For this assignment, you have two options: 1) a traditional research essay, or 2) a creative project accompanied by an artist’s statement and a research-based annotated bibliography.

Traditional research essay

Final Project for English 203 Topic Proposal: Assignment Overview: For this assignment, you have two options: 1) a traditional research essay, or 2) a creative project accompanied by an artist’s statement and a research-based annotated bibliography. Whichever option you take, you will conduct an equivalent amount of academic research and writing, and you will engage with several peer-reviewed scholarly sources in the final product. Note: “scholarly sources” means a peer-reviewed academic article or book chapter. If you need help finding scholarly sources on your topic, meet with me ASAP or make an appointment with a member of CSU’s research librarian team.

Traditional research essay

An extra credit point will be available for students who meet with the CSU research librarians and write a reflection on their experiences finding scholarly sources. Assignment Goals: 1) to gain a greater appreciation of British literary art; 2) to grow as a reader; 3) to thoughtfully engage in the larger critical conversation about a specific text’s meaning; 4) to creatively respond to a specific work (whether in a traditional research essay or a creative project). Assignment Objectives: to successfully complete this assignment, you will: 1) Demonstrate your ability to form an arguable thesis or a focused creative interpretation involving a work of art;

Traditional research essay

2) Support your argument or develop your interpretation through researching secondary sources (academic books and articles); 3) Support your argument or interpretation with specific evidence from the text you are responding to; 4) Synthesize some of the broader themes of the course into your work and make it clear why your topic and project matter—i.e., show what is at stake for readers (and humans, more broadly) in your consideration of the issues in the text; and 5) show your continuing development of the intellectual virtues associated with careful reading and writing.

Traditional research essay

Option 1: Research Paper If you take this option, you will write a 6-page research paper on an arguable thesis that focuses particularly on at least one text or author we read during the semester. You must be specific in your focus, with a clear, specific, and arguable thesis. When generating a topic, consider a question that you would like to answer, rather than just a broad theme for which you catalog examples. You may wish to use our course theme (quests, journeys, and the search for wisdom) or your own disciplinary interests to guide your topic generation—or just write about any topic or question related to a specific text that interests you.

Traditional research essay

Your essay should ultimately answer your research question, using your sources as evidence and support, and referring back to the primary text as textual support for your claims. Your paper should be at least 6 full pages in length, not including the Works Cited page; you should use at least 5 secondary sources, and of those 5 sources, at least 4 should be peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles or book chapters. To clarify, the literary text(s) you are writing about are your primary source(s), and do not count as a secondary scholarly source.

Traditional research essay

Both the paper and the Works Cited should be formatted in MLA style, with 12 pt Times New Roman font, double spacing, and 1” margins all around (-5 points deduction for anything else). Your essay will primarily be graded on the quality of the ideas & thesis, the organization & structure, and quality & use of research; effective style & mechanics are assumed. https://youtu.be/cCLQGFFz-0c

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