The Awakening of the Metamorphosis

Write a five page research paper that uses close reading and TWO outside scholarly research to guide and support your analysis of one of the following: The Awakening by Kate Chopin The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka You determine the focus of your project, but it should consider the following provisions. Choose an author/text (Chopin or Kafka) that you want to study further. Closely re-read and analyze your text. Find outside scholarly research to support your analysis. You need to include at least two outside sources. Define and develop an argument that incorporates your close reading of the text(s), textual analysis, and outside research. General Guidelines for Research Paper: Your paper should include at least TWO outside scholarly sources Page Minimum: 5 typed pages, 12 point font, Times New Roman Format Style: MLA—Modern Language Association You may submit a draft anytime over the semester (this is optional) Discovery: As you gather information about your topic, you will find information which prompts you to refine, clarify, extend or narrow your focus. This is a good thing; be flexible – it’s all part of discovery. Once you get some inkling about a topic of interest to you, you’ll want to know if 1) your topic is too narrow or, more likely 2) your topic is too general. If your topic is too narrow, you won’t be able to find much satisfying, original and authoritative material to work with; if your topic is too general, you’ll be overwhelmed by the number and breadth of sources and won’t know where to begin. I am here to help you through this process. Part I: PREWRITING: Thinking through (nothing due but you may talk to me about this part or email ideas to me) The first step in the research process is to develop a few working questions so that you can build a thesis. Think about what you want to explore. At this point, you might have several. List them. Explore a few ideas. This will lead you to the one that you will develop into a research paper. Once you decide what it is that you want to write about, test your idea visiting EBSCOhost to see what material is available to help support your working questions. The prewriting is an opportunity to generate ideas for your paper, begin preliminary research, and get feedback. You are offering a working question(s), which means it will evolve, change, and become more complicated. In addition, I am asking you to begin thinking about how you will support your question and turn it into a thesis statement that will be supported and argued using at least one outside source. This does not mean that you will have a fully developed thesis when you prewrite. Your thesis will develop as you read further and begin drafting your paper. Therefore, you can think of this as a working or provisional thesis. The prewriting will offer a possible direction(s) that your paper may take based on the material you have read so far. Part II: DRAFTING This initial draft of your research paper gives you the opportunity to develop and shape your working question into a short draft. Here is where your thesis will evolve and you will begin evaluating your sources. Remember this is a process; you need to look a many sources before finding four effective ones. You may also have to revise your working question /working thesis at this point. The more reading you do on your topic, the more complicated your question will become, requiring you to revise and reconsider throughout the process. Even if you do not submit a draft, you should write several drafts of your paper. I am happy to read a draft if you email it to me, but submitting a draft is NOT required. Part III: Research Paper Final Draft, Due Saturday, December 5th by 11:59pm (last day of the semester–you may submit earlier) 5 typed pages plus a Works Cited At this point, you will have all the material you need to write a full draft of your paper. Reevaluate your research and how it works with your close reading of the text(s). You should consider this an opportunity to make real changes to your paper—global revisions. In addition to looking at what works in your paper, look at what does not work. Where are you unclear, unconvincing, or muddled? What additional information does your reader need to understand your argument? Are you using your sources effectively? How might organizing the paper differently communicate your ideas better? Where do you need to be more critical? Are you following the guidelines—close reading, textual analysis, lens, scholarly research? These are a few questions you will need to think about when revising your paper. Spend some time with your writing manual to review how to incorporate quotes, cite sources, and create a Works Cited page.