Assignment | Books | Journals | Web Sites | Videos | Style Guides/ Plagiarism | Professor Kusi-Mensah
Wonderful Words of Wisdom
Library Wizard
Keywords: Use the author's name and/or the title of the work.
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RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES
1. Your research paper will be no less than 8 and no more than
10 double-spaced pages (NOT including the Cover page, Acknowledgments page,
Formal Outline and Works Cited pages). It will be on any LITERARY SUBJECT
(author(s) or literary period) of interest to you. A literary subject
is one you would cover in any literature course and find in any literature textbook.
2. Read pages 157 -210 in the handbook (Quick Access, 5/e) BEFORE you start work on the paper for information on how to write a research paper. You will need to do some preliminary research to help you narrow the focus of your paper. Obviously, one of your tasks is to get a very narrow focus for whatever subject you decide to research. (See, "Choosing a Research Topic" and "What a research question is" in the handbook, pages 158-160).
3. Decide on a subject, narrow the focus right away, and submit the following to me by Friday February 22:
1. a one paragraph explanation of why you have decided on that subject and the Research question that your paper will provide the answer to.
2. a Working Bibliography (list of print, On-line, and electronic sources on your topic. See page 167-168 in handbook)
3. a research project plan (see page 161 in handbook- copy provided below for your use)
4. Submit a Formal Outline (pages 40-42 and 251) for your paper, including a completely stated THESIS (page 38-39), by Friday, March 21.
5. Use at least
8 SECONDARY sources: 4 PRINT and 4
ON-LINE (ONLY professional/literary journals, library/academic
data bases, and university or college web sites). Use the Modern Language
Association (MLA) style of documentation.
6. The final product should consist of a Title page (check
course homepage in Web CT for proper format) , an acknowledgments page, an outline
page, the body of the research, and a Works Cited page in that order. (Refer
to the sample Research paper in the MLA section of the handbook, pages 251-272,
for correct format for each of these). In addition, read Chapter 14 in handbook,
"Writing about Literature" (88-100).
7. The research paper itself should consist of an Introduction
with clearly stated thesis (page 38); Body or developmental
paragraphs; and Conclusion.
8. The complete, next-to-final draft of the paper (TYPED,
including everything from Cover Page to Works Cited Page) is due for a peer
review BEFORE Monday, April 14. You will forfeit ALL 100 points
for the draft if you do not turn in the draft and Peer Review on this date.
Turn in the draft AND the peer review you received for it no later than 10 p.m.
April 14.
NOTE: I will not read or grade this draft, only skim it to check to be sure that it's all there. The points you will receive for the draft are for completing it as required, with all parts included and the full length of at least 8 pages. You will forfeit the 100 points for this "next-to-final" draft if you do not turn it in with a Peer Review from a classmate before or on this date. For the peer review, arrange with another classmate the first week of class to exchange drafts via email, and use the handout, "Peer Review Questions for Research paper" in the Course Content/Course Handouts section. Also, use the Research paper Checklist handout to make sure that you have met the paper's format and style requirements.
The final draft of the paper is due Monday, April 21.
If you have any questions, be sure to check in with me at each stage of the major steps in the process: Finding and limiting your topic; Making a Working bibliography; Developing a thesis statement; Creating a structure (Outline); Drafting the paper; Revising the paper; Preparing and Proofreading the final manuscript.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
(Sample)
I would like to thank Cheryl Mansfield-Egans, of the Montgomery College library,
for helping me locate information on the Internet and fellow classmates, John
Jacobs and Julie Smith, for providing excellent feedback on my drafts. Their
feedback allowed me to greatly improve the paper. I would also like to thank
my family for being very supportive of me and for giving me the encouragement
I needed at the times when I felt like giving up on the whole project. And,
finally, I would like to thank my best friend, Sharon, for helping me decide
on a topic for research and for getting me started. I most certainly could not
have completed this project without the assistance of these wonderful people,
and I sincerely thank them all.
RESEARCH PROJECT
PLAN
Checklist and Date you expect to complete each activity:
Starting a Research Project
______________ Set up my research log (page 161)
_______________ Choose a suitable topic (page 158)
______________ Draft my research question (page 159)
______________ Making a Working Bibliography (page 167)
Finding and Evaluating Sources
______________ Decide what kinds of research I need to do (library, online,
interviews, etc.)
______________ Locate and Evaluate sources
_______________ Take notes
_______________ Draft a preliminary thesis statement
_______________ Make formal outline for paper
Writing the Research Paper
_______________ Drafting my paper
_______________ Document correctly
_______________ Revise the paper
_______________ Edit and proofread the paper
_______________ Have next to final draft of paper Peer Reviewed
Friday, Feb 22 Topic, Working Bib, Research Project
Plan due
Friday, March 21 Formal Outline Due
Monday, April 14 Peer Reviewed Draft Due
Monday, April 21 Final Draft of paper Due
Each segment with bold header will occupy roughly one-quarter of the total time.
The most unpredictable segments are the first two, so it's wise to get started
early enough to accommodate the unexpected.
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Wonderful Words of Wisdom
Library Wizard Access the library Resouces.... Apply online for an Lone Star College System (LSCS) library card. Use your card number to:
Online books are available at Netlibrary An account must be created before accessing net library ebooks. Click on the "Create an Account" link on the web site.
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Locate Books in Horizon, the Online
Catalog
Do a Keyword search in Horizon to find books about your author in the five college
libraries (Montgomery, Kingwood, North Harris, Cyfair, and Tomball) as well
as the Montgomery County Public Library System, and theharris County Public
Library branches.
Blues for Mister Charlie / James Baldwin. PS3552.A45
B5 1985
A rap on race / [by] Margaret Mead
[and] James Baldwin. E185.61 .M42 1972
Early novels and stories / James
Baldwin. PS3552.A45.A6 1998
Collected essays / James Baldwin.
PS3552.A45.A16 1998
Reference Books are a good starting point because they give you an overview with more broad, general information.
Ref PN41.D5 Dictionary of Literary Biography, v.249.
Ref PN3335.S5 Short Story Criticism,
v.33.
Ref PS153.N5.O96 Oxford Companion to
African American LIterature.
Ref PS153.N5.B556 Black Literature
Criticism, v.1..
Ref PS153.N5.A344 African American
Writers (Scribner Writers Series), v. 1.
MLA International Bibliography indexes articles in books as well as journals. It may be the only place to find information on some of these works. Be sure you use the book title, not the article title when you check the library catalog or NetLibrary for the book.
NetLibrary is a good source for electronic books online. These books may also appear with other search results in the NHMCCD Catalog.
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Wonderful Words of Wisdom
Library Wizard Find Articles ...... To find articles in newspapers and journals, use your library card to login to the following databases. Articles not available in full text can be obtained thru interlibrary loan from another library. Plan ahead to use interlibrary loan because the turn around period can take weeks. Contact the Reference Librarians for more information.
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Accessing Databases from Off-Campus
In order to access the databases from off-campus you must possess a current, valid library card. Apply online for an LSCS library card.
The database links below will direct you to the EZProxy authentication page of the LSCS Libraries:
On the EZProxy Authentication page, enter your library card /student id barcode number, without spaces.
Literature Resource Center - A full text database, this includes:
Academic Search Complete - A general database that includes literature, this often covers different journals than ProQuest. Use Peer Reviewed. Most recent articles are full text.
Biography Reference Bank - A full text database with articles about the author. Contains literary criticism for some authors under the More Information link.
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Wonderful Words of Wisdom
Library Wizard Find Internet Sites.... People can place
information onto the Web whether or not they know what they are talking
about. Because of this, the information you find on the Web
may not be correct. You can determine if you have found accurate,
reliable information if you evaluate it according to the criteria
below.
The information should be free of typographical, grammatical, and spelling errors. It should be factual, logically arranged, and easy to read and follow. Sources of information should be stated or properly cited Examples: Accurate: The Titanic Casualty Figures Not Accurate: Feline Reactions to Bearded Men Another completely bogus site. You should be able to easily find the dates on which the information was created, first placed on the Web, and most recently updated. The information should not be obsolete. Examples: Current: The World Factbook Not Current: Search Engine Sizes The information should be impartial and not attempt to promote an agenda. Many advertisements are biased. Examples: Biased: RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company Not Biased: American Lung Association The information should suit your needs and adequately cover the subject. You should be able to tell if the Web site is complete or still under construction. Examples: Appropriate: Counterterrorism Information Not Appropriate for College: The Dr. King Timeline Page
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Great
Writers on the Internet - LSC-Montgomery library web page on individual
authors
Internet Public Library - An index
of online literary criticism
Project Gutenberg - Great books online
University of Virginia Library Scholars' Lab - e-Books
online, including Palm downloads.
Wonderful Words of Wisdom
Plays
Hamlet |
Antigone |
A
Doll's House |
The
Glass Menagerie |
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Wonderful Words of Wisdom
Short Stories
Barn Burning |
A
Rose for Emily |
Cask
of Amontillado |
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Click one of the blue links for availability, then come see us in the library!
MLA Style Guide for Print Sources LSC-Montgomery Library guide
MLA Style Guide for ElectronicSources LSC-Montgomery Library guide
Plagiarism | How to avoid plagiarism.
REMEMBER, the expert on this paper is Professor Kusi-Mensah.
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Page by Cheryl Mansfield-Egans
last updated January 15, 2009