RESEARCHPAPERASSIGNMENT

AMERICANLITERATURE
YourpapershouldbeaboutanAmericanliteraryeraoranAmericanauthor.Youchoose
whoorwhatyouresearchandwriteabout.Yourpapershouldmovepastasimplebiography,
however,andgivethereaderspecificdetailsabouthowthatera/authorchangedAmericas
literarycanon.Usethelistsprovidedtogetanideaofwho/whatyouwanttoresearch.Ifyou
haveanideathatisnotlisted,pleaseletmeknow!
Attachedisatentativeoutlineofthenextfewweeks.TheassignmentsIllbechecking
havebeenbolded.
Everyresearchpaperwillincludethefollowingcomponents:

WorkingThesisstatementdoesntneedtobytyped
Outline2pages,typed
TypedroughdraftinMLAformat
TypedfinaldraftinperfectMLAformat
WorksCitedinMLAformat
IntextcitationsinMLAformat
6sources
Doublespaced,TimesNewRoman12sizedfont,1inchmargins
57pageslong

Formalwritingreminders:

Spellout#s,unlesstheyareHUGEnumbersordates
Spelloutcontractions(donot=dont)
DONOTUSEPRONOUNS(I,you,us,we,my,etc.)
Noslang,texting,orcasuallanguage
Nocoloredink,funkyfonts,orimages

Developingaworkingthesisstatement
Whatisthetopicyouwanttoexploreinyourpaper?
______________________________________________________________________
Whataresomeofthesupportingpointsyoucouldmake?Wouldcouldyouwriteabout?What
aresomequestionsyouwanttoanswerinyourpaper?
1.____________________________________________________________________
2.____________________________________________________________________
3.____________________________________________________________________
4.____________________________________________________________________
5.___________________________________________________________________
6.___________________________________________________________________
Whatisyourworkingthesis?(Working=itwillchangebetweennowandyourfinaldraft)
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

CalendarofResearchPaperL6
M
3.3

T
3.4

W
3.5

TH
3.6

Comeupwith
topic

F
3.7
Research
Comeupwith
workingthesis
byendofclass
(5points)

3.10

3.11

3.12

Research/
Outline

3.13

3.14

Research/
Outline

Noschoolfor
students

WorksCited
howto
3.17

3.18
Outlinedueat
beginningof
class(20
points)
Makedraft1

3.24
Finaldraftdue
atbeginningof
class(100
points)

3.19

3.20
Draft1dueat
beginningof
class(20
points)
Peeredit,draft2
type,peeredit
repeat

3.21

OPTIONSFORRESEARCH
ERASweHAVENTdiscussedatlength
1.NativeAmericanOralTradition
2.PreColonialLiterature(pre1620)
3.ColonialLiterature(16201750)
4.NationalismortheRevolutionaryPeriod(17501815)
5.Realism(18601890)
6.Regionalism(18901920)
7.HarlemRenaissance(19101930)
8.BeatGeneration(1950s)
9.PostModernism(19501980)
AUTHORS
AnneBradstreet
BenjaminFranklin
PatrickHenry
ThomasPaine
ThomasJefferson
AbigailAdams
JamesFenimoreCooper
EmilyDickinson
WashingtonIrving
MarkTwain
NathanielHawthorne
WaltWhitman
HenryDavidThoreau
RalphWaldoEmerson
EdgarAllanPoe
AmbroseBierce
LangstonHughes
W.E.BDuBois
JohnIrving
EudoraWelty
WilliamFaulkner
E.B.White
RayBradbury
StephenKing

BretHarte
UptonSinclair
EdithWharton
T.S.Eliot
WillaCather
DorothyParker
ArthurMiller
e.e.Cummings
StephenCrane
F.ScottFitzgerald
RobertFrost
JackLondon
SylviaPlath
AliceWalker
PatConroy
KateChopin
TheodoreDreiser
ZoraNealeHurston
PaulL.Dunbar
KatherineAnnePorter
EdnaSt.VincentMillay
JohnSteinbeck
JohnUpdike
ToniMorrison