Course Research

Instructions

First, choose a primary text on which you intend to focus. Anything in the Textbook is fair game! 

THINK: What interests you? What text has stayed with you throughout the course? What text jumped out at you as we have been reading? What do you tend to focus on as you are reading? Is there a question (or questions) that keep coming up to you?

Section Requirements

1. Summary - 500 words (minimum)

   • Summarize chosen primary text (should be one from the Textbook)

     • No thesis required, but summary should follow conventions of effective writing and the course Writing Expectations

     • Outcomes: 1) demonstrate knowledge of chosen text and 2) get summary out of your system as, after this point, it will no longer be needed

2. Reading Lens - 200 words (minimum)

   • Select one reading lens (we discussed these in the How to Read activity). It may not be Plot lens - you have already summarized!). Your reading lens should be one of the following: 

• • • Character motivation - why a character did what they did

    • Character relationships - how the characters relate to and interact with each other

    • Societal influence - the values or mores (religious, political, etc.) that influenced the text and/or what the text can tell us about the society in which it was written

    • Societal connections - comparing and contrasting the society of the text with other societies (contemporary or otherwise)

    • Historical significance - the environment (religious, political, artistic, quotidian, etc.) in which the text was written and its effects and/or what the text can tell us about this environment

    • Author intent - what the writer intended

    • Reader response - what the reader can take from the text (whether or not this is the same as author intent)

    • Allegorical possibilities - the symbolic or metaphoric meanings

    • Moral - the message of the text

    • Textual connections - how the text connects to other readings

  • Explain your chosen reading lens. Expand on the description given above, defining what your reading lens is.

    • Why might we use this lens to look at a piece of literature?

    • What will using this lens to read a piece of literature help us understand?

  • Outcomes: 1) demonstrate knowledge of chosen reading lens and 2) prepare to apply your reading lens to your primary text in the next step

3. Course Research Thesis and Argument - 2000 words (minimum)

   • Identify and define one significant argument/thesis concerning your chosen primary text based upon your reading through this lens

   • Thesis required: thesis will be a sentence identifying the significant point and providing context for it

   • Defend your argument/thesis

   • Use a minimum of three credible, academic sources to support your defense

     • RESEARCH: Going to the library and/or using a research database (I suggest MLA or JSTOR), find at least three credible, academic sources to help you formulate or support your ideas. These sources might be ones with which you disagree – that can help you formulate your ideas too!

     • Sources should be credible (thus, typically from a respected journal or book)

     • Sources cannot be web sites (they can be sources found in electronic databases)

     • Your textbook is not included in the number of required sources

     • Direct engagement (quotations) from your research and the textbook is required

   • Should follow conventions of effective writing and the course Writing Expectations

   • Outcomes: 1) provide evidence to support why your idea is significant; 2) identify the credibility and usefulness of sources; 3) use sources effectively without letting them overwhelm your own ideas; and 4) demonstrate correct MLA citation style

4. Research Style - 500 words (minimum)

   • Identify your research style and name it (i.e. The Citation Miner, The Database Jumper, etc.)

   • Discuss this style, citing specific examples from your research process to support the name

   • Thesis required: thesis will be a sentence identifying chosen name of research style and a brief definition

   • Should follow conventions of effective writing and the course Writing Expectations

   • Outcome: reflect on your own research process

5. Works Cited

   • Under each citation, provide a one to two sentence justification of the choice to use that source

   • Reminders: You will have at minimum four sources (the primary reading from the Textbook and the three required secondary sources)

   • Outcomes: 1) demonstrate correct MLA citation style and 2) demonstrate that choices of sources are deliberate and effective