Fall 2013 Senior English Research Paper and Literary Analysis John Donne & the Holy Sonnets Content & Organization

Introduction [basic info on sonnets and Donne; end with a thesis] Topic sentence indicating the background on John Donne [his life, times, the motivation for writing the Holy Sonnets (in general) the assigned Holy Sonnet (if possible)] Citation of Resource Material as needed Topic Sentence about the content of the Holy Sonnet as assigned. [This is where the Paraphrase will go and the stated subject.] Citation of Resource Material as needed Topic Sentence about the Attitude [TONE] Donne has regarding the subject of the Holy Sonnet. [Follow with analysis providing evidence (quotes from the poem) and explanation of how, why, what about the evidence supports the TONE.] Citation of Resource Material as needed Topic Sentence about the THEME [Universal Truth / (lesser) Lesson] that ANY reader can take away from reading and understanding the poem. [Follow with analysis providing evidence (quotes from the poem) and explanation of how, why, what about the evidence supports the THEME.] Citation of Resource Material as needed Conclusion [does the Holy Sonnet still have value to people in today’s world? If so, how why? If not, why not?]

SAMPLE Introduction From the time of the Italian poet, Francesco Petrarch, in the 1300s, to today’s modern rappers, combining words into deep, meaningful lyrics that flow aesthetically has been an art form. From Petrarch, the world gained the fourteen-line lyric poem known as the sonnet. This form would be used and perfected for centuries to follow. By late 1500s, the sonnet had spread from Italy to Western Europe to England and had become a favorite among the learned writers and thinkers of that time. John Donne would be one of many skilled artists in the medium of writing to use the sonnet to create passionate pieces of love, devotion, and despair. Of the many poetic works crafted by Donne is the group commonly referred to as the Holy Sonnets. Donne would use these poems to explore his thoughts on __________________________; “Holy Sonnet ___” is very much a reflection of Donne’s belief because _________________________.

Topic Sentences [Content & Purpose] Must have a subject [the focus of the paragraph] and some statement about the material to be defined, discussed, developed in the paragraph. Must relate to the THESIS and--- Must be big enough to reflect ALL of the material to be contained in the paragraph. REMEMBER: when you change topic / focus, change paragraphs and create a NEW topic sentence!

FORMAT-- Repeat after me— The Modern Language Association is my friend. I will not fear using the MLA format. I will be brave and true in my pursuit of citations and structure in my writing. Go Forth and Conquer.