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ENGL 2341

Research Paper Prompt

For this essay, you will need to do outside research. You will have both primary – the short story of your choosing – and secondary – outside research – sources in your essay. When you cite a quote or a passage from one of the primary texts, follow it with the author’s last name and page number in parentheses, if applicable; if there are no page numbers, please omit them. All sources must be cited appropriately; anything borrowed, whether it is a quote or paraphrase, needs to be cited. If you are worried about plagiarism, please ask me for help in citing sources (both primary and secondary) correctly.

Remember, these essays will take the form of literary analysis essays. There is a Power Point on literary analysis in Blackboard, and there is a student example of a literary analysis essay on there as well. When writing your essay, be sure to include a discernible introduction with a thesis, well-structured body paragraphs, and a conclusion that wraps up your arguments. Don’t forget the Works Cited page at the end of the essay.

For the outside research, you must use the databases on the Odessa College Library’s website. To access our databases, go to the OC Library; if you are accessing the databases off-campus, a page will pop up with a login and password requirement. In red lettering by the login information are the instructions and examples. You will use your first and last initial plus ID number without the leading zeros for user name, and for password, you will use oc and the last four digits of your social security number.

Essays that receive high grades demonstrate the following:

· sophistication and originality in responding to both the text and our class discussions of and activities about the text; in other words, the degree in which you move beyond summarizing and stating obvious facts about the text;

· a clear and forceful discussion of the significance of your argument and analysis (consider the “so what?” question or why/how does it matter?)

· consideration of the historical context and literary movement(s);

· detail and depth in which you probe the text: especially, connections within the text and between texts;

· effectiveness of incorporating textual quotations into your argument and prose

Length: 3-5 double-spaced pages, 12 point font, 1” margins, MLA style

Topic:

Often in literary works, authors choose a physical object that takes on a special significance in the work and becomes a symbol of something beyond itself. Show how, in one of the works we read for the course, the author uses a symbol to convey a deeper meaning. In your essay, focus on the symbols and what they symbolize. Be sure to discuss how the author uses them to convey a message to readers.

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