
larger than 12-point font using MLA document and citation format.
You will do a research paper on finding 3 or 4 symptoms of paranoia from 3-5 sources. Explain how Montresor exhibits these symptoms. Explain how Montresor exhibits these symptons.
Story: The Cask of Amontillado
Short story by Edgar Allan Poe
1. a. You will find a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 sources about the major issue
related to the piece mentioned in the topic. The sources will be about the issue, not about
the story. The quality, relevance and variety of your sources will be a major aspect of
your grade for the assignment. At least one source should be a peer-reviewed journal
article.
b. You will type a 5-6 page explanation of how the information you gained in the
sources you have read has helped your understanding of the story or poem. You will
have 5 or more paragraphs: for example, an introduction, a paragraph or more for each
source relating that source to the story, and a conclusion. You will have one or two
relatively brief quotes or paraphrases from the sources in each body paragraph(s), and
you will give credit using in-text citations. (In a paper of this length, I do NOT want any
paragraph-long quotations.) You will use at least two quotes or paraphrases or pieces
of data from each of the sources (preferably more). The quality of your writing
including grammar and organization, the quality of your ideas including detail and
development, the appropriateness of the ideas or quotations you have chosen to provide
from each source, and the correctness of your use of quotations/paraphrases will be a
major part of your grade for the assignment.
2. You will do the in-text citations/signal phrases in correct MLA format. This will be a
significant part of the assignment grade.
3. You will include a works cited page (bibliography) at the end of the essay listing the
sources you used and the story you are discussing. This will be in MLA format. This
will be a significant part of the assignment grade.
4. The document itself will be formatted according to MLA guidelines with appropriate
headings, page numbering, line spacing, and margins. This will be a significant part of
the assignment grade.
5. You will also turn in a separate assignment (not part of the essay or works cited page)
which will be an outline/plan for the essay which will include hyperlinks of the sources
you used. (If you do not include links, I might assume plagiarism and lower the
paper grade accordingly.)
Note: You are expected to find 3-5 sources about the issue mentioned in the topic that you
choose. You will write an essay synthesizing what you learned in these sources and
applying this knowledge to the story. THE SOURCES YOU FIND WILL BE ABOUT
THE ISSUE NOT THE STORY.