Intro to Literature
Poetry Research Essay
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION:
Carefully read and annotate any one (1) of the assigned poems you recently read, and take note of any and all concepts, references, or poetic elements that seem especially relevant to the “argument” in that poem. Then, from the poem’s annotated text, create a detailed outline for your research essay—before you even begin reading any research sources. (That way, you’ll focus as much on textual analysis as you will on contextual research.) Once you’ve completed this “rough” outline, start considering what type of research your argument needs, and consult the list of sources I have made available to you on Blackboard (under RESEARCH). The goal is to think carefully about where in your outline there’s need for extra information from research.
RESEARCH ETHICS:
Not only must you cite (i.e., quote or paraphrase) at least 2 research sources in this essay, but you’ll also have to include at least 4-5 quotes from the poem’s text. Remember to follow MLA formatting protocol for quoting poetry: each quote must be introduced, integrated, cited, and explained in terms of your essay’s argument—also, you must list line numbers (not page numbers) in the parenthetical citations, and you must show line breaks (with forward slashes: / ) when you use line quotes. See the “Formatting Poetry Quotes” handout (Bb READINGS) for more clarification. Also, since it’s easy to lean too heavily on research in an essay like this—at the expense of your own ideas and authorial “voice”—you should review the rules surrounding plagiarism. (Click here for a section of the Purdue OWL website entitled “Avoiding Plagiarism.” Included in it are multiple “subpages” that should be of some help to you: “Overview,” “Is It Plagiarism?” “Safe Practices,” and “Plagiarism Exercises.”)
ACCEPTABLE SOURCES:
Both of your two required research sources for this essay can come from Blackboard—see the various POETRY FOR STUDENTS chapters available on Blackboard (under RESEARCH). Each chapter includes up to four possible research sources: all of the opening sections of each chapter (before CRITICISM subtitle) count as one, single source; each of the essay excerpts listed by critic name (after CRITICISM subtitle) counts as its own, separate research source. See the “How to Create Works Cited Entries from Poetry for Students Chapters” handout on Blackboard (under RESEARCH) for citation protocols. “Google searches” do not qualify as acceptable research—and you should avoid sites like sparknotes.com , cliffnotes.com, eNotes.com, or any “paper-mill” and plagiarism websites like www.123helpme.com, www.ask.com, www.shmoop.com, www.helium.com, www.findarticles.com, www.about.com, etc.
DUE DATE:
Wednesday, Dec. 5th Final drafts must be uploaded to the “Essay 4 – Poetry
Research” page on Blackboard (under ESSAYS) by 5:00 pm.
FORMATTING:
- 3-4 pages in length (no less than 3 and no more than 4 full pages)
- MLA-style heading block
- Typed (both rough and final drafts), double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font
- Standard margin lengths (Microsoft Word’s default margin settings)
- Works Cited page (alphabetized, and in MLA format)
