Sample Outline:
I.
Introduction (with thesis statement as last line)
II.
Plot Summary
III.
Author biography
IV.
Three Critical Arguments (the author and his/her time period as reflected in the work)*
a.
b.
c.
V.
Conclusion
*Sample Critical Arguments:
The setting of the novel as it relates to the author's life
The beliefs and values of the author as shown in the novel
Symbolic characters as they relate to the author's life
The author's religious beliefs as demonstrated in the novel
Autobiographical experiences that parallel events from the novel, etc.
Tips on Creating Your Working Bibliography:
Be sure you have consulted a variety of sources. You should, of course, visit NW’s library, but
also a university library such as UNCG.
A thorough bibliography needs to be a mix of both print sources and reputable web sources (no
Wikipedia, Yahoo Answers, Sparknotes, etc.).
For this research project, you should look at consulting anywhere from 7-15 sources.
Be sure to photocopy the information you take (you can take pictures with your phone and print
them out on 8 ½ X 11 paper, too). You will enclose ALL documentation in a large envelope to
accompany your paper. Doing so will prevent plagiarism and fabrication of sources/information, and it
will help ensure a balanced approach to your writing (rather than relying solely on one source for
information).
Make sure you adhere to MLA style when creating your works cited page! It must be perfect,
down to every space, comma, and period.  See below for an example (but remember: web sources are
allowed in balance with print sources).
Sample Works Cited #1
Adler, David A. A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe. New York: Holiday House.
2003. Print.
Claybaugh, Amanda. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, “Introduction and Notes.” New York, New York:
Barnes and Nobles Classics. 2003. xiii-xlii. Print.
Elliot, Henry. Harriet Beecher Stowe: The Voice of Humanity in White America. New York,
New York: Crabtree Publishing. 2010. Print.
Fritz, Jean. Harriet Beecher Stowe and The Beecher Preachers. New York, New York: G.P.
Putnam’s Sons. 1994. Print.
Garrison, William Lloyd. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, “Comments and Questions.” 1852. New York,
New York: Barnes and Nobel Classics. 2003. 521-523. Print.
Gatta, John. Dictionary of Literary Biography: American Women Prose Writers, 1820-1870.
Farmington, Michigan: The Gale Group. 2001. 310-321. Print.
Gerson, Noel B. Harriet Beecher Stowe. New York, New York: Praeger Publishers. 1976. Print.
Hedrick, Joan D. American National Biography. New York, New York: Oxford University
Press. 1999. 906-908. Print.
Henson, Josiah. Mrs. H. Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom.”
Johnson, Paul David. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1979. 579-601. Print.
McFarland, Philip. Loves of Harriet Beecher Stowe. New York, New York: Grove Press. 2007.
Print.
North American Review. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, “Comments and Questions.” 1853. New York,
New York: Barnes and Noble Classics. 2003. 524-525. Print.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. 1853. Bedford, Massachusetts:
Applewood Books. 2008. Print.
Wagenknecht, Edward. Harriet Beecher Stowe: The Known and the Unknown. New York, New
York: Oxford University Press. 1965. Print.
Sample Works Cited #2
Busby, Mark. Ralph Ellison. 1991. Boston: Twayne Publishers. 1991. Print.
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. 1952. New York: Random House. 1995. Print.
Graham, Maryemma and Jeffery Dwayne. “Ralph Ellison, 1913-1994: A Brief Biography.” A
Historical Guide to Ralph Ellison. Ed. Steven C. Tracy. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2004. 19-55. Print.
McSweeney, Kerry. Invisible Man: Race and Identity. 1988. Boston: Twaine Publishers. 1988.
Print.
O’Meally, Robert G. “Ralph Ellison.” African American Writers. Ed. Valerie Smith, Lea
Baechler, and A. Walton Litz. New York: Collier Books. 1991. 82. Print.
O’Meally, Robert G. The Craft of Ralph Ellison. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University
Press. 1980. Print.
Tracy, Steven C. “A Delicate Ear, a Retentive Memory, and the Power to Weld the Fragments.”
A Historical Guide to Ralph Ellison. Ed. Steven C. Tracy. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2004. 85-114. Print.