ENG 102 - Introduction to Literature - Professor Walker: Your Assignment

You probably already know a little something about this author and literary work, but it's important to find out more in order to write an intelligent research paper. 

Ask yourself:

• What do I know?

• What can I find out?

biographical information
plot overviews
charatcter studies
themes
literary style
critical essays

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.

Your proposed topic will be a  250- 350 word MLA document that elaborates an idea of what your paper will discuss. It will identify the ideas you are looking to explore, the critical lens you will be applying, and a working thesis. You must have these elements in your proposal to be accepted. 

If your proposal is not accepted, it can be resubmitted for a maximum grade of C.

This essay will focus on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.  What did you find interesting about the text? There are questions in the text on page 1106 – 1108 to help you narrow your topic and which critical lens best suits your topic. 

You will need to create an argument based on the elements discussed in the Fiction module and identify the critical lens you will be applying (questions on page 1086-1088).

The final essay will  be  1,250 - 1,750 words 5-7 pages and include academic research with a minimum of three academic sources and a works cited page adhering to MLA format.  One source should be dedicated to the critical approach you are using. 

Your proposed topic  must be accepted prior to writing the essay.

Which one of these arguments do you feel strongly about? Which one seems a bit far-fetched? Can you think of one that is not posted?  Choose 2 or 3 and find some textual support. Respond to 2 others with different textual support for one argument they chose. You need to choose a different argument than the one identified in your original post.

We can firmly identify Frankenstein as a fictional novel. You will get different answers when you ask what Frankenstein is about. You can argue all of these points and more with textual support:

• It is the first science fiction novel

• It is a horror story-

• It is about educating children

• It is about educating women

• It is about educating men

• It is about crossing political boundaries

• It is about crossing social boundaries

• It is about crossing physical boundaries

• It is about gender roles

• It is about LGBTQ issues in a straight cisgendered world

• It is about social hierarchy

• It is about the monstrous

• It is about the death penalty

• It is about exploration

• It is about knowing what you should do vs. what you can do

Literary Criticism is discussion, analysis or appraisal of a literary work-whether a novel, poem, play, short story or essay.

As a literary critic, you will read and study a piece of literature and attempt to:

• describe
• analyze
• justify
• interpret
• evaluate
  

The guide will help you find biographical and critical information about authors and their works.

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

This edition is based on the 1818 edition recently digitised by Distributed Proofreaders, with cross checking against the current Project Gutenberg and a new DP 1831 edition currently.

Click below to see if there's a research guide on your author or literary work.

Monica's Contact Info:

mmlopez@cerritos.edu  

To chat with me, use the chat box below. If I'm offline, another librarian will help you if it's during our open hours.