Dr. Huston/ENGL 2331-F2-Spring 2024 2
English 2331 Literary Research Project Guidelines
Project Slides due date:
Sunday, May 5, no later than 11:30 pm
Reminder: Late assignments are not accepted.
Purpose: This project is intended to provide students with an opportunity to research and independently explore the life and literature of a specific author.
Assignment: After signing up for one of the authors listed on the Literary Research Project sign-up sheet, create a presentation on the author you have selected. The presentation will include biographical information along with an analysis of one work by this author. This presentation will be included in the Literary Research Project Timeline which is located in the Discussions menu folder. Each presentation will be placed within a designated discussion thread.
Process: Follow these steps:
1–Select and sign up for one of the authors and specific work presented in the Literary Research Project Sign up list located inside of the Discussions menu folder (first item). Follow the directions given in this discussion forum.
2–Research and prepare the presentation. The following are
required elements that need to appear in your presentation (in this order):
a. Present a brief biographical summary of the writer’s life
(1-2 slides)—(Be sure to cite sources used for this information on the slide.
b. Give a synopsis (brief summary) of the literary work you have chosen to analyze
(1-2 slides). The literary work or excerpt
MUST be one that is included in our
Norton Anthology of World Literature
, volumes 1 or 2.
c.
Analyze the literary work. This portion of the project may consider
ONE of the following ideas
(3-4 slides).
–analyze how the writer uses a concept or theme that is prevalent during the time period. For example, if the work is from the romantic era, you might analyze the author’s incorporation of one or two characteristics of romanticism.
–analyze the author’s use of a particular literary or rhetorical device in the work. For example, you might analyze the author’s use of metaphor, irony, or another device.
–analyze the structure of the work and how the structure helps the author convey meaning.
NOTE: Develop the analysis thoroughly.
The analysis is not simply pointing to some aspect of the literary work.
An analysis deconstructs the literary work with a focus on the specific element being explored and discusses where in the work and how the writer develops this element of the piece of literature. These ideas are supported by
using specific examples from the literary work you have chosen.
d.
Include parenthetical in-text citations for any/all sources used in each slide presented. (Citations
appear on every slide if sources are used in every slide.) NOTE: Not citing is plagiarism and will be counted as such.
d. End the presentation with
one slide that briefly assesses what this work or this author offers modern readers. Your assessment might answer
one of these questions (
1 slide):
· What would a modern reader enjoy about this author’s ideas or the work you analyzed?
· How might the author’s ideas be influential in society today?
· What ideas do modern readers need to learn from this author?
Please note that
each of these elements is required and is part of the grade for this assignment. Missing or underdeveloped elements of this assignment will result in points being deducted.
Create Your Presentation: You are encouraged to be creative in your
presentation. You may use PowerPoint or a Prezi. Follow the suggested number of slides listed above for each section of the presentation.
Use MLA Style for Documentation: All presentations will need to include both of these:
* in-text citations
placed on each slide in which research is used
* a separate slide at the end of the presentation that provides a list of
Works Cited. This list will include documentation for all of the sources used to prepare and develop the presentation. The Works Cited list must follow MLA style documentation for each resource entry. The entries should also include documentation for the literary work analyzed in the presentation. Here is an example of how to document one of the works from our textbook. Note that it is double spaced and uses a hanging indent.
Chekov, Anton. “The Lady with the Dog.”
The Norton Anthology of World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner et al., shorter 4th ed., eBook, vol. 2, W. W. Norton, 2021, pp. 872-83.
See the two handouts MLA Basics and More MLA, located in the Literary Research Project folder. Also, here is a link to the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University:
Creating the Works Cited
Post Your Presentation:
1—Inside the Literary Research Project discussion forum, locate the name of your author, and click on it. This will place you inside of the forum thread.
2—Once inside of your author’s forum thread, click on “Reply.” You may now upload your presentation. You may write a brief note of introduction to your presentation if you wish. Be sure to click on “Submit” once you have uploaded your presentation. You may make edits to this forum thread until the due date (May 5, no later than 11:30 pm).
Research Guidelines: For this assignment, use
three to five well prepared and accurately researched sources. Follow these guidelines to assure that you select appropriate, credible sources for your information:
–These Dallas College databases—
Academic Search Complete,
JSTOR,
Gale eBooks
—Books or eBooks on the author or the literary work
–Credible online sources, for example,
Poetry Foundation, New World Encyclopedia, or author websites (i.e.,
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust)
–WARNING:
·
DO NOT USE
Wikipedia.org
and sources with the domain “.com” because these are not considered academic sources. DO NOT use these sources.
·
DO NOT use artificial intelligence (AI) to form your author’s biography or overview of a work without an author, your analysis, or your assessment slide.
Visuals: You may include visuals in your slides or in your video. However, be sure to provide a label indicating a title and source for any visuals included. Also, you will need to include closed captioning if you create a video. (This is often an automatic feature on video composition apps.) Follow MLA guidelines for labeling visuals:
MLA Guidelines for Providing Visual Captions
Questions????
If you have any questions about this Literary Research Project, please contact Dr. Huston immediately.
