Research Paper #2
The second research paper in the course must be a literary analysis of the topics covered in modules 5-7: Poetry or Drama.
The student should select one of the poems we have read in the course or Susan Glaspell’s Trifles as the topic of this essay.
Like the first research paper, this essay must be an argument-based paper. That argument should be centered on the literature and one of the schools of literary criticism presented earlier. The paper requires that the student create the thesis for the paper and use peer-reviewed sources found in the Ocean County College Library to support the thesis.
The required parameters of the papers are:
- Required Elements: Topic sentence, thesis statement, title, academic peer-reviewed sources, and formal language.
- Length: 1,500 words
- Academic Style: Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
- Required Sources: No less than 3 peer-reviewed secondary sources and a primary source; each source can be used up to three times
- Paper Topic: The paper MUST be an analysis of the literature read in this course.
- Paper History: The research paper submitted must be original work by the student-created for this course.
- Genre: Poetry or Drama (must be from the course readings)
Tips for Drafting your Paper
Your research paper’s thesis statement is the most important task for you. The thesis should be created as earlier as possible as the rest of your paper revolves around it. The first task to complete is to draft a usable thesis.
For the paper, your thesis statement should be an argument that is based on one of the schools of literary criticism. A clear method for considering this is to think of the thesis as the result of combining the reading you find most interesting with the school of literary criticism that appeals to you. As you read the three short stories take notes on what in the story is interesting to you. This will help you find the thesis you want to work with quickly.
Submit the final polished draft of this paper as a .doc or .docx file.