Assignment-Research Paper

The purpose of this essay is to start the process of learning how to engage in academic research and to learn how to incorporate that research into your paper. This focus will allow you to continue to produce rhetorical analysis, or it may allow you to produce a substantially different kind of analysis, based on your research. Within this context, you can revisit a story or novel that you have already written about or you can write a substantially different paper on a different short story, novel, or film. You can request to work on something that has not been discussed in class, but it should still be within the genre, and you need to receive permission before you begin the project. You will need to research your topic, and incorporate material from that research into your paper. That research should substantially effect not only the body of evidence provided in the paper, but should also substantially effect the thesis of the text. Often research papers will either disagree with the positions of other researchers, point out the limitations of other research, or use the framework developed in one situation to explain a different situation. The purpose of this paper is to develop a strong thesis driven paper that frames its argument within the existing scholarship on the subject, to make your own argument that takes in to account the larger conversations about the subject at hand.

The material you incorporate into the paper can take one of a number of forms. It can take the form of essays or books that critically engage in the book or film that you are analyzing. It can take the form of essays or books that critically engage in the genre of science fiction in a way that lets you better understand the book or film. Finally, you can research scientific, historical, or sociological material that can help you critically engage in the materials. For instance, you might want to look at the concept of dystopia in relationship to Parable of the Sower, the history of the U.S-Mexico border in relationship to Sleep Dealer, the cold war in relationship to "Only A Mother", or the history of radical feminism in relationship to "When It Happened". You also need to evaluate the reliability of these sources, and engage with their arguments substantially and accurately.

The paper should be seven to nine pages, and should include a minimum of five sources. Three of those sources must be academic in nature, and all sources should be referenced in the paper, whether in the form of direct citation, paraphrasing or summary. In addition, the paper should use proper MLA citation structures and should include a page of citations, which should also follow MLA. Writing and Revising: A Portable Guide, Chapter 11 offers a useful guide on how to approach these structures.What is Required?

7-9 Page Paper
Four sources other than the text are required
Three of those sources must be quoted, paraphrased or summarized
Thesis driven paper
The argument needs to substantially engage with the research
This argument no longer needs to be rhetorical in nature.

What kind of sources can be used?

Sources that write about the specific text or film being analyzed
Sources that write about the genre of science fiction
Sources that provide sociological or historical background for the text
Texts that engage in the science and technology written about in the text

How To Begin?

Begin by creating a broad outline on the topic that you are writing about:
1. When is the text or film produced? What historical events might have influenced it? What kind of social movements might have influenced it?
2. What is the genre of the film or text? How does that influence it?
3. How does the film or text fit in the history of the genre? What might have influenced it? What might it have influenced?
4. What is the film or the text trying to communicate? How does the above context influence that?

Researching

Look for material that focuses on the specific text or film that you are working on. What are their arguments? Do you agree or disagree with them? Why or why not?
Look for material on the history of the genre or sub genre. How does that material help you understand what the text or film is trying to do?
Look for material on the historical background. How does that help you understand the text or film?

How to approach the argument?

Use the text to support your argument
Use the text as a framework for your argument
Use the novel or film as something that reveals something about the text
Use the text as something that you argue against
You also might look at the way that an argument is partially right, but is wrong in some ways