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English 102 Research Paper (Elements of Craft, Authors, & Analyses)

Step I: For the Research Paper assignment, one element of craft listed below will be used.

Character

Step II: Make sure to review the informational material within the chapter on your chosen element.  Also review the helpful table with examples at the end of the chapter. These tables provide questions to guide you through your exploration of that particular element of craft.

Step III:  Fiction authors from your textbook to use for your Research Paper.

Amy Tan: Two Kinds

Gish Jen: Who’s Irish

Step IV:  Once you have decided on the element of craft (character) you will be exploring and the two authors and their literary works found in the Fiction section of your textbook, make sure that the two authors you selected also fit well into the element of craft you plan to explore.

Your goal is to find authors who seem to you the most interesting to research in the element of craft you have chosen.

Step V:  Read and review the literary works within your textbook of both authors you have selected. These literary works are considered your primary sources for the research paper. The research you collect from various databases is considered outside sources or secondary sources.

Who’s Irish by Gish Jen

Two Kinds by Amy Tan

Step VI: What kind of analysis or combination of analyses do you want to include in your research paper?  Which kind of analysis best fits with the element of craft you have chosen for the research paper? Which kind of analysis will best support your claim/thesis ?

Textual analysis to support your claim/thesis

The literary works are your primary sources. (Two Kinds, Whos Irish)

You will also be required to use six secondary sources (literary criticism articles) from the LAVC Electronic Database. You may also use Google Scholar. These secondary sources can be related to the short stories, and/or the authors, and/or the element of craft you have chosen to explore.

Write a 1,500 – 1,700 word persuasive essay using outside sources (literary criticism) and documenting those sources in MLA format, using quotations within the paper (but no more than 10% word count meaning no more than 150 words of quotations), and including a Works Cited list.