Idea Worksheet–Research Paper Instructions: The Research Paper will ask you to rhetorically and contextually analyze a text of your choosing that is representative of one of the time periods/genres we are studying this semester. NOTE THAT YOU MUST CHOOSE A TEXT BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR WITHIN THE TIME PERIOD OF MODERN AMERICAN LIT: 1865 THE PRESENT. Choose a text whose title/subject/author you find especially interesting (you will find that your writing will be far more effective if you focus on a topic that intrigues you. Email me if you need help). it must be written by an American author between 1865 and the present time) After reading your text, answer the following questions. 1. What is the title of the text you are writing about and who is the author? 2. What intrigued you about this particular text? 3. What facts have you learned about the author of this text so far? (Do a bit of preliminary research, and then list a few basic facts about him or her.) 4. What are the main themes/messages present in this text? (You may not be sure of this just yet if you havent read the whole text, but, again, do some research and see what others have to say about possible themes.) 5. What genre/time period is this piece of writing representative of? (Do you think this piece is representative of realism, symbolism, African American literature of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, etc.?) 6. What elements within this piece have you found so far that clearly indicate its connection to a specific genre/time period? (Tell me briefly how you know that this piece is representative of realism, naturalism, symbolism, or whatever the genre may be.) 7. What rhetorical techniques have you found at work in this piece of fiction or poetry so far? (Consider use of imagery, metaphor/simile, personification, etc.) 8. Why does this particular piece have meaning? If applicable, how does it make us more conscious of certain philosophical ideas (determinism, free will, etc.) or political or ideological values (equality, freedom of speech, etc.)? 9. What main points do you intend to focus on in this research paper? 10. What sources have you discovered so far? (Name at least TWO). (Do a bit of research through the PSCC library onesearch to see if you can come up with ideas.) 11. Where are the power words or power sentences in this piece? (Here I refer to words/phrases that almost leap off the page to make you feel emotion or to impart an idea.) 12. WRITE YOUR WORKING THESIS STATEMENT HERE:
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