Butler - Parable of the Talents: Your Assignment

“... We are born Not with purpose, But with potential.”  -- Octavia E. Butler

Understanding Your Assignment

Before you begin looking for information you should make sure you understand your assignment. Some good questions are:

• How many pages?
• How many sources?
• What kinds of sources?
  
  • Books
  • Articles
  • Websites
    
• What format?

Your professor is your best resource to answer these questions.

Breaking Down The Research Process  

The following outline gives a simple and effective strategy for finding information for a research paper and documenting the sources you find. Depending on your topic and your familiarity with the library, you may need to rearrange or recycle these steps. Adapt this outline to your needs. We are ready to help you at every step in your research.

1. Choose a topic - or have one assigned
2. Understand your topic
   • Background reading
     
   • Consider a main focus
   • Refine your topic
   • Make a list of your keywords and concepts
     
3. Search Sources
   • Find Books
   • Find Articles
   • Find Websites
4. Write your paper - Informative, Analytical, Argumentative, Critical
5. Cite your sources

There are many topics (or themes) present in Parable of the Talents.  Here are a few examples of such themes:

• Survival 
• Right and Wrong (Ethics of Morality) 
• War 
• Parent-child Relationships 
• Faith 
• Abuse/Trauma 
• Gender Dynamics 
• Change/Transformation/Growth 
• Loss 
• Resilience or Recovery
• Importance of Hope or Positivity
• Complicity
• Genocide
• Dehumanization
• Human Rights
• Propaganda
• Manipulation

Need Help 

The Cerritos College Librarians can help you with your research in a variety of ways:

• In person
• By email
• By phone
• Chat

Librarians are available during library hours to answer your questions by phone or chat.
(562) 860-2451 x2425