INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE FINAL PAPER

Do not write an author’s biography; I know their biographies.  Do not plagiarize.  If you do, you will fail this class.

1.  Research paper topics are due by  October 13th.

2.  The final research paper, due November 12th, must be composed using the default margins (1") and standard type (Times New Roman or Ariel 12) of MS Word.  It must be 5-7 pages of text in MLA-style format.  The paper should actively use and cite at least five sources outside our text itself, including at least two Internet sites and two traditional texts.  Essays/sites will be evaluated according to CSU Writing Guidelines.

3.  Be sure that your Internet sources are authoritative sources; '.edu' and '.org' sites are usually authoritative.  Wikkipedia is not a reliable source.

4.  Your particular choice of work must be on the syllabus.  Your possible subjects/treatments might be the historical context of a work, the cultural contexts of a work, how a work is structured (plot twists, images, etc.) to enhance a particular interpretation of the work, a comparative study of two works, or a particular theme dealt with in two or three works (e.g., the relationship of men and women, the tension between the individual and society, racism or sexism in a work or works, the relevance of religion to man, similarities/differences among belief systems, the influence of war, or the placement of a work within its particular movement in American culture, to name a few.