Research

Task 6a.  Listserv Subscriptions

Before going any further, please subscribe to the research listserv.   Your message should look like this:

Back to research....

You have a choice of kinds of papers to write in this unit.  When they're polished, I will be posting them on this website as resources for future students taking this course.

You have 3 choices of kinds of paper:

• Choice 1:  You will choose one of the essays you have written and incorporate literary research in it.
  
• Choice 2:  You will choose an author we've read in this class and read at least two more works by that same author (one work for Shakespeare).  Then you'll write a paper describing the things that are characteristic of that author's writing.  (For example, does this author always write about the same theme, the same characters, the same setting?  Does s/he generally use a first person narrator or an unreliable narrator?)
  
• Choice 3:  You may do a more traditional research paper on a topic related in some way to the literature we've read.  You may write about the time period or place in which one of the pieces of literature took place, or a topic related to something we've read or to one of the authors.  For example, you might want to write about the incidence and consequences of wives killing their husbands,  Southern social codes, the question of Shakespeare's true identity; the use of men in female roles in Shakespeare's plays; the sources for Shakespeare's play, Hamlet ; the brilliance of his version;  and many other things that may occur to you.

Consider carefully which one you think you'd like to do.  You may wish to do a little preliminary research to find out what kind of information is available.  Check the list of topics that others have already submitted to make sure that you are not duplicating anyone's work.

Task 6b.  Topic Posting

Now write a description of the topic you'd like to research and write about.   Explain the following things:

• What is the topic you're considering?

• Why does it interest you?

• What do you know about it already?

• List 3 questions you would like to answer in the course of your research?

Now post it on the Discussion Forum, "6b - Research Topic."  Please respond to the postings of at least two other students.  Wait until I've commented on it before proceeding.  

Now follow the directions for writing the paper of your choice:

• Choice 1 Research

• Choice 2 Research

• Choice 3 Research

Task 6d.  Draft Essay

Now post a draft of your paper on the forum, "6d/f - Research."  

Task 6e.  Posting Comments

Now read some of the research essays that your classmates have posted.  Post comments on at least two of them, commenting on what was interesting and what you'd like to learn more about.  Be as specific as possible.

Task 6f.  Polished Essay

When  I have posted our comments on your paper, please revise it and polish it.  Then post your final on the discussion forum.