Short Story Research and Exploration: Author Biography
Throughout Quarter 1 we have read several short stories that have all focused on our essential questions
surrounding values. Some of these stories explored values of sacrifice/love (“The Gift of the Magi”), greed
(“The Necklace”), survival/strength (“The Most Dangerous Game”), pride (“The Scarlet Ibis”), and revenge
(“The Cask of Amontillado”). We have analyzed these stories and the values that each story focuses on,
but have not yet explored the lives of the talented authors who wrote them. In order to better
understand the inspiration that led to the writing of each story, one can take a deeper look into the lives
and background of each author.
Example Areas of Inquiry:
 What kind of life did Edgar Allan Poe live that inspired such terrifying stories as “The Cask of
Amontillado”?
 Did James Hurst have a brother much like the narrator in “The Scarlet Ibis”?
 Did Richard Connell have a passion for hunting in his own life (“The Most Dangerous Game”)?
 Did Guy De Maupassant struggle financially (“The Necklace”)?
 Was O. Henry forced to sacrifice much throughout his own lifetime (“The Gift of the Magi”)?
In order to gain more insight to a written work, if often helps to conduct research on the author who
wrote it. To end this quarter, each of you will transform into a detective and research information
surrounding the author who penned your FAVORITE short story. You will focus on this author and develop
an MLA formatted 3 paragraph summary of the author’s Early Life, Career/ Accomplishment, and
Genre/Famous Works. This brief author biography will be due to turntintin.com on the following
Due Date: _____________________. (We will work on these in the lab therefore you must start bringing a
flash drive to class each day in order to save your ongoing work)
Short Story Research Guidelines:
 Focus on 1 of the following authors: O. Henry, Guy De Maupassant, Richard Connell, James Hurst, OR
Edgar Allan Poe
 Conduct research on your author of choice using the PROVIDED sources (you will be given specific
internet resources to use for this assignment in order to assure the reliability of your source)/ this
research will be guided by a provided graphic organizer
 Using the research you find you must create an MLA formatted document that includes a total of 3
paragraphs. Breakdown:
- MLA Heading/ Last Name Page Number
- Times New Roman Font Size 12
- Double Spaced
- Centered Title (no funny fonts/bolded/ italics)
- Paragraph 1: Early Life
- Paragraph 2: Career/ Accomplishments
- Paragraph 3: Genre/Famous Works
- Space down to text page and create a “Work Cited” Page including the information of the
source that you used for your research
- Your paper MUST include a total of 12 in-text citations EX: (“Poe Biography”) – 4 in-text
citations per paragraph
- Your paper MUST include a “Work Cited” page citing the 1 required source needed to find your
research
Short Story Author Research Checklist:
In order to check yourself as you progress through this research, please reference the checklist below that
outlines the necessary elements that I will be looking for in each research paper.
FORMATTING:
_____ MLA Header Present and Correct
_____ MLA Running Header (Last name Page #)
_____ Centered Title (same font, do not bold or underline)
_____ Double Spaced
_____ 1 inch margins (all around)
_____ Work Cited Page Present and Correct (hanging indents if needed, double spaced, centered title not bolded, running header,
source information provided in correct format in the SAME FONT as the rest of the paper, last page of the assignment)
PARAGRAPH 1:
_____ Title “Early Life” (same font, do not bold or underline)/ on Left Side of page
_____ Information focuses on the Early Life of the author
_____ Includes 1 Direct Quote (word for word from source in quotations/ followed by in-text citation)
_____ Includes 3 Paraphrased details (information from the source but in YOUR OWN WORDS/ followed by in-text citation)
_____ A total for 4 in-text citations
PARAGRAPH 2:
_____ Title “Career and Accomplishments” (same font, do not bold or underline)/ on Left Side of page
_____ Information focuses on the Career and Accomplishment of the author
_____ Includes 1 Direct Quote (word for word from source in quotations/ followed by in-text citation)
_____ Includes 3 Paraphrased details (information from the source but in YOUR OWN WORDS/ followed by in-text citation)
_____ A total for 4 in-text citations
PARAGRAPH 3:
_____ Title “Genre and Famous Works” same font, do not bold or underline)/ on Left Side of page
_____ Information focuses on the Genre and Famous Works of the author
_____ Includes 1 Direct Quote (word for word from source in quotations/ followed by in-text citation)
_____ Includes 3 Paraphrased details (information from the source but in YOUR OWN WORDS/ followed by in-text citation)
_____A total for 4 in-text citations
_____ All work is polished with no spelling/conventional errors/ NO USE OF “I” or “YOU”