Literary Research Paper

There are several objectives to this assignment

1. To practice with MLA formatting.

2. To practice how to insert primary and secondary sources into your writing.

3. To practice writing a coherent and detailed body paragraph that follows MEAL.

4. To practice evaluating sources to see if they are credible sources.

Here are the dates:

5/5 Introduction due to turnitin.com

5/14 Outline due

6/2 Final paper w/ Works Cited page due to turnitin.com, as well as a hard copy for class. If you want 10 extra points, hand it in by Friday, 5/31.

Your research paper should be framed as the answer to a question. You use the primary source (Romeo and Juliet) and the secondary source/s (academic articles) to answer the question.

1. How are Romeo and Juliet textbook examples of Erik Erikson's theory of adolescent inner conflict?

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=gjcp

Here is another secondary source.

2. How does death evolve from a motif to almost a character in the play?

Go to fofweb.com for:

Death in Romeo and Juliet

From: Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature, 3-Volume Set

By: Anthony Perrello

Published: 2010 [Last updated: 2017]

Record Type: Encyclopedia Entry

3. How do societal pressures lead Romeo and Juliet to their premature deaths?

Here is a secondary source.

4. How does Romeo and Juliet reflect Shakespeare's views on the Catholic Church?

Your introduction should follow the format we have learned:

1. Introduce the general topic, e.g. societal pressures. You can use an anecdote, a statistic, or a quote for this.

2. Explain the statistic or quote.

3. Introduce the literature.

4. Connect the quote to the literature.

5. Thesis/ road map

There should be no mention of the secondary sources in your introduction. Save that for your body paragraphs.