11th Grade American Literature Research Paper
Mrs. Smith
2013-2014
1
11th Grade American Literature Research Paper
As you know, American Literature traces the study of U.S. History through its literature in the
hopes that students will begin to grasp the fundamental ideas that shaped and continue to mold
the country today. Many individuals in history have had a major influence on America. You will
have 2 options on the direction you would like to take with your research paper.
Option 1: Pick an individual who has had a major impact on American or world events and
research him or her, examining the significance of his or her role. Individuals listed below can be
considered, as well as others not listed (however, you must clear any alternative topic choice
with your teacher first). Please note -- some of the individuals listed below are controversial
figures.
Option 2: Choose one American author. You will gather biographical information that
introduces significant events in the author’s life, discuss the literary movement of which he or
she is a part, mention some of the works that made him or her famous, and include some of the
literary criticism about the overall works of that particular author. A list of authors is included
following this page.
In America
Muhammad Ali
Susan B. Anthony
Neil Armstrong
Arthur Ashe
Clara Barton
John Brown
George H. W. Bush
Barbara Bush
Jimmy Carter
Crazy Horse
Walt Disney
Dorothea Dix
Frederick Douglass
W.E.B. DuBois
Bob Dylan
Amelia Earhart
Benjamin Franklin
William Lloyd Garrison
Lou Gehrig
Patrick Henry
Thomas Jefferson
Steve Jobs
Lyndon B. Johnson
Barbara Jordan
Chief Joseph
Helen Keller
John F. Kennedy
Billie Jean King
Martin Luther King Jr.
Abraham Lincoln
Thurgood Marshall
Richard Nixon
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Thomas Paine
Rosa Parks
Sister Helen Prejean
Elvis Presley
2
Ronald Reagan
Jackie Robinson
John D. Rockefeller
Eleanor Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Sojourner Truth
Dr. Jonas Salk
Upton Sinclair
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Tubman
Andy Warhol
Booker T. Washington
George Washington
Orson Welles
Woodrow Wilson
American Authors
Mark Twain
Edgar Allan Poe
Ernest Hemingway
William Faulkner
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Toni Morrison
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Herman Melville
Maya Angelou
Walt Whitman
Ralph Waldo Emerson
John Steinbeck
Langston Hughes
Pat Conroy
Ray Bradbury
Shirley Jackson
Flannery O’Connor
Stephen King
J.D. Salinger
Louisa May Alcott
Zora Neal Hurston
Harper Lee
Truman Capote
Kurt Vonnegut
Robert Frost
Emily Dickinson
S.E. Hinton
Edith Wharton
Tennessee Williams
John Irving
Willa Cather
Jack London
Sylvia Plath
John Updike
Henry David Thoreau
T.S. Eliot
Pearl S. Buck
Judy Blume
Kate Chopin
Alice Walker
Anne Bradstreet
Washington Irving
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Alice Sebold
Margaret Mitchell
Tim O’Brien
Eudora Welty
Barbara Kingsolver
Laura Ingalls Wilder
3
NAME: _____________________ Period: ______
11th Grade American Literature Research Paper
Date Due
Assignment Due
Pts.
Tuesday
January 7
Topic Chosen (write it here):
Wednesday
January 15
Note Card Check #1 (at least 15 cards total)
100
daily
grade
Friday
January 17
Note Card Check #2 (at least 30 cards total)
100
daily
grade
Wednesday
January 22
Controlling Idea [thesis statement] due (typed or neatly
written in packet)
100
daily
grade
Friday,
January 24
Detailed Outline due (typed)
100
quiz
grade
Friday,
February 7
First Draft Due (typed with cover and works cited page –
this should resemble a finished product) – First Draft
must be resubmitted with Final Draft
100
test
grade
Friday,
February 28
Final Draft Due (typed with cover and works cited page –
this sheet must be included as the last page). Hand in
your first draft also.
100
(2)
test
grades
Additional Information
4
Completed
PLAGIARISM: A Warning
Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty that robs the intellectual property of others.
Plagiarism is NEVER acceptable. A research paper showing evidence of plagiarism will
receive a grade of zero with no chance of raising the score, and a discipline referral .
Remember – if you can find papers or passages to copy on the Internet, your teacher can find
them, too.
What is Plagiarism
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or borrowing someone else's
original ideas. However, terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness
of the offense:
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means
1.
2.
3.
4.
to
to
to
to
steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
use (another's production) without crediting the source
commit literary theft
present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.
In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work
and lying about it afterward.
Can words and ideas really be stolen?
According to U.S. law, the answer is yes. The expression of original ideas is considered
intellectual property, and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions. Almost
all forms of expression fall under copyright protection as long as they are recorded in some
way (such as a book or a computer file).
All of the following are considered plagiarism:






turning in someone else's work as your own
copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your
work, whether you give credit or not.
Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledging
that certain material has been borrowed, and providing your audience with the information
necessary to find that source, is usually enough to prevent plagiarism.
Source of the above information: www.plagiarism.org
5
Developing a Thesis Statement
(Controlling Idea)
The following examples show how to develop a thesis statement from a broad, general idea. Each step
shows a further narrowing of the topic in order to arrive at a legitimate thesis statement.
Broad
Mark Twain
Narrow
Biographical significance of the ending
Huckleberry Finn
THESIS: Huck’s departure at the end of the novel reflects Twain’s own dissatisfaction
with civilization.
Broad
Public Schools
Length of School Year
Narrow
Positive effect of long school year
THESIS: An extended school year would have a positive effect on learning, student
attitudes toward school, and the retention of skills from year to year.
WHAT A THESIS STATEMENT SHOULD NOT BE:
1. A topic or subject by itself cannot serve as a thesis statement. That information tells what the
paper is about, but not what you and your research have to say about it.
2. A question cannot serve as a thesis statement because it is not a statement. A question merely
says that an answer will follow. However, a question-and-answer pair can be a thesis statement.
3. A general statement that lacks a detailed point of view cannot serve as a thesis statement. A
general statement may give the reader background information but does not reflect your point of
view.
4. A “so what?” statement. This kind of thesis statement is too obvious (common knowledge)
and demonstrates no originality of thought.
WHAT A THESIS STATEMENT SHOULD BE:
1. A complete sentence or two summarizing the point of view in your paper.
2. A specific declaration of your main idea.
3. A statement reflecting your position.
EXAMPLES:
THESIS: The Midwife’s Apprentice is a realistic interpretation of the Middle Ages, showing
what life was really like for the common villager.
6
THESIS: Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird we see Scout Finch mature as she becomes aware
of the true nature of the people in her town.
HINT: You write a thesis statement early to focus your attention – not that of your reader.
Therefore, as you do your research, you may wish to modify your statement or radically change
it (and perhaps you should). That’s okay, but you need to discuss a major change with your
teacher.
Your Thesis Statement
First, Jot down your topic:
Now, think about what it is about this topic that you want everyone to know, which they may not
already know. Present this in the form of a statement that you can prove is true with your
research. Remember, a thesis is not a general statement (so it is not common knowledge, i.e. the
Earth is round).
7
Using Quotes Correctly
In The Crucible John Proctor said, “I say – I say – God is dead!”
(111).
During the holocaust the Germans “committed unthinkable acts
against humanity” (Price 26).
“In search of a better life, Nelson Mandela strived for equal
rights,” remarks Professor Jenkins (26).
SAVE YOURSELF EXTRA WORK by…
…using one of the citation making cites provided on the school’s library
website to format your Works Cited page.
8
Research Paper Final Draft
Expectations
1. Research Paper is typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, and a normal font type (Times
New Roman is the best – this is the default font in Microsoft Word). Margins should be
standard 1-inch margins. The Research Paper should look professional – not wrinkled,
misprinted, or damaged
2. You should have a cover page with your NAME, DATE, CLASS PERIOD, and
RESEARCH TOPIC. Feel free to add designs or art to the cover.
3. Your research paper must be 4-5 typed pages total. This does NOT include the “Works
Cited” page and the cover page. It should not exceed 8 pages.
4. You must use quotations and proper MLA citation form. The majority of your paper
should NOT be quotes, whether direct or indirect.
5. You must include a Works Cited page at the end of your paper. This is where you list
the sources you have cited in your writing. They are listed alphabetically. You must
have at least 5 sources listed. At least one source must be a book.
6. You MUST submit your TIMELINE CHECKLIST in order to receive credit on all
of the checks. If you do not submit this form, you may only receive partial credit for
the final draft.
7. First Drafts – Your first draft will only be looked at if it is turned in on time. I highly
advise you to submit a first draft, as I will be able to give you suggestions to improve
your paper. If you do not submit a rough draft, you will lose receive a 0 for a test grade.
There should be nothing “rough” about your first draft. It will be the first time I see it,
but not the first time you have written it. I will NOT read your first draft word for word. I
will skim your information and check your formatting.
8. The first draft and the final draft must be uploaded to www.turnitin.com by the day they
are due. Don’t fail to do this or you may not receive credit for your work. Turnitin.com
can help you avoid plagiarism! More specific instructions will be provided separate from
this packet.
9. Research Papers turned in late will lose 5 points every day.
10. Printers that are out of ink or don’t work correctly will not constitute a legitimate excuse.
Also, computers that fail will not be excused. Save your work often - on both your hard
drive and a CD/floppy drive/flash drive.
11. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!
9