"ENGL1301"/

Montgomery College Library

English 1302 - Composition and Rhetoric II (ONLINE)


Wonderful Words of Wisdom *Library Wizard* Let's Get Started....... Narrow your topic. Broad: James Baldwin's literary style Narrow: The black experience in America as depicted in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues. and Blues for Mr. Charlie. Find keywords that describe the information you need (names, people. events, etc) Use these keywords for locating information in the library catalog, electronic databases, and on the Internet. Keywords: Use the author's name and/or the title of the work.

ASSIGNMENT

RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES
1. Your research paper will be at least 8 and no more than 10 double-spaced pages (excluding the Cover page, Acknowledgments page, Formal Outline and Works Cited pages). It will be on any LITERARY SUBJECT (author(s) or literary period) of interest to you. A literary subject is one you would cover in any literature course. The course textbook is a good place to look for possible topics.

2.Read pages 157-210 in the handbook (Quick Access, 5/e) BEFORE you start work on the paper for information on how to write a research paper. You will need to do some preliminary research to help you narrow the focus of yourpaper. Obviously, one of your tasks is to get a very narrow focus for whatever subject you decide to research. (See, "How do I Choose a research topic?" and "What is a research question?" in the handbook, pages 158-160).

3. Decide on a subject, narrow the focus right away, and submit the following to me by Thursday, June 14:

1. a one paragraph explanation of why you have decided on that subject
2. a Working Bibliography (list of print, On-line, and electronic sources on your topic. See page 167 in handbook)
3. a research project plan (see page 161 in handbook- copy provided below for your use)

4. Submit a Formal Outline (pages 41 and 251 in handbook) for your paper, including a completely stated THESIS (pages 38-39), by Thursday, June 22.

5. Use at least 8 sources (primary and secondary ): 4 PRINT and 4 ON-LINE (electronic).

6. Use the Modern Language Association (MLA) style of documentation.

7. The final product should consist of a Title page (check course homepage in Web CT for proper format) , an acknowledgments page, an outline page, the body of the research, and a Works Cited page in that order. (Refer to the sample Research paper in the handbook, pages 251-273, for correct format for each of these). In addition, read Section 14 in handbook, "Writing about Literature" (88-100).

8. The research paper itself should consist of an Introduction with clearly stated thesis (pages 38-39); Body or developmental paragraphs; and Conclusion.

9. The complete, next-to-final draft of the paper (TYPED, including everything from Cover Page to Works Cited Page) should be peer reviewed and turned in to me no later than Thursday, July 5. You will forfeit ALL 100 points for the draft if the draft has not been Peer Reviewed by this date. Turn in the draft AND the peer review you received for it no later than 6 p.m., July 5.

NOTE: I will not read or grade this draft, only skim it to check that it is complete: 8 pages with all the required sections/parts (Cover page, acknowledgments page, Formal outline, main essay, Works Cited, and Peer Review) included. The points you will receive for the draft are for completing it as required, with all parts included and the full length of at least 8 pages. You will forfeit the 100 points for this "next-to-final" draft if you do not turn it in with a Peer Review from a classmate before or on this date. For the peer review, arrange with another classmate the first week of class to exchange drafts via email, and use the handout, "Peer Review Questions for Research paper" in the Course Content/Course Handouts section. Also, use the Research paper Checklist handout to make sure that you have met the paper's format and style requirements.

The final draft of the paper is due Tuesday, July 10.

If you have any questions, be sure to check in with me at each stage of the major steps in the process: Finding and limiting your topic; Making a Working bibliography; Developing a thesis statement; Creating a structure (Outline); Drafting the paper; Revising the paper; Preparing and Proofreading the final manuscript.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (Sample)
I would like to thank Cheryl Mansfield-Egans, of the Montgomery College library, for helping me locate information on the Internet and fellow classmates, John Jacobs and Julie Smith, for providing excellent feedback on my drafts. Their feedback allowed me to greatly improve the paper. I would also like to thank my family for being very supportive of me and for giving me the encouragement I needed at the times when I felt like giving up on the whole project. And, finally, I would like to thank my best friend, Sharon, for helping me decide on a topic for research and for getting me started. I most certainly could not have completed this project without the assistance of these wonderful people, and I sincerely thank them all.

RESEARCH PROJECT PLAN
Checklist and Finish by (date):
Starting a Research Project
______________ Set up my research log (page 161)
_______________ Choose a suitable topic (page 158)
______________ Draft my research question (page 159)
______________ Making a Working Bibliography (page 167)
Finding and Evaluating Sources
______________ Decide what kinds of research I need to do (library, online, interviews, etc.)
______________ Locate and Evaluate sources
_______________ Take notes
_______________ Draft a preliminary thesis statement
_______________ Make formal outline for paper
Writing the Research Paper
_______________ Drafting my paper
_______________ Document correctly
_______________ Revise the paper
_______________ Edit and proofread the paper
_______________ Have next to final draft of paper Peer Reviewed

Thursday, June 14 Topic, Working Bib, Research Project Plan due
Thursday, June 22 Formal Outline Due
Thursday, July 5 Peer Reviewed Draft Due
Tuesday, July 10 Final Draft of paper Due
Each segment marked off by a horizontal line will occupy roughly one-quarter of the total time. The most unpredictable segments are the first two, so it's wise to get started early enough to accommodate the unexpected

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BOOKS


Wonderful Words of Wisdom *Library Wizard* Access the library Resouces.... Apply online for an NHMCCD library card. Use your card number to: Borrow books at NHMCCD and Montgomery County libraries Request a book to be held for you at an NHMCCD library Access databases from home. The catalog is online at librarycatalog.nhmccd.edu/. Online books are available at Netlibrary An account must be created before accessing net library ebooks. Click on the "Create an Account" link on the web site.

Locate Books in Horizon, the Online Catalog
Do a Keyword search in Horizon to find books about your author in the four college libraries (Montgomery, Kingwood, North Harris, and Tomball) as well as the Montgomery County Public Library System.

        Blues for Mister Charlie / James Baldwin.    PS3552.A45 B5 1985
        A rap on race / [by] Margaret Mead [and] James Baldwin.    E185.61 .M42 1972
        Early novels and stories / James Baldwin. PS3552.A45.A6 1998
        Collected essays / James Baldwin. PS3552.A45.A16 1998

Reference Books are a good starting point because they give you an overview with more broad, general information.

       Ref PN41.D5 Dictionary of Literary Biography, v.249.
       Ref PN3335.S5 Short Story Criticism, v.33.
       Ref PS153.N5.O96 Oxford Companion to African American LIterature.
       Ref PS153.N5.B556 Black Literature Criticism, v.1..
     Ref PS153.N5.A344 African American Writers (Scribner Writers Series), v. 1.

To find articles in books, search the library catalog using "Combination Search" form the toolbar..
       On separate lines use:
            Keywords from your book or story title
            Your author's last name
           " Criticism" as a search term

MLA International Bibliography indexes articles in books as well as journals. It may be the only place to find information on some of these works. Be sure you use the book title, not the article title when you check the library catalog or NetLibrary for the book.

NetLibrary is a good source for electronic books online. These books may also appear with other search results in the NHMCCD Catalog.

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JOURNALS


Wonderful Words of Wisdom *Library Wizard* Find Articles ...... To find articles in newspapers and journals, use your library card to login to the following databases. Articles not available in full text can be obtained thru interlibrary loan from another library. Plan ahead to use interlibrary loan because the turn around period can take weeks. Contact the Reference Librarians for more information.

Accessing Databases from Off-Campus

In order to access the databases from off-campus you must possess a current, valid library card. Apply online for an NHMCCD library card.

The database links below will direct you to the EZProxy authentication page of the NHMCCD District Libraries:

On the EZProxy Authentication page, enter your entire barcode number, without spaces.

Literature Resource Center - A full text database, this includes:

Scholarly journal articles. Be sure the article is complete.
Essays from literary criticism books
Articles from Reference Books

MLA International Bibliography -Articles from journals and books. This is the most comprehensive index to literary criticism, but the articles are not full text. Once you determine which articles you need,

Check the NHMCCD catalog to see if we subscribe to the journal.
Check ProQuest and Academic Search Premier to see if the journal is full text in these databases.
If the article is not available by any other means, request it through Interlibrary Loan. Books or articles not available at any of the NHMCCD libraries may be requested via Interlibrary Loan. These requests are handled by the District office. You will be notified by phone when the material is received. Interlibrary Loan is a service for NHMCCD students, staff, and faculty. There is generally no charge for this service.

Research Library (Proquest) - A general database that includes literature. Use Peer Reviewed for scholarly journals. Most recent articles are full text.

Academic Search Premier - A general database that includes literature, this often covers different journals than ProQuest. Use Peer Reviewed. Most recent articles are full text.

Biographies Plus Illustrated - A full text database with articles about the author. Contains literary criticism for some authors under the More Information link.

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Web Sites


Wonderful Words of Wisdom *Library Wizard* Find Internet Sites.... People can place information onto the Web whether or not they know what they are talking about. Because of this, the information you find on the Web may not be correct. You can determine if you have found accurate, reliable information if you evaluate it according to the criteria below. Authority / Credibility The information should be from a knowledgeable, trained, experienced expert you can believe and trust. Examples Credible: Health Insurance Market Reforms http://www.urban.org/pubs/hinsure/insure.htm Not Credible: Dihydrogen Monoxide http://www.dhmo.org/ Not Credible: Clones R Us http://www.d-b.net/dti/ Accuracy / Content The information should be free of typographical, grammatical, and spelling errors. It should be factual, logically arranged, and easy to read and follow. Sources of information should be stated or properly cited. Examples Accurate: The Titanic Casualty Figures http://www.anesi.com/titanic.htm Not Accurate: Feline Reactions to Bearded Men http://www.improbable.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html Timeliness / Currency You should be able to easily find the dates on which the information was created, first placed on the Web, and most recently updated. The information should not be obsolete. Examples Current: The World Factbook http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html Not Current: Albania Information gopher://gopher.umsl.edu:70/00/library/govdocs/wf93/wf1993/wf930007 Bias / Objectivity The information should be impartial and not attempt to promote an agenda. Many advertisements are biased. Examples Biased: RJReynolds Tobacco Holdings http://www.rjrt.com/common/pages/IndexDefault2002.asp Not Biased: Brain Tumor Facts and Figures http://www.tbts.org/btfacts.htm Appropriateness The information should suit your needs and adequately cover the subject. You should be able to tell if the Web site is complete or still under construction. Examples Not Appropriate for College: The Dr. King Timeline Page http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools-c/pages/buckman/timeline/kingframe.html Appropriate: Bioterrorism Information http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/bioterrorism.html

Great Writers on the Internet - Montgomery College web page on individual authors
Internet Public Library - An index of online literary criticism
Project Gutenberg - Great books online
University of Virginia Library - e-Books online, including Palm downloads.

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