1. How to write a literary research paper
An Introduction
Gehan M. Anwar
Lecturer
Faculty of Languages & Translation
Caroline LaMagna
ITRT
Suffolk Public Schools

2. The Research Process

3. Research????
Think about the word ‘research’, ……
Purpose:

4. in the newspaper to see what movies were playing?
Have you ever looked
in the newspaper to see what movies were playing?
That’s research!

5. Have you ever checked the
TV Guide or another television program listing to see what was on T.V.?
That’s research too!

6. Research is simply looking up information about a
specific topic.

7. How do I begin? You will be assigned a topic.
To save time and make your job
easier, a list of research questions will be provided for you.

8. Writing papers: model 1
Idea
Do research
Write paper

9. Good research is essential to a good paper.
Budget your time
When writing a research paper, you should spend about 80% of your time doing research, and only about 20% in the actual writing of your paper.
Good research is essential to a good paper.

13. Literary Research Writing
A Thesis Statement: (Holt, pg. 255)
a sentence or two identifying the main idea you intend to explain or prove in your paper.
also referred to as a “map.”
PERSUASIVE
The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

14. Choosing a Topic For example:
Figure out a fantastic idea and follow the previous example to state the topic, opinion (argument), and the thesis.
Try to choose something you are interested in. No matter how insignificant idea may seem to you, but it usually turns out to be more challenging at first.
“The main idea of this paper is....”
“In this section we present the main contributions of the paper.”
For example:
“Louis MackNeice”

15. Choosing a Topic To select a topic: You can focus on: An Author
a Work (compare/contrast the works of a given author)
a Biography (Shakespeare’s personal tragedy, the loss of his twin son, led to his writing Twelfth Night… , this does not yet apply—you can check to see if there are autobiographies)
the Historical
the Cultural
the Psychological
a Literary (technique) (Ex: use of imagery, point of view, flashback or foreshadowing, etc…)
Media (messages) (Ex: In the film industry, …)

16. Once you have a topic selected, you need to FOCUS your SUPPLEMENTAL RESEARCH:
Ask yourself…
Is enough information available on the topic? (You should be able to find/use at least 3-5 good sources; i.e. books, articles, non print sources—ABOVE THE PRIMARY SOURCE—THE NOVEL)
Is the topic OBJECTIVE?
Is the topic unique and interesting or does it simply restate other people’s ideas?
Does the topic need additional research to support?
How can I analyze the events of the plot within the context of my supplemental research to prove or disprove the author’s intent?

17. Narrow Your Topic Smaller Topic:
“Louis MackNeice” is a very broad topic.
Try make your topic smaller and more specific by asking a question like:
What about “Louis MackNeice” do I want to write?
Smaller Topic:
Satirical Elements in the Poetry of Louis MacNeice
(My M.A. Study)
Argument:
The thesis discusses that corresponding to the spirit of the age, MacNeice is a satirist but in revolt against committing himself to any political Party.

18. Questions
After you have narrowed your topic, now you should come up with some questions you can research about your topic:
What is the history of satire and its purpose?
Did MacNeice use satire in his poetry or not?
Which poems can be interpreted into satire?
How has his usage of satirical elements changed over time?
MacNeice was a satirist; however, his satire can be described as kind, indirect, serious and tolerable, not sharp and bitter in tone like that of Juvenal.

19. Creating an Outline (Prewriting)

20. The Research Paper Model Guide
Introduction, 1-2 paragraphs
Hook your readers
Provide necessary background
Include your thesis statement
Body, 3-20 paragraphs (average)
Develop the first idea that supports your thesis
Develop the second idea…and so on..
Conclusion, 1-3 paragraphs (average)
Restate your thesis (do not repeat it verbatim)
End with some final insights into your research
Create your Works Cited List (attach separately)

21. Creating an Outline (Prewriting)
It serves as a table of contents for the finished paper. This outline must follow standard outline format.
You should also include a title to your paper:
the title should describe the contents of your paper clearly and concisely.

22. Creating an Outline (Prewriting)
An easy way to organize your research paper is to use an outline.
Use your questions as main points and add a small amount of information (not full sentences) as sub points.
You will use your outline while you are doing your research and can fill in your sub points as you go along.
Introduction – Topic
Main Point #1 (Question)
Sub Point
Main Point #2 (Question)
Main Point #3 (Question)
Conclusion (Wrap-up sentence)

23. Example Outline 1. Introduction – The History of Satire:
What is the history of satire and its purpose?
The ancient history of satire
Its main difference with modern satire.
2. Who are The Thirties: Poets in Times of War,?
The left-wing poets of the thirties and he disastrous political events of the 1930s. (MackNeice)
Mix politics with literature in a way dissimilar to the modernists. (A new style of writing emerges.: poetry in response to present reality.

24. Example Outline 3. Does MacNeice mock Society? Social Satire.
Social poems as an act of recovery of the illness of that declined society … witty, satiric, sometimes comic, always dramatic.
The working class and their problems: an underlying sadness, pity and sympathy,.
The individuals needs to be changed first.
4. What about MacNeice’s Irishness?
Inner conflicts: expatriate in Ireland and outsider in England - a son of a clergyman, but no faith in any Christian ethic.
Religious imagery with humourous intent.
Ireland, childhood, a country unaffected by politics and strife, at least on the surface.

25. Conclusion= Results: (Wrap-up sentence)
The result is that poetry, while appearing to have less direction, has much greater depth.
MacNeice was a satirist; however, his satire can be described as kind, indirect, serious and tolerable, not sharp and bitter in tone like that of Juvenal.

26. What is a Research Paper?
Like a report.
Before you write it, you use books, articles, the internet, and other sources to find information about your topic.
You gather information from these sources and use that information in your paper to tell your readers about your topic.

27. Now it is time to look for sources of information.

29. Work Cited vs. Bibliography
Using your sources:
Keep NOTES on what you actually used or referred to for ideas
Work Cited vs. Bibliography
Work Cited: must include EVERY SOURCE you USED or VIEWED (even if you did not quote from it)
Bibliographies: include ONLY SOURCE/S USED

32. Writing a research paper
The purpose of writing papers:
To impress others,
To inform and persuade others,
To gain recognition, and
To get promoted.

33. Papers communicate ideas
Your goal: to infect the mind of your reader with your idea, like a virus
The greatest ideas are (literally) worthless if you keep them to yourself

35. Writing a research paper
Audience: Your readers are your peers and teachers.
Tone: Using formal tone;
3rd person objective*;
appropriate grammar and syntax

36. 3rd person objective
gives information only as it happens and does not call attention to itself or others by using personal pronouns.
Those pronouns can include I, you, we, us, yours, mine, and ours. Go through your paper, article, or story and remove these pronouns, replacing them with he, she, they, them, his, hers, and theirs. For non-gender specific pronouns, you can use the word "one."

37. appropriate grammar Check for Continuity of Tenses
If the tenses (past, present or future) change throughout the piece, the narration can become confusing and disjointed, as well as break the third person objective point of view.
The writer should adopt one style and stick to it; if the story or essay starts off in one tense, it needs to stay that way all the way through.
A bad example:
she reached for a book, but as she did, she stops and knows that it will be a mistake.
Check suffixes like -ed, -s, -ing; they should be continuous all through the piece.

38. Use simple, direct languageNO
YES
On an annual basis
Yearly
Endeavour to ascertain
Find out

39. Literary Research Writing
MLA [Modern Language Association]
MLA style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and using the English language in writing. MLA style also provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and Works Cited pages.
Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material.

40. Plagiarism Plagiarism is stealing.
Before You Begin to Research,
we should talk about something called Plagiarism.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is stealing.
If you go to someone’s house and take his or her iPod without asking and pretend that it is yours, that is stealing.
Reading a book or an internet article, copying the words from it, and pretending they are your original thoughts is also stealing.

41. Plagiarism Plagiarism Plagiarism is against the law.
Consequences of plagiarism, following ethical and legal guidelines for gathering and using information.
Students have been expelled from school or faculty for plagiarism.
Students caught plagiarizing, at the very least, fail their assignments.

42. How to Avoid Plagiarism
To avoid plagiarism, give credit to the source of your information:
Book - list the title and the author of the book.
Article - list the author of the article and where you found the article (like in an encyclopedia, magazine, or newspaper)
Web site - list the author (if the name is available), the website name, and/or the URL (web address).

43. Literary Research Writing
While Researching: There are three ways to record information. (Holt, pg.252)
Summarizing
Paraphrasing
Quoting directly
Drawing Conclusions: (Holt, pg.254)
Examine all the information in the text
Relate information in the text to prior knowledge
State your conclusions in precise language

44. Citation of primary and secondary sources
Keep track of all the sources from which you gather information.
After you write your paper, create a “Sources Cited” page and list all of the sources you used to gather your information.

45. Getting Down to Research
Reliable Sources
The Library
Ask your librarian for help
Use Destiny to find paper sources

46. The Internet Reliability
Since anyone can post anything to the web, you have to be careful about choosing your sources.
Good sources:
Education websites (.edu)
Government websites (.gov)
Some Non-Profit websites (.org)
Teacher approved sites
Websites maintained by someone you know – like your teacher.

47. Wikipedia

48. Taking Notes
As you are researching your topic, keep notes of the information you find. You may want to use index cards – one card per source.
My Notes:
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians in the fall of 1621.
Source:
Scholastic Website:

49. Your narrative flow Here is a problem It’s an interesting problem
I wish I knew how to solve that!
Here is a problem
It’s an interesting problem
It’s an unsolved problem
Here is my idea
My idea works (details, data)
Here’s how my idea compares to other people’s approaches
I see how that works. Ingenious!

50. Structure Abstract (4 sentences) Introduction (1 page)
The problem (1 page)
My idea (2 pages)
The details (5-10 pages)
Related work (5-10 pages)
Conclusions and further work (0.5 pages)

51. The introduction (1 page)
Describe the problem
State your contributions
...and that is all
ONE PAGE!

52. Basic stuff Submit by the deadline Keep to the length restrictions
Do not narrow the margins
Do not use 6pt font
On occasion, supply supporting evidence (e.g. experimental data, or a written-out proof) in an appendix
Always use a spell checker

53. Use the active voice NO YES
The passive voice is “respectable” but it DEADENS your paper. Avoid it at all costs.
“We” = you and the reader NO
YES
It can be seen that...
We can see that...
34 tests were run
We ran 34 tests
These properties were thought desirable
We wanted to retain these properties
It might be thought that this would be a type error
You might think this would be a type error
“We” = the authors
“You” = the reader

54. Related work
Fallacy To make my work look good, I have to make other people’s work look bad

55. Rough Draft
Once you have completed your research, you are ready to create your rough draft.
Use your outline and your notes to help you.
Think about these things as you write:
Do I have a clear beginning (first paragraph), middle, and end (conclusion)?
Does my beginning grab (hook) my readers’ interest?
Have I put my facts and ideas in an order that makes sense?
Do all of my ideas relate to my topic?
Does my conclusion summarize or wrap up my message?

56. Revise
Once you have completed your rough draft, it is time to read through and revise your writing for organization and sentence structure.
You may choose to have a peer or teacher review your writing and offer suggestions on improving your work.

57. Listening to your reviewers
Treat every review like gold dust
Be (truly) grateful for criticism as well as praise
This is really, really, really hard
But it’s really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really important

58. Editing Now it is time to fix all of the errors in your writing.
You may choose to have a peer review your writing using the CUPS method to help you edit your work:
C = capitals
U = understanding
P = punctuation
S = spelling

59. Publishing
Once you have revised and edited your work, it is finally time to write your final draft – then submit your finished product.
Congratulations – you have completed your first research writing assignment!

60. Using Direct Quotations
Use direct quotations only if you have a good reason. Most of your paper should be in your own words.
Reasons for Quoting
• Support your point
• Present argument to critique or comment on
• To include especially moving or historically significant language
• To present a passage whose meaning would be lost or changed if paraphrased or summarized

61. Literary Research Writing
Resources Referenced
TEXT
HOLT, RINEHART, and WINSTON. Elements of Language. 6th ed. Austin: Holt, Print.
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