Their Eyes Were Watching God Research Paper
Goal
Your goal is to research and report on what scholars say about Zora Neale Hurston and her work.
Role
You are a researcher who wants to find out about a question that interests you.
Audience
Your audience is everyone who has read the novel. This means that you do NOT have to spend too much time summarizing the plot, but rather will simply present what scholars say about your question.
Situation
The challenge involves finding enough data to support the answers to your question.
Product
The paper needs to be:
a minimum of 2000 words
double spaced
Times New Roman
size 12 font
one inch margins
MLA format.
The paper will be worth 150 points.
Standards
Your paper needs to:
1. Meet the word count and the source and formatting requirements.
2. Go through the writing process turn in a rough draft.
3. Be edited by both a peer and adult and be revised.
You will be assessed on Criteria B and D. Please use attached rubrics.
Directions:
You will be writing your research paper on a topic about Zora Neale Hurston and her work. Your topic choices are described below.
Requirements:
1. Your paper should include: an introduction (thesis statement), body paragraphs and a conclusion
2. You must include an additional page in your paper, which will be the “Works Cited” page. On this page, you will list source information for the play and for the secondary sources selected. It does NOT count as part of the word count.
Additionally, this page MUST meet the standards of MLA
3. You are required to have at least THREE secondary sources (books or articles, not including the play). Wikipedia, gradesaver, Cliffnotes, and other sites are too superficial for this type of paper. Do not use them.
Thesis papers and dissertations of graduate students are acceptable sources.
Undergraduate or high school essays are not. However, look at their sources and see if any are useful
In your paper, you must include at least two quotations from her work and two quotations from each secondary source. (Theses are minimums; feel free to use more, but not more than 25-30%)
No more than 25% of paper can be direct quotation.
4. You must include in-text citations (aka parenthetical references) for all material you did not already know, whether quoted, paraphrased or summarized. (Pretty much the whole paper)
Most of your research will be done outside of class. Remember that you may come for extra help to work on this research. I will also give you some time to work on the paper in class, however, if yall dont use it, you lose it.
Remember, for this paper, you are simply a reporter of what others have written.
Hurston/her work Topics
Rule #1 In narrowing or broadening your topic, be guided by your sources. Shape this paper to the research. (Enjoy, because it usually doesnt work that way).
You will not find sources that match the question exactly you will have to READ through them to find the data you are looking for. This takes the longest time of the whole assignment.
ORGANIZE! Create a folder in your bookmarks and save potential sources. Highlight parts you think may support your paper.
Some questions to consider:
1. What makes Hurston important and unusual? Why is her work still valued today?
2. What do the critics say about her work? Why was it controversial?
3. Hurstons life was unconventional. How does her work reflect her life or events in her life?
4. Any other scholarly topic that you can find 3 sources on. They may focus on themes, characters, or specific schools of criticism.
Through the reading and research you do, you should be able to answer some questions, create your own thesis, and deliver a polished paper.
