• Ms. Park - English 1131 Term Paper •

Term Paper for English 1131
Critical Thesis of an American Short Story

Your paper should develop and argue a critical thesis about an American short story from the list of choices (provided).  Your paper should go beyond the purely literary aspects of the story (theme, plot, characterization, etc.) and make a connection with an historical period, a literary movement, cultural context, or the writer’s own experience.  In any event, you will need to develop a thesis which you will support using your own argument in conjunction with researched literary criticism.

Criteria:

1. No less than five and no more than seven pages in length
2. MLA formatted
3. Incorporates three pieces of literary criticism from Short Stories for Students
4. Incorporates one additional source of literary criticism from an academic website, journal, periodical, database, or book (pending my approval)
5. Includes quotations from the story itself
6. Annotated photocopy of the story must be attached

The paper will be scored using this rubric:

3 short story reflections; thesis statement; research conference with sources; pre-writing organizer; works cited page; initial draft	20 points
grammar, usage, and mechanics	10 points
prose style (sentence structures and diction; overall clarity and sophistication)	10 points
citation use; appropriate quantity, relevance and integration	10 points
organization (introduction with thesis, transitions, and conclusion)	10 points
argument: support of thesis, interpretation of story, independent analysis	40 points

Dates due:

Short story reflections (3)                               ____________________
Thesis proposal (neatly written or typed)           ____________________
Research conference:

1. Annotated copy of the story
2. Annotated copy of all sources
3. Pre-writing organizer
4. Works cited page                                  ____________________

First draft (word processed hard copy)              ____________________
Turnitin.com for first draft                               ____________________
Final draft (word processed hard copy)              ____________________
Turnitin.com for final draft                               ____________________

PRINTING YOUR PAPER IS SOLELY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.  YOU MAY NOT LEAVE CLASS TO PRINT, EMAIL THE PAPER, OR PRESENT IT TO ME IN DIGITAL FORM.  RESOLVE ALL PRINTER DIFFICULTIES BEFORE THE DATES DUE.

THE FINAL DRAFT OF THE PAPER WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED LATER THAN THE ANNOUNCED DUE DATE, REGARDLESS OF ABSENCE.

IN THE EVENT OF A SNOW DAY OR OTHER EMERGENCY, THE PAPER WILL BE DUE ON THE DATE WE ALL RETURN TO SCHOOL.

THE PAPER IS NOT CONSIDERED COMPLETE UNTIL IT IS BOTH HANDED IN AND ELECTRONICALLY SUBMITTED TO TURNITIN.COM