Author Study Research Paper

Many authors have helped to shape and mold who we are, what we think and what we believe
about the world. These authors write encompassing many genres including: drama, fiction,
science fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. To better understand how and why our nation is what it
is today, it is wise to delve into some of these events more thoroughly.

Prompt for Paper:

Write an Author Study Research Paper, five pages in length (about 1,200 words),
researching a specific author in American Literature, writing a biographical narrative in which
you explain the personal, professional, social, and historical events that helped shape why the
author writes about specific topics and themes. In addition, you will explain the author’s
significance to the literary world and to the view we have of ourselves as Americans.
After choosing your author, you will need a carefully worded thesis statement to guide
your essay writing. To do this, create a list of questions about your selected event. Once you
begin your research, your answers to these questions should lead you to your thesis. For
example: Author — John Steinbeck

Thesis — John Steinbeck’s literary works have a profound effect on American society today.

Your paper should include the follow parts:

 Author Study Research Paper
 a title  well-thought-out arguments
 an outline  clear, seamlessly organized support linked to
 an engaging opening supporting arguments and thesis
 a challenging thesis  accurate documentation
 5 Stop-Cite-Write forms  a reasonable, confident, appropriate tone
 a mature style
 a smooth integration of your own words with paraphrased/quoted sources
 effective use of formal written English conventions
 a clear, engaging summative conclusion
 a list of Works Cited (minimum of 5 sources, 1 required to be a primary source. No more than
one encyclopedia, no matter whether electronic or print.)
 appropriate use of MLA format
 NO plagiarism

IMPORTANT: It is possible to get a zero on your paper. If any of the following are true of your
paper, it will earn a zero grade.
• No thesis.
• No works cited.
• Too short.
• Not documented/Plagiarism.
• No evidence of process

This research paper and the supporting process (topic, annotated bibliography, note cards,
outline) are a required pieces in the first mester portfolio.
 Author Study Research Paper
What is a Research Paper? —a carefully planned essay that has been thoroughly investigated
and analyzed by the writer. Research papers are written to share new information or to prove a point. What makes
them different from other essays is the amount of information gathered and used in the writing. The writer makes
generalizations and supports them with authoritative sources. A research paper may include ideas from books,
magazines, newspapers, computer files, the Internet, or interviews. (Important: All ideas borrowed from different
sources are credited to the original writer or speaker.) Most research papers are at least five pages in length. In
addition to the actual essay, research papers must include a title page, an outline, and a Works Cited page. The MLA
style sheet is the most popular research paper form in use today (Sebranek 163)*.

Responsibility, Documentation, Plagiarism—like any other type of meaningful

writing—a research paper should be a personal process of discovering new information. Once you’ve gathered the
information, you need to go about the business of making it part of your own thinking. Determine the points on
which your sources agree and disagree about related issues, deciding which ones offer the best arguments and why.
FORM YOUR OWN GENERALIZATIONS FROM THE DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE YOU HAVE
UNCOVERED. Determine how your findings support your thinking. Research will become your own when you
• Give yourself enough time to learn about it
• Get actively involved in the topic
• Research your topic thoroughly
• Make the primary voice in your writing your own!
When you make research your own, your writing will sound like you. That is exactly what you want. But what you
don’t want is to mislead people into thinking that all these ideas are your own. If you do, you will be guilty of pla-
giarism—the act of presenting someone else’s ideas as your own.
In word-for-word plagiarism, a researcher repeats the exact words of a source without giving the necessary credit.
Paraphrase plagiarism occurs when a researcher says basically the same idea as an original source with just a
few words changed. In spot plagiarism, a researcher uses only a source’s key words or phrases as his or her own
without giving credit. You owe it to your sources, your readers, and to yourself to give credit for the ideas you use,
unless the ideas are widely accepted as “common knowledge.” Information is considered common knowledge if
most people already know it, or if it can be found in nearly any basic reference book on the subject. (The fact that
there are 365 days in the year is common knowledge; the fact that it rained 210 days in Seattle during 1990 is not.)
*Sebranek, Patrick. Writer’s Inc: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning. Boston: Write Source, 1996.

DEADLINES
1. Author and work selection: Consideration of Topic Criteria—remember your purpose is to identify an DUE 9/16
author and the authors impact on literature. Choose an author and work approved by your English teacher.
2. After selecting an author and a single work by that author, write a paragraph rationale as to why you wish DUE 09/17
to study this author. Teachers will then approve your author and work. You may not get your first choice
depending on your defense of your choice as teachers wish to encourage diversity in selections.
3. Annotated* Preliminary Bibliography—demonstration of feasibility. Minimum requirement for primary DUE 09/19
source: 1 required (2 suggested for upper half papers). Minimum requirement for secondary sources: 2
required (3 suggested for upper half papers) *Briefly summarize how you plan to apply information from
this source.
4. First Stop-Cite-Write Check: Five required on information about the author’s historical era, minimum of DUE 09/22
four per source, each card with one relevant and complete fact/piece of evidence/ concept/data/essential
quote.
5. Second Stop-Cite-Write Check: Five more required, minimum of four per source, each card with one
DUE 9/24
relevant and complete fact/piece of evidence/concept/data/essential quote.
6. Working Outline with Thesis: Students will turn in a working outline with the thesis at the top of the page. DUE 09/26
7. First Peer Evaluated Rough Draft with In-body documentation. Works Cited page with minimum of 5 DUE 09/29
sources, one of which must be a primary source. No more than one encyclopedia, no matter whether
electronic or print.
8. Final Paper — Copy with ALL process (works cited, source cards, stop-cite-write forms, rough drafts, DUE 10/03
peer evaluations) in a 10x13 manila envelope.