tructions—RESEARCH ESSAY:
Selecting a playwright (Susan Glaspell or Henrik Ibsen) or a topic (family dynamics or gender bias), research information to illuminate an analysis of a play from the assigned reading. The focus will be on an analysis of the literary work, with the researched information as supporting material. Researched information will be informational (facts, definitions and data), biographical (dealing with the life of the playwright), or critical (what someone else wrote about the playwright or his or her literary works).
Research information at a library or on the Internet. Limit outside information to material you can easily manipulate into a three- to five-page essay (an article rather than a book-length study). Use at least three outside sources. CITE EACH SOURCE IN THE WORKS CITED. Visit the Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab for an overview of citation rules for the Works Cited page at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/.
Formulate a thesis, being as specific as possible to guide your development. The questions are there to stimulate your exploration of the topic. DO NOT ANSWER THE QUESTIONS LISTED IN THE TOPIC DIRECTLY IN YOUR ESSAY OR USE THE QUESTIONS AS A STRUCTURE FOR YOUR ESSAY!
Develop your ideas by carefully explaining each point and by supporting your ideas with specific information and quotes from the literary works AND researched material. Develop your ideas by looking very carefully at the specific details, word choices, and images of the literary works. Cite your quotations parenthetically (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/). Properly introduce information from other sources by describing who is speaking, what their authority is, and why or how it relates to your topic or assertion. Integrate quotes smoothly into your writing to avoid “dumped quotes.”
Write the essay, focusing on the play, and include a complete Bibliography page that lists all the texts you consulted for information to be used in the essay (even if you did not quote directly from the text).
Paper format: All final drafts of papers should be typed, double-spaced, 800 – 1200 words. I recommend that the final draft include your name, your instructor’s name, the course number, and the date on the top left of the first page, as specified in the MLA guidelines. The title of the paper should be centered just below the identifying information. The format of the paper should otherwise follow the MLA guidelines or the APA guidelines (whichever you choose depending upon your major of study)