ENC 1102, 1/31/22
Prof. Scarpati
First Research Paper, due Wednesday, March 16, 2022
St. Thomas University, Miami Gardens, FL
Research Paper
Your first research paper, 7 – 10 pages in length with a bibliography and citations (follow the MLA for pagination purposes), will be due Wednesday, March 16, 2022, which is approximately half-way through the semester, given that a semester is 17 weeks in length. Your analysis of the literature studied in class must reach at least seven pages, as the bibliography—titled References—should not be considered when page length is provided. Follow the examples in the MLA style sheet that are presented in the text or access the Modern Language Association’s style sheet on the net or in the stacks in the library, to paginate your secondary sources that bolster and support your thesis statement.
Process
This is just a suggestion as writing is an individual thing, but we will cover the process of analyzing literature in class several times by first writing an outline, in order to find major topics for development, to include material to be covered in different paragraphs, and to arrive at a thesis statement. The best way to approach this outline is first to determine the literature that you would like to consider for development. Don’t spend too much time with regard to this assessment; just go with your feelings following a first or second read of the short story of your choice. You may want to include more than one story for development of your thesis statement, but you certainly don’t have to do this. The way that I approach the outline is to randomly write my assessments of what I believe to be major areas for development by the author. You can include specific parts of the story for inclusion in these major areas, or you may want to include these areas in a separate process where notes on the primary story take place. Either way the idea is to present a major idea for development in a topic sentence with specific details concerning information presented by the author in the story included to round out the examples you present in your paragraphs. That is the essence of good writing, broad general ideas presented in your topic sentences with four to six sentences provided as examples supporting these topic sentences in the rest of the paragraph. Focus on the thesis statement should be your number one concern. Consider utilizing transitions leading your reader from one sentence to the following one and from one paragraph to the next.
References
It is not imperative to research many secondary sources to bolster your thesis. But it is wise to take notes based on your secondary research of outside sources and how these writers analyze the story under consideration and how these assessments apply to your thesis statement. Instead of quoting directly from these sources, it is suggested you provide your assessments of these writers’ analysis, by incorporating a synthesis of assessing why their words make sense to support your thesis. Using wording such as “According to” when introducing outside secondary sources and then naming the author’s last name and then proceeding with your take on why the information makes sense in the course of your development of the thesis is highly suggested. When you use direct quotes, the effect is jarring because the professional writer will certainly have a greater grasp of the language than you do. Also, using many direct quotes leads me to believe that you are desperate to reach the minimum length. Just believe in your own assessments and analysis of the literature, and you will most likely be in better shape than to place too much emphasis on published assessments of the literature.
Proofing
Give yourself a couple of days before finalizing the editing of your work. The best scenario is to finish the paper and then return to it in a day or two, to begin the proofreading process. Pay attention to grammar and the notion of providing variety with respect to sentence structure throughout your essay. Subject-verb agreement should also be strongly considered, as should run-on constructions (avoid) and fragments (also avoid).
