Mathis

Research Paper #1: On a Short Story on Our Syllabus

 

Assignment. Write an argumentative research paper of three full pages to five full pages, on a topic of your choosing, about one of the focus short stories on our syllabus:

 

The Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allan Poe (82-87)

Cathedral, by Raymond Carver (28-38)

King of the Bingo Game, by Ralph Ellison (57-63)

Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich (279-294)

The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (302-313)

The Veldt, by Ray Bradbury (255-265)

 

Your paper should offer an argument, a claim, about a significant dimension of the short story, one that is supported by your own ideas and logical reasoning, your research, and a few well-selected direct quotations from the story itself. Your argument should be summed up in a thesis statement that is the final sentence of your introduction, and each body paragraph should contain a topic sentence, usually the first sentence, that summarizes the major point of that paragraph. The title of your paper, which is very important, should give the reader some idea of your perspective on the story, so think about it carefully. Be sure to give the author and title of the short story under discussion in your introduction.

 

Research. You will conduct research that helps you understand the story or some aspect of its context better. You are required to use at least three reliable, authoritative, relevant secondary sources, one of which must be a scholarly source, and you will need to cite these sources according to MLA style. Remember that secondary sources are sources other than the literature itself, which is the primary source. (The total minimum number of sources, counting both primary and secondary, is four.) The secondary sources may offer literary criticism; historical, cultural, psychological, political, philosophical, or biographical background; or other information relevant to your topic. I need to be able to consult the sources you use, so you are required to give links to the full URL or DOI for all your sources. An obvious exception is if you used a book that you checked out of our library or another library. There may be other exceptions.

 

Length. Again, this research paper must be between three full pages and five full pages, excluding your Works Cited page. Remember that three full pages does not mean two and four/fifths pages. This length requirement is a minimum requirement. You should aim for five or six pages. It is always better to have to cut than to have to add!