Research Essay

Your thesis statement and therefore your entire essay must answer ONE of the following questions:

· What makes people a person a hero?

· What makes a person a villain?

The below guidelines must be followed to make a passing grade, but does not determine an A:

· This essay will analyze ONE film, TV show (single episode or series), song or piece of literature of your choosing to answer ONE of the above questions.

· The text CANNOT be a text that we have read or watched in the course before.

· It does not necessarily have to be a text that fits into the superhero genre.

· The Pursuit of Happyness and Freedom Riders are NOT ALLOWED!

· This essay must include a thesis statement that argues how the texts help answer the question you chose.

· For example: This Text shows what makes a person a hero by X, Y and Z.

· For example: This Text shows what makes a person a villain by X, Y and Z.

· It must include a self-defined (or at least evidence supported) definition of hero(ism) or villain(y).

· Stay out of the dictionary! Come up with one and use the book or other sources to back you up….

· This does not have to be in your thesis (though it could be) but it does need to support your thesis

· It must be in full MLA format.

· It must include Works Cited Page with at least four sources

· One must be the textbook, one must be the text you are analyzing

· The other two can be any type of additional source

· These sources should preferably come from Galileo and can be something else we have read or watched for class, but not required to be

· Additional sources CANNOT be websites including Wikipedia, dictionaries, Sparknotes, or WebMD

· review Sources PPT for these and all other prohibited sources

· You are free to use more sources so long as they are formatted correctly

· Do not overdo it!!!!

· It must use support, quotes and evidence with in-text citations from all required sources.

· Block Quotes are off limits

· It must be 4 full pages but no more than 5.

· It must not be in first person.

· It must adhere to basic essay structure.

· Be sure to pay attention to intros, body paragraphs, conclusions, transitions, grammar, mechanics and sentence structure.

· It must include a title.

· Research Paper or Final Essay or Hero Paper or something of the like also will not work

· Be creative!

· This essay is due on November 21

The content of the essay is up to you and is fair game as far as your argument.

You should however use the following questions to guide your research, but do not feel like you must answer all questions in this essay:

· What is a hero/villain? What are the criteria for being a hero or a villain? Can only humans or people be heroes and villains?

· What is a person? What is a human? What are the criteria for being a person or a human? Are they the same thing?

· How does freedom, happiness or morality affect or influence your definitions or your arguments?

· What are the perks or benefits of heroism, villainy, freedom, happiness or morality?

· What are the downfalls of heroism, villainy, freedom, love, happiness or morality?

· Does myth or religion factor in somehow?

· Your grade will not only be influenced by the content of the essay but also on your clear understanding subject matter discussed in class in the weeks leading up to this assignment. The Thesis PPTs, Parts of Essay PPT, Essay Types PPT, Sources PPT, Quotes PPT and the MLA folder to assist wherever needed.