FRANKENSTEIN PROJECT DUE JANUARY 31st 2014
The purpose of this project is to learn to do basic online research related to the novel Frankenstein, and cite it in MLA
format. You will find information from at least three online sources and write a one-page minimum, double-spaced
(including the Works Cited list) summary using the information you found. Please DO NOT use Wikipedia as a source for
your paper.
Your paper must include a Works Cited list at the end of the document. Also, if you choose to quote a source in your
paper, you must cite it properly. See instructions at the end of this document for how to cite. (There is also an example
essay at the end of the document.)
You will pick one of the following topics related to Frankenstein. Write a summary explaining what you found on the
topic AND what it has to do with Mary Shelley and the novel Frankenstein.
If you have an idea for your own topic, submit it to me for approval.
1. At one time, laudanum was a popular and widely used drug. Victor says he used it. Do some research on this
topic.
2. Cloning or stem cell research. (Just how weird WAS Victor’s idea that he could make a human being?)
3. Grave robbing. (You probably know that Victor stole body parts to make his creation. How much of a problem
was grave robbing? Why? What were the punishments?)
4. Role of women in society of the day. (What were the expectations placed upon them? What were their goals
and pursuits? What jobs were open to them? Were Justine, Elizabeth, and Caroline “typical”?)
5. Crime and punishment during the 1800s. (Various characters in the book are accused of murder. What kind of
trial and punishment could they expect? Were accused women treated differently than men?)
How to Cite a Website in MLA
Structure: Last name, First name. "Article Title." Website Title. Publisher of Website, Day Month Year article was published. Web. Day Month Year article was accessed.
<URL>.
Example:

Cain, Kevin. "The Negative Effects of Facebook on Communication." Social Media Today RSS N.p., 29 June 2012. Web. 02 Jan. 2013.


Works Cited
"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007.
Web. 24 May 2009.

Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May 2007.
Web. 25 May 2009.

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May
2009.

Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. rogerebert.com. Sun-Times
News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009.
Joe Student
Mrs. Nelson
English 9
30 December 2013
Frankenstein Project
Alessandro Volta was influential in the writing of Frankenstein because of his famous experiments in electricity.
He was an Italian physicist. The volt was named after him. He was born in Italy in 1745, and did not start talking until he
was four years old (Smith). He grew up to become a physics teacher, then began conducting experiments that lead to
the development of the battery.
Volta conducted experiments where he demonstrated that volts of electricity being conducted through the
muscle tissue of a dead frog caused the leg to twitch. This experiment was a source of contention between Volta and
fellow scientist Luigi Galvani, who believed the electricity came from the frog itself (Brown). Volta and Galvani ended
their friendship over this disagreement. Galvani’s nephew later conducted a famous experiment in which he used
electricity to make a corpse move its eyes, face, hands and legs.
Mary Shelley probably heard about this from her father’s friends, who were also scientists in this field (Brown).
Shelley spent many hours discussing this idea with her husband, Percy Shelley, and the well-known poet Lord Byron.
These discussions furthered Mary’s interest in the possibility of reanimating the dead (IEEE Foundation).


Works Cited
Smith, Reeko. “Alessandro Volta.” Reeko’s Mad Scientist Lab. SparTech Software, 1 January 2012. Web.
30 December 2013. http://reekoscience.com/ScienceTips/AlessandroVolta.aspx

Brown, Alan S. “The Science That Made Frankenstein: How early experiments with electricity inspired
Mary Shelley’s reanimated monster.” Inside Science. American Institute of Physics, 27 October 2010.
Web. 30 December 2013. <http://www.insidescience.org/content/science-made-frankenstein/1116>

IEEE Foundation. “Galvani and the Frankenstein Story: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Cinema.”
IEEE Global History Network. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2012. Web. 30 December
2013. <http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Galvani_and_the_Frankenstein_Story>