Topic:
Alice Walker “Everyday Use”
ENG122 – Research Paper Assignment

General Guidelines For the research paper assignment, you will choose a piece of literature from our reading list as the focus of your writing. By the conclusion of Module 4, you should email your instructor with the title of your chosen piece and a statement of what particularly interests you about the piece. You may look ahead to Modules 5 and 6 to determine if any assigned readings from those modules interest you as a paper topic. You should begin your initial research about your chosen literature with some biographical information about the author then begin to read as much analysis of your particular selection as possible. When you are ready to begin writing your research paper, the biographical information should be very brief as an introduction to your literature. Keep in mind that the purpose of your paper is to critically analyze your chosen work, focusing on some aspect of the overall work that helps to define and unify a central argument. Possible research questions might include:

• What is unique about the work that makes it worthwhile?

• What technique(s) does the author use?

• What argument(s) are central to this piece?

• How effective are these argument(s)?

• What is unique about the way the writer presents these argument(s)?

• How do the writer’s techniques help define this piece as literature of importance? These questions are not all inclusive but should serve as a guide as you are researching and reading. Requirements Your finished paper should adhere to the following requirements:

• 2000-word scope

• One primary source (chosen piece of literature)

• No less than three credible, academic secondary sources (research)

• Correct use of in-text documentation and Works Cited page (MLA format) Wikipedia and other WWW sources are not always reliable. You should be able to find biographical information and some critical sources from the online library databases. Critical sources that you find online should be from previously published articles in a reputable magazine, journal, or newspaper, and can be found in an academic database. The importance of a careful, methodical writing process should not be underestimated here. If your research paper is not solidly grounded in each of these steps, your final product will be inadequate. Be sure to use your instructor as a resource; contact him or her as needed during the formative stages of this paper to insure that your work, albeit “rough,” is also efficient and substantial. Submission A first draft of the research is due by the conclusion of Module 7. You will submit the paper to the Assignment folder and Turnitin.com, and post it as an attachment to the Module 8 Discussion board. In Module 8, each student will read another’s paper and complete a peer review by Thursday. Based on this review, you should make revisions to your paper and submit the final draft to the Assignment folder and Turnitin.com by the conclusion of the module. More information about the peer review process is included in Module 8.