American Authors
Research Assignment
American Authors – Writing Assignment and Procedure
Due Date: Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Assignment: To select one of the appropriate American authors and write a multi-paragraph paper
(five paragraphs) based on their background, to inform the reader about the author’s life and influences
and to reference at least one of the author’s works.
Procedure:
1. Select an author from the given list.
2. Brainstorm on your author – use the hand out provided.
3. Review the information on writing a thesis statement and draft a thesis statement.
4. Locate three quotes from the author or one of his/her works to back up each of your limited topics
from your thesis statement. Be sure to include the exact wording on the quote page.
5. Take the information gathered in step 2,3,and 4 and place it into the skeletal outline provided in the
packet.
6. Review the information on writing an introduction and draft an introduction.
7. Review the information on writing body paragraphs and draft three body paragraphs.
8. Review the information on writing concluding paragraphs and draft a concluding paragraph.
9. Revise and edit your paper using the revise and edit sheet provided.
10. Prepare your final typed copy. Refer to the paper checklist.
11. Refer to the Paper Rubric hand out to see how your paper will be evaluated.
12. Do not hesitate to set up a time to conference with me prior to your paper being due!
What Do I Write About?
An author’s work will always in some way show evidence of their life. Your
assignment is to investigate the works of your author and demonstrate within your paper
ways in which those writings are reflective of your author’s life. You will need to
research his or her writings, and know (at least) the main idea, characters involved and
theme of the work. You will also need to research the author’s life. You will need to
focus on the author’s motivation for writing a particular work and events of the author’s
life which have influenced the author to write. You will find various influences such as
family life, health issues, education, social class, and social issues, which inspire your
author to write about particular topics, settings, themes, etc.
**The focus of your paper is to demonstrate how the life/background of your author
is evident in his or her writings.
My author choice is: ______________________________
Brainstorming
Directions: In the space provided, write down all the ideas you can think of for your
particular work. Each topic or example has three limited ideas to it. For example, a
work one may show strong evidence of the author’s family life, another may show an
example of a health issue that the author suffered from and yet another may
demonstrate a strong theme that ties with the author’s education.
** Place your limited idea in the middle cluster and then branch out from it with your
ideas and examples from the novel or other research.
Limited idea #1 is
________________
________________
Limited idea #2 is
________________
________________
Limited idea #3 is
________________
________________
Compile a Works Cited Page
 The “Works Cited” page is a bibliography of the sources you cited in your paper.
 All entries are listed in alphabetical order according to the author’s or editor’s last
name.
 If there is no author or editor, begin with the title of the work. Note that the
words “the” “a” and “an” are not alphabetized when they begin a title.
 Do not number the entries on the “Works Cited” page.
 When two books by the same author are cited, use three hyphens in the second
entry instead of the author’s name. Alphabetize these entries according to the
titles of the books.
 All sources cited in your paper must be included.
 Include at least one main novel.
 Place a header in the upper right hand corner with your last name and the page
number.
 Additional “Works Cited” pages include a header, but are not titled.
 The title “Works Cited” is centered.
 All lines are double-spaced.
 Indent second and subsequent lines of entries five spaces.
You will need at least 4 main sources, either in print or electronic.
Thesis Statements
The thesis statement of a composition is like the topic sentence of a paragraph; it expresses the main
idea, or thesis of your paper. Your thesis is not your topic (such as Emily Dickinson) but what you
want to say about your topic (Emily Dickinson’s life as a recluse, for example.) Your thesis statement
will have a main topic – reclusiveness, and it will have subtopics – low self-esteem, unfulfilled love,
poor health. In addition, your thesis statement can be expressed in one sentence which will be the last
sentence of your introduction.
How to limit a topic:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Bret Harte
Bret Harte characters
Bret Hart’s characters of the mining camps of the west
Bret Harte’s use of stereotyped characters in portraying the camps of the west
Thesis: Bret Harte utilized stereotyped characters such as the gambler and the dance hall girl
with a heart of gold to portray vividly the mining camps of the west.
Sample thesis statements:
1. In The Crucible, John Proctor and Giles Corey react honorably to the events in Salem.
2. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck demonstrates his loyalty to Jim and Tom
Sawyer.
3. D.H. Lawrence’s poem “Snake” utilizes the snake to represent evil and a hidden part of man.
To start you off…
The works of ____________________ show evidence from (his/her) life experience
through…________________________ (your limited ideas!)
(This can be reorganized to your liking, but you must include the author’s name and
your limited ideas.)
Locating Quotes
A quote must back up your ideas. It lends proof to what you have stated in your paper. Choose at least
three quotes to back up your limited ideas.
Limited Idea – Quote #1
Name of Source: ____________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
Limited Idea – Quote #2
Name of Source: ____________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
Limited Idea – Quote #3
Name of Source: ____________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
Checklist for Paper
1. _____ Spacing – entire paper is double-spaced (no extra space between paragraphs)
2. _____ Font – use 12 pt. font
3. _____ Font type – use regular font (i.e. Time New Roman or Arial)
4. _____ Length of paper – five paragraphs total (introduction>5-7 sentences, body
paragraphs>5-7 sentences, conclusion> 5-7 sentences)
5. _____ Thesis placement – last sentence of introduction
6. _____ Transitions – use transition to connect examples and paragraphs – First, next,
in addition, likewise, etc.
7. _____ Formal tone – do not use “I” “you” “we” or “us”
8. _____ Quotes – at least one quote per body paragraph
9. _____ Proper citation of quotes – “He had no rifle” (Crane 472)
10. _____ Use of at least 4 internal citations to prove your limited ideas.
Example: (Harte 43)
11. _____ Ellipsis marks – i.e….signifies that information has been left out of the quote;
therefore, it is a partial quote
12. _____ Title of novel – either underline or italicize it. Choose one and be consistent.
Do not put title in quotes.
13. _____ Verb tense – maintain present verb tense.
14. _____ Contractions – do not use contractions (i.e. can’t, wouldn’t, etc.)
15. _____ Spelling – proofread, especially for characters names, and use spell check.
Evidence of Research
You must submit evidence of your research on the day that your paper is due.
This can be in the form of note cards, handwritten or typed notes, or writing
webs. The following are the guidelines for evidence:
1. If you are submitting notes, you must submit at least three handwritten or
typed pages pertaining to what information you have found about your
author.
2. If you are submitting note cards, you must submit at least 5 note cards for
each source – a total of 15 note cards total.
3. If you are submitting a web, you must submit at least three webs, one for
each source used.
Evidence of research will be worth a total of 25 points and all evidence is due on
the day your paper is due!
American Authors
Sources in the SVSHS Library
You will need a minimum of 4 sources for your paper.
1. On the desktop: Power Library
- Contemporary authors
2. In the Reference Section(s) 800’s and 900’s:
- Great American Authors (off-white books)
- American Authors and Artists (teal blue books)
3. On the shelves: you will find many good books on the library shelves.
You need to search Destiny on the desktop and search under the name of
the author.
4. Internet – you may use internet sources, but be sure to write down the
name of the webpage and the author, if given. You must also print out
these sources to be turned in with your paper.