Author Biography -- Research Paper

(We will work on these in the lab therefore you must start bringing a flash drive to class each day
in order to save your ongoing work)

^ Research Guidelines:
Conduct research on your author of choice using research sources (you will be given
specific resources requirement to use for this assignment in order to assure the reliability
of your source)/ this research will be guided by a provided graphic organizer

Using the research you find you must create an MLA formatted document that includes
a total of 7 paragraphs. Breakdown:
o MLA Heading/ Last Name Page Number
o Times New Roman Font Size 12
o Double Spaced
o Centered Title (no funny fonts/bolded/ italics)
o Paragraphs with content explained below
o Space down to text page and create a Work Cited Page including the
information of the source that you used for your research
o Your paper MUST include a total of 12 in-text citations EX: (Poe Biography)
4 in-text citations per paragraph
o Your paper MUST include a Work Cited page citing the 7 required sources
needed to find your research 6 secondary sources and 1 primary source

We will be working on this paper for the next few weeks. Each piece along the journey
will be graded, and these pieces will incorporate a large portion of your grade. You will
write on an American born Author of a particular period in American history.
Items you must find in your research
1)Detailed history of his life(should be at least 1/2 a page).
A - Who were their mother & father?
B - Date the author was born and died, all places where the author lived and why,
spouse, girlfriends, relatives, friends.
C- Fullstory of what the author did in his/her life.
2)Influences
A- Who and what influenced them?(Who they looked up to, liked to read, listen
to, school, etc)
B - How their life influenced their writing
3)The story behind the publication of their first book.(Because every author's first book
has a story behind it, and often it defines the author themselves)
A -How did they 1st get published - find the complete story from writing to
publication
B - What was the book? Explain the general plot of the book.
{I expect the student to become very familiar with at least one book by this
Author. It makes it easier if it is the author's 1st or most poular book, but it
doesn't have to be.}
4)What is their most popular book(sometimes is their first)
A - Brief synopsis of plot
B - Why is popular; what makes it popular?
C - Any comments on the book by the author or a critical source(critic, editor, etc)
5) Book you decided to become familiar with
A- Name of the book and year it was published
B - Your opinion of the book.
C-Someone else's opinion on this book(reviews, critic, other source)
D-What do you think the Author's message is and what do other people(critic,
reviews, critical source) say it is?
E - Did the Author's life influence this book? How?
F- How did he come up with a the idea of writing it?
6)America and the Author
A - What do people generally think of their writing?
B -Has their writing affected or influenced America?
C -Describe the time period(5 years before the 1st book published to the last book
published) in which they were actively writing.
1.What was going on in American history?
2. Was it good or bad?
3. Was there anything particular going on in their city/state?
4. Is there any specific comments that the author has on things going on
during this time?
7) Conclusion
A. Your overall opinion of the author and his life. Your overall opinion of the
author's writing.
B. Ask or find 3 more people(find critics, etc) opinions on his life and their overall
writing