Transcript Reporting Literary Research - River Dell Regional School District

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Assignment
Prewriting
Choose and Narrow a Research Topic
Consider Purpose, Audience, and Tone
Make a Research Plan
Get an Overview and Find Sources
Note Sources
Research and Take Notes
Analyze Research Information
Write a Thesis Statement
Make an Outline
Document Sources
Practice and Apply
Assignment: Write a formal research paper of at
least 1,500 words on a topic that links literature
and historical investigation.
Literary research involves the study of literary
works and the sources that shed light on them.
How do you think researching the history of a
period might help you understand a literary work,
its author, and the culture that produced it?
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Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Choose and Narrow a Research Topic
Scan your textbook for
intriguing works and authors.
Jot down a few possibilities.
Do some preliminary research
(textbook, general reference
works, the Internet).
Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Choose and Narrow a Research Topic
Choose a general
literary topic.
Le Morte d’Arthur, Sir
Thomas Malory
The Canterbury Tales,
Geoffrey Chaucer
themes in Charles
Dickens’ novels
the poetry of Elizabeth
Barrett Browning
Decide on your
historical approach.
how the tales reflect the
culture of fourteenthcentury England
how Chaucer’s life as a
civil servant influenced
his writing
Chaucer’s comments
on religious life in the
Middle Ages
Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Choose and Narrow a Research Topic
Narrow your topic.
broad topic: The Canterbury Tales and medieval culture
What interests me about
Chaucer’s portrayal of
medieval English culture?
how he portrays women
in medieval society
What interests me about the
women in the tales?
the fact that they are not
stock characters
Limited topic: how the complex female characters in
The Canterbury Tales reflect the conflicting ideas about
women’s roles at that time
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Purpose: to inform and to argue your thesis
Audience: teacher and classmates
Tone: objective and formal (but not stuffy)
Your research paper will be an original synthesis
of ideas and information:
information
you gather
from
research
+
conclusions
you draw
from that
information
+
your own
insights
into the
topic
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Use the 5W-How? method to make a list of
research questions:
Who are the female characters in The Canterbury Tales?
What are their personalities like?
When did medieval women get involved in business?
Where did medieval women spend their leisure time?
Why were women’s activities restricted?
treat blah
women
during
How did
did men
blahbedy
blah
blah Chaucer’s time?
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Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources
Search for answers to your research questions.
• Look at general
reference works to get
an overview of your
topic.
• Then look for sources
with more specific
information.
• Explore both print and
nonprint resources.
Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources
Search for answers to your research questions.
Some specific places to start:
 bound or online encyclopedia
 school or local library’s databases
 museums or historical societies
 film or TV documentaries
 periodical indexes, such as the Readers’ Guide to
Periodical Literature
Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources
Include a balance of primary sources and
secondary sources.
Primary sources
Secondary sources
Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources
Identify each of the following sources as
primary or secondary.
A letter Chaucer wrote to his wife
primary
A journal article analyzing “The Wife of Bath’s
Tale”
secondary
A video of an interview with a Chaucer scholar
A historical document stating that Chaucer
was a member of Parliament
secondary
primary
Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources
To make sure a source is reliable and valid, ask:
• Are the facts accurate?
• Are the ideas presented objectively?
Reliable, valid sources are usually those published
by universities or respected publishing companies.
Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources
Cover all relevant perspectives, or points of view.
Medieval historians
Literary critics
Other writers
from the 1300s
women characters in
The Canterbury Tales
Sociologists
Chaucer biographers
Experts in
women’s studies
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Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Note Sources
Keep a record of your sources.
Make a source card, or bibliography card, for
each source.
Record the publishing information for your Works Cited
list
Number each source. (You’ll use these handy numbers
as shorthand when you’re taking notes.)
Add an annotation—a short note about the
contents of the source.
Include the call number or location of the source.
Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Research and Take Notes
Take notes on information that will help answer
your research questions.
Use a separate note card for each main idea.
Include the source number and the page number(s).
Write a heading showing the main idea.
Re-read the note to make sure you understand it.
Record each piece of information either as a direct
quotation, a paraphrase, or a summary.
See notes at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/
Divide your notes into categories based on their
headings. Then subdivide each set based on relevant
aspects of the category.
Prioress
Appearance
Jewelry
Rosary
Interests
Fine forehead
Gold brooch
Animals
French
To analyze your notes, ask:
Is the factual
information consistent?
If two sources conflict
in their presentation of
the facts, determine
which source is more
reliable and valid, and
use the information
from that source.
Do different sources
interpret factual
information differently?
If two sources differ on
an interpretation,
consider logic, common
sense, and different
perspectives, and then
explain the different
interpretations.
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Reporting Literary Research
Prewriting: Write a Thesis Statement
Assert yourself. Write a thesis statement stating your topic and
your conclusion about it.
Chaucer’s complex, often
inconsistent female characters
reflect the changing roles of
women in fourteenth-century
England.
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Order, please. Think about the most effective order for presenting
your ideas. (You’ll probably use a combination of organizational
patterns.)
• chronological order—the
order in which events occur
• logical order—related
ideas are grouped together
• order of importance—
most important idea to least
important, or the reverse
Make a formal outline.
I.
Introduction
A. Overview of research
B. Thesis statement
II. The Prioress
A. Appearance
1. Fine forehead
2. Jewelry
a. Green-beaded rosary
b. Gold brooch with motto
B. Interests/pleasures
1. French language
2. Animal lover
major divisions of
your paper
secondary divisions
supporting examples
specific details
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Plagiarizing is a form of cheating. Make sure to
document all sources in your paper to avoid taking
credit for others’ work.
how to
document
sources
See the examples in the model on
Schoolwires. Use Purdue OWL.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Every direct quotation
what to
document
Any original theory not your own
Data from studies and interviews
Anything you’re not sure of
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Reporting Literary Research
Use the preceding instructions to
• select a topic for your literary research paper,
• locate and record information from primary
and secondary sources,
• write a thesis statement, and
• plan your paper’s documentation.
Be sure to follow the guidelines for making source
cards and taking notes.
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