Research Paper for Literature
Students will need to begin the research paper process soon in order to produce a research paper
that is quality.
Time Schedule for the Research Paper.
1. Students must choose their own topic. The topic needs to be related to the book Jane
Eyre. Topics need to be submitted by April 3 for approval.
2. Pre -writing/ Outline needs to be turned in by April 10th.
3. Citation Page with sources needs to be submitted by April 17th.
4. Rough drafts are due April 24th.
5. Final papers are due May 1st.
Required Elements
1. Topics- Topics need to be something related to Jane Eyre. Students can not have the same
topic as someone else. Students can submit topics early.
2. Outline- Include Thesis Statement at top and a simple outline of the contents of the
paper.
3. Citation Page- You must have a minimum of 5 sources. Two sources are needed from a
book, 1 source from an article , and 1 source from the internet. The other source is up to
you . You must give credit to the author for any ideas or information that you found in
his work including those you paraphrase. If you don't, you are practicing plagiarism
(stealing someone else's ideas or writing). Direct quotes should be enclosed in quotation
marks, or if they are over 3 lines long, set off from the rest of the work in a block
quotation (indented 10 spaces from left). All ideas, words, phrases, or thoughts that are
borrowed from someone else must be properly documented in a citation (parentheses)
after the sentence. Put down all publication information when you do your research
because you may not be able to find the source again. If you take notes from a source,
write the **page number** you took the information from at the end of each
paragraph. Page numbers are required in the citations for printed sources. Make a copy
of articles from periodicals or from the internet. Be sure to write down the necessary
publication information on your copy of the article so you don’t have to come back to
find it later. Read the article from beginning to end, then read it again and highlight parts
of the article you think you might use in your paper. Turn in a copy of these with you
paper.
4. Rough Draft- Please start with a clear thesis statement. Put citations in as you go. If you
paraphrase an article, make sure to reference the author. Use materials from all your
sources. Do not let one source dominate your paper. Keep direct quotations to a
minimum. Only 10% or less of a paper should be direct quotation. Write in the 3rd
person. Do not use 1st or 2nd person pronouns: “I”,you, we, our, me". Do not use
contractions in formal writing. Please save as a Microsoft word document. Pasting
a paper in email or in notepad will cause a reduction in points due to formatting issues. I
have given a rubric detailing how the final paper will be graded.
5. Editing Process- I will give you feedback on rough drafts, however, it is up to the student
to catch minor mistakes. When I grade the rough drafts, I am looking them over for big
mistakes. It is the students responsibility to check for minor mistakes. This prepares
them for college where students will only turn in a final paper.
6. Sources- Students can find sources in a variety of ways. One way is through the
Huntsville Public Library. The students were shown how to access articles, journals, and
books from home through the virtual library. Students may use other sources as long as
they are creditable.
7. Final Paper- Students will need to turn in a hard copy of their final papers on May 1st. A
copy of your articles need to be turned in with your paper. The length of your paper is 5
pages. This is the minimum that will be accepted and small for a research paper.