Sylvia Plath and the Theme of Death Assignment | Online Assignment

This paper has to be 5 pages making an argument about how Plath develops the theme of death throughout her poetry. there is a minimum of 5 sources, which need to be scholarly articles or books

Research Paper Outline

The foremost goal of the research paper is to equip you to do scholarly research through the analysis of literature. Choose one of the poets listed below.

Maya Angelou                                     Walt Whitman                                     Langston Hughes

Claude McKay                                     Emily Dickinson                     John Donne

Dylan Thomas                                     Sylvia Plath                             Seamus Heaney

You will analyze at least 3 poems from your chosen poet. These must be poems we have not discussed in class. You will focus on one specific theme and construct a thesis that makes a unique argument about how the poet develops that theme throughout the poems.

The research paper must include the following areas of emphasis:

1. Develop an argument about how the poet addresses and develops a specific theme.

2. The literary value of the poems – including their structure, form, poetic devices, and figurative language. The form and structure are inherently tied to the development of themes in poetry, so analyzing the form and stylistic choices is essential to your paper.

3. You must research what other critics have said about this poet and his or her poems. Do not use the work of other critics as the basis for your own ideas; instead, use external criticism to support your own analysis or as opinions against which to argue.

4. Your analysis of the poet’s development of a specific theme will naturally lead to your ability to draw conclusions about the poet’s impact in poetry (and possibly beyond). What made this poet’s work new and different and important?

Format for 4 Source Summaries (typed) (6-8 sentences per source)

1. For each source, list the title.

2. Identify the type of source (database, book, journal article, website, etc.)

3. 2-3 sentence explanation (complete sentences!) of what the thesis of the source is – why has the author written it, and what are they trying to prove?

4. 3-5 sentences explaining how it will help your paper. Acceptable answers include: background information to establish context of your topic, a scholar’s opinion on your topic and therefore applicable to your discussion, supporting documentation…..(these are just possibilities! phrase them in your own words). This is meant to help you eliminate sources that will only be a problem.

*Complete source summaries only for your 4 scholarly sources (not for Gale Virtual Reference)

Form

• Times New Roman, 12pt font, double spaced
• 1″ margins
• 5 – 7 pgs of text (not including works cited page)
• Minimum of 5 sources, 4 of which must be scholarly – critical articles and books
• The 5^th source can be Gale Virtual Reference
• MLA Citations – In text & Works Cited. english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/

Submission of Final  – Final day of Class

• Final Draft
• Works Cited
• Rough Draft, with my comments from the conference
• Your own evaluation of your work – a short paragraph, handwritten or typed, separate from your paper. Give an informal evaluation of how you feel about the paper overall

Outline

1. Introduction

• Introduce your general topic

• Identify the specific aspect of the topic you find fascinating (the reason you are writing the paper!) and WHY it is SIGNIFICANT & INTERESTING

• No first person or second person point of view

• Historical context for your topic

• Points of Proof – how your paper will be organized

(How you organize the paper will depend on the topic and focus)

• The organization of your paper is extremely important – paragraphs should build on one another and should not be able to be rearranged without changing the meaning

• Thesis statement (can be 2-3 sentences)

• No quotations in the introduction

1. Body

• Conclusion
• No quotations in the conclusion

1. Works Cited

Do not include unnecessary biographical information in your paper; if you choose to include brief consideration of a writer’s life, focus only on those aspects that are most significant for understanding their legacy and the impact of their life on the themes in their work.

No….

• – Improper paraphrasing…….
• Improper P.O.V. (Point of View) – slash (ex. his/her)
• Dangling clauses…. – etc.
• Contractions – Improper quotation use or underlining…….