Research two authors from our readings from different genres.Write about the life of the authors,

Essay 4: The Literary Research Paper

For your final essay, you will write a literary research paper based on the prompt below.

Research two authors from our readings from different genres (a poem and a short story, a short story and Othello, a poem and Othello). The essay must have the following info:

PART I: Author bio/Historical context (Suggestion: use Oxford Reference, Official websites of the authors, or the Library).
⦁ Write about the life of the authors, OR
⦁ Something interesting and significant about the authors, OR
⦁ A description of the time/place that they were each writing in.

PART II: Literary Analysis (compare/contrast both texts, similarities/differences in ideas, or characters, themes, style, etc.). Find patterns, images, themes that support a thesis/interpretation of the works. What do both argue in their own way? That society is inherently evil? That people change/ don’t change? That women are forced into certain roles? That certain symbols are universally recognized?

PART III: Personal Interpretation. What do you find, personally, so meaningful or significant about the stories? What do they tell us about life, or living in the world?

You still need an introduction paragraph, multiple body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. Hint: start your intro paragraph talking about everything you’ll cover in the paper, ending in your thesis statement that focuses on the literary analysis. Organize your body paragraphs based on parts 1, 2, and 3 above, but each should still reflect in some way your thesis. Finish with a paragraph wrapping everything up.

Last Completed Projects