Lord of the Flies Capstone Research Paper (Hale)

Created by Stacy Kitsis, Arlington High School Librarian. Last updated: January 5, 2014.

Note: Before you can use the direct article links below, you may need to first log on to the databases using the passwords you received in class. You can also download passwords from this secure website or email Ms. Kitsis to have them sent to you.

Background Resources

All students should read and take notes on the following:

"Maslow, Abraham." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 11-12. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

Selected Non-Fiction Reference Materials

The following articles have been gathered for you by the librarian. Or, keep reading for advice to find more on your own!

Armenia:

Rwanda:

Holocaust:

Cambodia:

Bosnia:

Darfur:

For Further Research

The library has many print resources relevant to your topics.

Genocide Research Recommended Book List

To find additional online articles, consider the three databases your librarian started with:

- Modern World History Online (Facts on File)
- World history from the mid-15th century to the present, with thousands of subject entries, biographies, images and videos, maps and charts, and primary sources.

World History in Context (Gale)
Hundreds of the most important events, people, and topics in world history.
Encyclopaedia Britannica (Britannica)
Complete encyclopedia articles from Encyclopaedia Britannica and Compton's, Merriam-Webster dictionary and thesaurus, world atlas, and more.

You may also consider the following:

Arlington High School Media Center Catalog
- Books are a great source for historical research and we have many on these topics.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (Gale)
Reference e-books on topics including history, English, science, and more. Search for specific topics, or browse all titles.
General Reference Center Gold (Gale)
General interest database including newspapers, reference books, magazines, etc.

Assignment Description From Class

Background:

Literature holds a mirror up to life and reflects truths that people might otherwise not see. For the last several weeks we’ve looked at Lord of the Flies and seen some truths about how people can fall into savagery, cruelty, and evil, and some of the causes of that. However, it’s when these lessons are applied that we come to a greater understanding of who we are as people.

That’s your task: To find out and discover what Lord of the Flies can teach us about real life atrocities and tragedies.

Procedure:

Over the next few days, we’ll be spending time in the Media Center. While you are there, you will be directed to a pathfinder website that will give you several possible ideas for you to research. You are to choose one of those historical events, and using the sources listed on the pathfinder website (and others with approval) analyze the historical event through the lens of LOTF.

In other words, you will be researching a historical event, and you will attempt to find similarities to characters, events, or motivations as to what we saw in Lord of the Flies. Where do we see people in the real life situation that act like a Jack? Where do we see motivations such as seen in Maslow’s Hierarchy?

Your task will be to read the material, and look for connections and highlight or record them. You will then create a thesis that connects your real life event to the Lord of the Flies, and you will prove that connection exists.

Product:

You will be writing a 2-3 page paper proving and discussing your connection. Your paper should follow the conventions of MLA format in regards to works cited and header and pagination. Each paragraph should be organized around proving a claim and should include evidence from your research and quotations from the text.

Reminder: Always check with your teacher for the latest assignment details and deadlines!

Reading and Taking Notes

As you read and take notes or annotate the articles, consider the following:

Your first step should always be to add the source citation to your works cited page to keep track of it. If you do not use this article, you will need to remove it later. Remembering to "cite before you write" will help you avoid accidental plagiarism.
In MLA format, database articles are cited as follows:
Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Book. Name of Editor. City: Publisher, Year of Publication. Name of Database. Date of Access.
Each article listed in this pathfinder has an MLA citation at the end of it that you can work from.
1. You may find it helpful to print out difficult articles so you can highlight or annotate the evidence you find in the margins.
2. Remember that your goal is not to take notes on the entire article, but rather on the specific evidence that will help you prove your thesis about The Lord of the Flies. Do consider how much background information your reader will need to know in order to make sense of your argument, but don't get bogged down by the details!

Academic Integrity and Citing Sources

As with any research assignment, this paper requires a works cited page listing all the resources you used for information. Yours should include The Lord of the Flies as well as the non-fiction articles you used for evidence.

Tip: Check your formatting against this sample works cited page before you turn yours in.

Remember you can use your school EasyBib account to easily and accurately create your works cited page with perfect formatting! Once you have registered, go to EasyBib.com and log on using your school Spyponders account: click on Login and then Sign in using your account with Google). Then create your new project and start adding sources.

If you enter your sources correctly, EasyBib can help you get a perfect score on formatting your works cited page.

Tip: Databases provide citations at the bottom of each article that can be copied and pasted into your bibliography. Just make sure it is in MLA format. As a bonus, I've already converted the citations in the list on this pathfinder for you.

Additional resources for academic integrity and citation:

Arlington High School Guide to Student Research Projects
- Includes our school-specific criteria for academic integrity, a review of paraphrasing, and more.
Research and Documentation Online
- Detailed explanation of in-text citations and works cited entries in perfect MLA format for a wide variety of sources.

William Golding

"Golding, Sir William." Photograph. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.

Questions, comments, concerns? Email me at skitsis@arlington.k12.ma.us.