English 102 essay topics
Previous assignments: Essay 1 Essay 2

Essay 3

Essay 4

Write an analytical or argumentative research paper on a topic of your own choosing focusing narrowly on Twain's novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Your essay must meet each of the requirements below.  Read these requirements carefully.

750-1200 words in length.

By or before the last day of class, Monday, April 26, you must turn in a topic sentence outline beginning with the central question your paper strives to answer and offering complete topic sentences for each body paragraph and also the paper's thesis.  The question you raise for this outline should be a literal question—an interrogative sentence ending in a question mark, not merely a statement of what your topic is. For a sample topic sentence outline, see Writing Tip #2.

However, as with essay 3, this essay should not raise a literal question in the introduction of the essay itself, but instead the introduction should culminate in a full and complete answer to the unstated question your paper addresses—i.e. a thesis statement.  As an alternative to presenting a thesis in the introduction, you may have the introduction culminate in a statement of purpose (This paper will explore the issue of. . . .).  If you begin the essay with a statement of purpose, the full and direct answer to the unstated question (thesis) should be presented in the conclusion.

You must quote Huck Finn at least six times, following the MLA guidelines set forth in the quotes and documentation handout.  Note: if the topic you choose involves Huck Finn and another literary work, you must have a total of eight quotes from the primary sources (Huck Finn and the other literary work or works).  An additional primary source will not count towards the requirement below for two secondary sources of scholarly criticism.

You are required to do some research and incorporate quotations from at least two sources of legitimate scholarly criticism into your discussion of the novel.  ("Legitimate" means truly scholarly sources, so items from the popular press, encyclopedias, web pages that are not clearly authoritative, and study aids such as Cliff's Notes, SparkNotes, Master Plots, etc., are not acceptable.) As with essay 3, no world wide web sources of any sort are valid—only sources available through the Daniel Library or its subscription databases are acceptable.

You must turn in photocopies or printouts of each secondary source from which you take quotes.  Highlight the quoted passages (on the photocopy of the criticism, not in your paper).

Vitally important note: Papers that do not meet the research requirements—quotes from at least two secondary sources of literary scholarship or criticism, with photocopied pages attached—will automatically receive failing grades.


As announced in class, I am not providing a list of suggested options for this paper, so the greatest challenge with this assignment is arriving at an appropriate topic on your own, one that is manageable and worthy of exploration in a college-level academic essay.  Basically, any significant theme, motif, issue, technique, or aspect of the novel is fair game.  If you struggle arriving at a valid topic, see me for help.



Reminders:

I'll meet all requests for conferences: ask for my help, and you'll get it!
Every body paragraph's topic sentence should answer the outline's central question directly.
Avoid plot summary: see nugget 1; introduce all quotes: see nugget 3.

Sweat the details: use the GR, N, SS, and QD "handouts" and proofread closely.