English 355 Prof LOverman
Essay 5 – The Research Paper
Sat 5/7: Moodle by 1155PM: Post Shortwrite 4- Working thesis & Annotated Bibliography: Four (4) min. credible
outside sources. Post a min of TWO replies to other classmates. Counts double points.
Thurs 5/12 Peer Review Workshop – Rough Draft Due – Your final draft will be docked one full letter grade if you
fail to bring a working rough draft and participate in the workshop session on this date. You must bring three to four
printed copies of your essay for your workshop group. Failure to do so equals non-participation in workshop. If you
arrive late, you will not be permitted to participate in the workshop and your grade will be docked. Be sure to have all
printing completed the night before. Printer problems or failure will not be excused.
Thurs 5/19: FINAL DRAFT DUE uploaded in Moodle prior to 10:00pm, 5-7 pages (excluding works cited, but do add
works cited page).
Extra Credit LRC visit w/ proof: 10 extra credit points given ONCE for attending LRC during this essay’s drafting
process, but you may go as many times as you need to.
WRITING TASK: S ELECT TWO OR THREE WORKS FROM THE LISTS BELOW AND IN AN ESSAY 5 FULL-7 PAGES
(WITHOUT WORKS CITED PAGE , BUT DO INCLUDE ONE ) IN LENGTH , ARGUE A MEANINGFUL CONNECTION YOU
HAVE FOUND BETWEEN THEM .
Common grounds for discussion could be similarity in theme, idea, problem, characterization, point of view, setting,
imagery, diction, voice, figures of speech, social ideology, theoretical lens; techniques utilized by authors … there are
numerous possibilities.
But you must compare/contrast “like for like” in the two or more of works you examine.
The purpose of your essay is to explain your interpretation to readers and persuade them that your interpretation is
worthy of serious consideration.
You are required to select at least one of the works from List A below:
Tim O’Brien “The Things They Carried” (388)
Ha Jin “The Bane of the Internet” (590)
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” (590)
Ernest Hemingway “Hills Like White Elephants” (129)
Junot Diaz “No Face” (577)
Cathy Song “Girl Powdering Her Neck” (PS5)
David Hernandez “Mosul” (907)
Next, select a second story from List B below [OR a second work from list A]:
William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily” (220)
Ray Carver “Cathedral” (432)
Edwidge Danticat “New York Day Women” (344)
Sherman Alexie “What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” (274)
D.H. Lawrence “The Rocking-Horse Winner” (481)
Yusef Komunyakaa “Facing It” (906)
Edna St Vincent Millay “Love” (821)
YOU MAY NOT INCORPORATE A WORK NOT ON THE SYLLABUS OF THIS COURSE.
Your essay MUST also incorporate research. However, this is not a “research” paper per se, in that your purpose here is
not to present all the available material written on these stories. Your research is intended to give you a starting point
(an idea to argue with) or to provide support and/or illustration of the points of your argument. In either case, your
thesis is driving the essay, not the combined contentions of other writers. You are required to incorporate a
minimum of TWO outside credible critical sources in the text of your essay.
Your Purpose in Writing This Essay:
Demonstrate your ability to look insightfully at short works of fiction.
Argue a significant and meaningful way to interpret these texts.
Present a clear, arguable, and provocative thesis.
Support your argument with clear and appropriate evidence, taken from the texts and from outside
critical sources.
Illustrate your ability to correctly interpret critical sources.
Demonstrate knowledge of the rhetorical and argumentative structures in organizing your essay.
Illustrate the proper usage of MLA documentation, in text and in the Works Cited page.
Exercise the skill of writing well-crafted sentences, utilizing standard edited American English.