Resarch Paper Overview

RESEARCH PAPER.

Dates: Tuesday, January 3 - Monday, February 6

Description: The Essay Will Be Six to Eight Pages. It will be typed and double spaced. The purpose of this paper is to present a reasonable, objective, thoughtful piece of written exposition. Let's start with what a research paper is not. A research paper is not a pastiche. That is the research paper is a piece of your writing, not a typed up and pasted presentation of other people's ideas. It is your job to take responsibility for the ideas in the paper, though certainly, you will be writing on the topic, which will require you to make use of knowledgeable and experienced writers. However, this is your research paper. You are the director; you are the controller. There are two ways to receive a poor grade on this paper. The first way is to write over six to eight pages, a highly generalized piece of synoptic generalization. I can assure you, immediately, that this approach will make me extremely unhappy. I am totally uninterested in the life of Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley, especially written down in such a short telling. Be very careful of pop culture topics. I know they interest you, but since I am grading this paper, please understand that a proper essay, a good one, could not be written, on the love life of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston; such a matter is not what this paper is meant to accomplish. I understand and appreciate that this topic may well interest you; it may seem much more interesting than the Houston flood of 1916. Unfortunate and boring as it may be, however, the resources on the flood or both more practical and more practiced -- more authoritative -- than any written on Jennifer and Brad. Sorry, I know it's a bore, but it's still a fact. (Please understand, I understand; when I was your age I was fascinated by the life of Connie Stevens. I know you never heard of her, but I was fascinated, and as will be the case in Brad’s and Jennifer’s lives, hers has proven of ephemeral interest. That's why people don't write research papers – at least good ones -- on these topics).

The second way to receive a poor grade is to ignore -- in your enthusiasm for your topic -- proofreading and citation regularity. This is also a bore. Why should you care where the period or comma belongs in the citation? You may well not, and, frankly, I don't much care myself. However, it is my job, as your English teacher, to regard such matters seriously. So, for this one month, I will do so. You can save yourself a couple of hours of tedious labor, by ignoring these matters. Your grade, however, will suffer significantly, if you do. In fact, if you ignore these matters, you're otherwise low A or high B paper might well end up with a D were even an F. Seems unfair and unkind doesn't it? Well, it is. But, if you learn this here and now, you won't need to worry about it in college, where many of your peers will be struggling to learn the art of research and writing the research paper on Saturday afternoon when they should be turning their attention to what's really important in life -- football. Please excuse this tone. I'm trying to have a little fun with what is, actually, a moderately serious academic issue.

One comment about plagiary should be made. For many English teachers, this fault -- for English teachers this fault is commensurate with a mortal sin, in the Catholic church -- is the most grievous within their discipline. Since I'm naïve, I tend to believe most plagiarism is unconscious. However, conscious or not, plagiarism is a moral fault. It is stealing. And I will take it to Ms. Schiro. The way to protect yourself is twofold. First, the appropriate procedure is called CYA (or cover your backside). In other words, any thing, that perhaps, should be cited -- either directly with quotation marks or indirectly with the page number -- should be cited. Second, keep every piece of paper, note card, and ink splotch -- anything -- that will help prove, should the question come up, that you did all of what your work yourself. Keep all of your materials in an envelope you’re your name, telephone, and topic written on the outside in clear and demonstrable script. Plagiary is very serious business. Hundreds or even thousands of young people are kicked out of colleges every year for committing it, and Joe Biden's (senior senator from Delaware) desire to be President of the United States will probably be thwarted -- in large part -- because he is a proven plagiarist. The dangers of this fault are multiplied by the presence of the Internet.

The essay will be six to eight pages double spaced as noted above. Please follow explicitly the MLA format – for instance which does not call for a title page – and know that both note taking and final presentation should be developed and presented under this auspices, and done so with both care and precision. Essay should include a minimum of six sources (for some topics, clearly more), of which no more than two should be Internet sources, and at least 15 notes -- both reference citations and direct quotations -- (clearly, again, for some topics the number may be double).

One final warning should be given. The research paper itself is worth 200 points. That is quite a load. The preparation for the research paper, though, is worth 120 points. So, complete the work; complete it thoroughly; and complete it on time. If you do not, I may well get in touch with your parents. I do not want them to be unhappy when your English teacher gives you a combined grade of 165/300. This is a pretty horrible grade. What's interesting about the grade, though, is that you could receive exactly this grade -- this total grade -- on a pretty good paper, a high B paper, if you ignored the preliminary work. Think about it. So, here's your schedule.

I Wednesday, January 4 (10 points). Select Your Topic -- have written down the name of the topic you are choosing. You may have as many as three, but they must all be written down. [William Wordsworth's first meeting with his sister Dorothy, during their adult years.]

II Friday, January 6 (10 points). “This is a paper about . . . statement” [This is a paper about William and Dorothy Wordsworth's first adult meeting after years of separation].

III Monday, January 9 (10 Points). Tentative Thesis Statement -- should be concrete, specific, focus, and interesting. [“While both brother and sister anticipated their encounter, this scene itself reflected their somewhat dissimilar natures: William, more reserved, was restrained and halting while Dorothy, more effervescent, engaged the experience more enthusiastically.”]

IV Wednesday, January 11 (10 points).

Tentative Rough outline

[I Intro: Why We Should Care about William Wordsworth's Life?

II The Death of the Wordsworth Parents

III An Overview Of the Wordsworth Children

IV Dorothy's life

V William's life

VI The Meeting

A from his perspective

B from her perspective

VII Their Life Together

VIII Conclusion: the Limits of Biography]

V Friday, January 13 (10 points)

Write the tentative introduction: [“ The two most famous Wordsworths, William and Dorothy, born about a year-and-a- half apart – he in April of 1770 and she on Christmas day of 1771 – the most famous brother and sister couple in the annals of literature -- led long and fruitful lives until his death in1850 and her five years later. But why should we care about the births, deaths, and lives of these two English people between 150 and a 200 years ago? Yes, he may have been a famous poet of an age long ago and she his sometime companion and famous writer in her own right, but, honestly, what have these two people to do with us and even with our view of the function and importance of literature? Even more to the point, what is their to be said about the meeting of the two after a separation of several years, an event which is even now shrouded in ambiguity? Their connected but disparate natures offer a key to the significance of the question as well some fascinating general insights. While both brother and sister anticipated their encounter, this scene itself reflected their somewhat dissimilar natures: William, and more reserved, was restrained and halting while Dorothy, more effervescent, engaged the experience more enthusiastically.”]

VI Wednesday, January 15 (10 points)

Two Source Cards (Bibliography) + Five Note Cards (General Information, Précis, Direct Quotation)