Humanities 10: Ms. Tollefson and Ms. Breckinridge (and Ms. Jansen)

The Assignment

For the research paper, you will choose one author we have covered this year. Or, you can choose an author who is closely related to a specific unit and ask for approval from your teacher. For example, you could ask to do Lord Byron, who is a romantic poet we did not cover in our unit.

"Louisa May Alcott." The Library of Congress.

Your paper will:

Focus on one detail of that author's life. You will explore how that detail affected

• the author's personal life
• the author's writing
• how the issue affected the culture of the time (in literature and the arts, culturally, socially, in the realm of science, etc.)

For example, let's say my paper was not on an author, but on a composer – Beethoven. The detail I want to focus on is how Beethoven gradually lost all his hearing as an adult. I would explore/explain/research how and why Beethoven became deaf. I would look at both physiological causes and various theories about why he became deaf. I would discuss how Beethoven's deafness affected him personally and how it affected his work. I would explore various scholars' observations about his music as it changes and he loses more and more hearing. Did Beethoven's deafness make him an even greater composer? I would also explore what it was like to be deaf in Beethoven's time and place: Were there schools for the deaf? Were their medical theories or remedies? Was it more or less common then it is now? What kinds of lives do the deaf lead, and how were they treated? How were the deaf represented in literature, in the arts?

The Format

MLA format means you must have the correct header, you must use Times new Roman font in 12 point size, you must have one-inch margins, etc. It also means you must have correct mechanics, grammar and usage. Spelling matters. Integrating quotes matters. Formatting matters.

Your paper will be five to seven pages in length.

You will have separate grades for:

• An initial proposal with your author, the detail of his or her life you will focus on, and how you envision your paper. You will submit a unique topic for approval.
• 20 notecards
• An outline
• 50 notecards
• A rough draft
• A final paper with proper formatting and a Works Cited page

The Online Resources

Acceptable sources:

• Any St. Andrew's library database
• Any St. Andrew's library book (see left column). If a classmate is studying the same author, you will have a two-day check out period.

Subscription Database page

(Use "Internet Database" for Citation Builder format)

• Ebsco: Literary Reference Center
• Gale:
  • Literature Resource Center
  • Twayne Authors Series
  • Scribners Writers Series
• SIRS Knowledge Source: SIRS Renaissance
• ProQuest: Learning Literature
• JSTOR

Free Websites use:

• netTrekker (use "Website" for Citation Builder format)

(Use SourceAid Citation Builder for your bibliography. The online service is in bold above. The database name is in regular type)

• Don't neglect to look at the related links and various other links that come up for each search.
• Write a new citation for each new source. You may have 5 or more citations in Citation Builder for just sources found in, for example, Ebsco Literary Reference Center, because the databases have MANY different sources.
• Printing: Always use the Print option on the Web site page when you are printing from these databases. Don't use the print from the File menu. You get a cleaner copy that is easier to read and make notations. And, it uses less toner and paper.
• See Ms. Jansen for passwords for home use.

The Book Collection in the SAS Library

http://follett.sasaustin.org/cataloging/servlet/presentbooklistform.do?listID=17021

If you are prompted for a login, click Cancel.

Path: Upper School Library--Resource Lists--Public Lists--Author's Lives

Virtual Office Hours

Ms. Jansen will host virtual office hours two times during this project. Check this website or watch for email to find out when they will occur. During office hours you can reach her via IM or email. Click here for the IM services.