Previous paper topics - English 101 fall 2002
Paper 3

Write an analytical or argumentative research paper on a topic of your own choosing from "The Death of Ivan Ilych," "The Metamorphosis," or two or three of the O'Connor stories, "Everything that Rises Must Converge," "Good Country People," and "A Good Man Is Hard to Find."  Your paper must meet each of the requirements below.

Read these requirements carefully:

750-1200 words in length.

On the date of peer response, you turn in (on separate paper or via email) the central question your paper strives to answer and a topic sentence outline with the topic sentence for each body paragraph and the paper's overall thesis (as with the third in-class exercise).

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

You must quote the primary text or texts, the Tolstoy story, the Kafka story, or the O'Connor stories, at least four times, following the MLA guidelines set forth in the the quotes and documentation handout.  If your topic involves more than one story, you must quote each story you discuss at least twice.

You must incorporate quotes from at least two secondary sources of legitimate scholarly criticism into the discussion of the story or stories.  ("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, Master Plots, SparkNotes, etc., are not acceptable.)

Note: You may use the pertinent secondary materials available in the "Commentaries" section in our Story text as "research"; you may also consider the Kafka and Tolstoy handouts as "research."

Bibliographic info for the handouts is noted on the web pages linked from the syllabus for "Kafka Criticism" and "Tolstoy Criticism."  Note that for works in translation (The Kafka and Tolstoy stories, e.g.), you should indicate the translator(s) as a separate element in the works cited entry that follows the title of the work cited and the edition (if the work has more than one edition).  For a sample, see p. 586 in the Writing handbook.

For secondary sources other than the articles of criticism or commentary included in our Story text or in the Kafka and Tolstoy handouts, you must turn in photocopies or printouts of each secondary source from which you take quotes or information.  Highlight the passages quoted or used (on the photocopy or printout of the source, not in your paper).

Very important note: Papers that do not follow the guidelines for MLA-style formal paper formatting and citation and documentation of quotes will automatically be penalized one full letter grade.  These details of presentation and mechanics are simple, and you should have them completely mastered by this time of the semester: do not take them lightly.  If you have questions, refer to the "simple stuff" and "quotes and documentation" pages and/or see me for help.

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


The greatest challenge with this assignment is arriving at an appropriate topic.  Basically, any significant theme, motif, issue, technique, or aspect of the story or stories you discuss is fair game.  You are by no means restricted to the suggestions below, but here are a few ideas to consider:

"The Death of Ivan Ilych":


"The Metamorphosis":


The O'Connor stories:



Reminders:

Offer concrete evidence to support each of your major assertions.
Every body paragraph's topic sentence should answer the (unstated) intro 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"all of themand proofread closely.



Paper 2

Choose one of the following and respond in an analytical or argumentative essay of 750-1100 words.  Whichever option you address, your essay should raise a central question in the introduction that the rest of the paper strives to answer.  For topics that call for argument between one point of view and another, you should structure the argument in persuasive format.

For details on the physical formatting of your paper on paper—margins, etc.—see the "Simple stuff" handout.  For guidelines on quotation and documentation, see the quotes and documentation handout.

Read each option carefully.

Options:
1) "The Monkey Garden," "The Lesson," "Araby," "Paul's Case," and "A River of Names" all address different aspects of childhood with great realism.  The first four of these stories explore tendencies and conflicts that seem an inherent part of childhood or youth for most people, while the last, "A River of Names," explores the all-too-believable impact of a horrible childhood on the adult narrator.  Choose one, or possibly two, of these stories and demonstrate how the depiction of childhood in the story (or stories) is vividly true to life.  Illustrate and explain your specific points about childhood with at least four quotations, then provide corroborating evidence from the "real world" in substantiation of your primary claims.  That is, you should provide examples from actual life to show how the fiction is faithful to the experience of childhood as it is really lived, or in the case of "A River of Names," faithful to the impact of a traumatic childhood on real people in the world beyond the story..

Note: You might present an argument comparing the relative effectiveness of two stories in demonstrating realities of or relating to childhood, but you are not required to do so.  The simplest approach would be to offer close examination of a single one of these stories.



2) The impact of the past upon the present is an important theme or motif in "Mirrors," "Shiloh," "A River of Names," and "Babylon Revisited."  Identify the fundamental points made about the relationship between the past and the present in any two of these stories, citing each at least twice in illustration of your primary claims.  As with the first option, you might address this topic in an argument comparing the relative merits of the two stories in one respect or another, but you are not required to do so.



3) What do you think are the most common problems couples in romantic relationships have to deal with?  In different respects, "relationship difficulties" are of central thematic concern in "The Story of an Hour," "The Yellow Wallpaper," "The Revolt of Mother," "Mirrors," "Hills Like White Elephants," "Life," "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," "Shiloh," and "The Kugelmass Episode."  Which two or three of these stories do you think show the most common or significant relationship problems in the "real world"?  For this option, your discussion should not be structured as an argument, but you should raise an appropriate central question in the introduction.  The question you raise might consider couples in general, beyond the world of the stories, but you must demonstrate the specific relationship troubles you discuss with at least two illustrative quotations from each story you discuss.



4) Several of the stories we've read explore the conflict between romance and reality.  ("Romance" in this usage means a distorted and overly glamorized view of life or of some specific situation: in a sense, "romantic" is at a distant extreme from "realistic.")  Explore the theme of romance in conflict with reality in at least two of the three stories, "The Kugelmass Episode," "Araby," and "Paul's Case," citing each story at least three times in illustration of your claims.  As with the other topics, you must raise a question in the introduction that the rest of the paper strives to answer.  You could structure the discussion as an argument, but you are not required to do so.



5) Drug and/or alcohol use is a significant factor in many of our second unit readings—namely, "Hills Like White Elephants," "Life," "Shiloh," "Babylon Revisited," "Cathedral," and "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love."  In some of these stories, drug and/or alcohol use—which is not necessarily drug and/or alcohol abuse—plays a central role in the development of plot, character, and theme.  In other stories, the drinking and drugging may seem to play relatively minor roles.  Knowing that good writers pack significance in small details, though, the pot smoking and/or drinking is probably an important feature in all of these stories.  Consider the importance of drug and/or alcohol use in at least three of these stories: explore the issue of how the smoking and drinking is crucially important to each story's central theme or "message."  It will of course be necessary for you to identify what each story's central theme or "message" is.  As with all the other topics, you must raise a literal question in the introduction that the rest of the essay strives to answer.  With this option, too, you do not necessarily have to structure the discussion as an argument, but you may if you like.



Reminders:

Offer concrete evidence to support each of your major assertions.
Every body paragraph's topic sentence should answer the intro 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"all of themand proofread closely.
 

Paper 1

Read every word below carefully, more than once, before starting your essay.

Choose one of the following options and respond in an argumentative essay of 700-1000 words.  Raise a central question in the introduction that the rest of the paper strives to answer in the persuasive format.

For details of the physical formatting of your paper on paper—margins, headers, titles, etc.—see the simple stuff handout.  For guidelines on quotation and documentation, see the quotes and documentation handout.  All options require that you offer quotes from the articles or stories to illustrate your claims, so a works cited page is required.

Options:
1) Construct an argument debating at least three different viewpoints in answer of the question, "Why do we work?"  (You may use this question, word for word, as your "intro question" without fear of plagiarism.)  You are not restricted to views expressed in our readings, but you must quote at least one of the articles on work, and you must incorporate a total of at least three quotes into your discussion.
Note: following persuasive format, at least one explanation of why people work must be an opposing viewpoint, a viewpoint you disagree with.

2) Construct an argument between three or more different viewpoints in answer of the question, "Why are so many people such passionate sports fans?"  (You may use this question word for word as your "intro question.")  Quote the Epstein article, "Obsessed with Sport" at least three times.

3) Argue for or against Paul Goodman’s proposal to abolish grading at the college level.  If you agree with Goodman, be wary of simply restating his argument—argue for Goodman’s ideas, but concentrate primarily on explaining why you agree with them in your own words.  Quote Goodman's article at least three times.

4) Construct an argument debating the issue of whether or not homosexual marriage should be legal in all fifty states.  Quote the "Marriage Is a Restricted Club" article at least three times.
Note: Unless you can prove that the religion in question is absolutely, categorically "the one and only true religion," do not bring religion into the discussion.  Unless you can prove that the Bible is 100% verifiable fact, do not base any significant points of argument on any teachings or passages from the Bible.

5) Develop an argument for either one (not both) of the following two topics arising from Elizabeth Joseph's article, "My Husband's Nine Wives": a) Should polygamy be legal? or b) Is plural marriage (polygamy) more beneficial for women than monogamous marriage?  In either case, quote Joseph's article at least three times in your discussion.

6) "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," "Guests of the Nation," and "The Things They Carried" go against the (Hollywood) norm of traditional war stories depicting war in a romantic light.  Construct an argument over which of these stories is most effective in demonstrating that war is not romantic or glamorous at all.  Note that this option asks you to argue that one story is more effective than one or both of the other two, meaning that the opposing view would be that the other story is more effective in showing that war is not romantic or glamorous.  You may discuss all three stories, but it would be simplest to concentrate on only two.  Quote each story at least twice in illustration of your primary claims.

7) Some say the racial prejudice of the sort demonstrated in Ellison's "Battle Royal" is now, thankfully, a relic of the American past, something that we've "gotten over."   Others believe that racial prejudice is still as common and as virulent as it ever has been, only now the prejudice is masked beneath the veneer of political correctness.  What do you think?  Focusing closely on the specific prejudice demonstrated in "Battle Royal," debate the issue of whether contemporary America is significantly less prejudiced than it was in the era depicted in the story.  Quote the story at least three times in illustration of the specific prejudice you are discussing.



Hint: The most important sentence in your paper will be the "intro question," because it sets up the lines of argument that the rest of the essay will address.  I encourage you to run your intro question by me before writing past the introductory paragraph.  Once you have a question in mind, feel free to see me during office hours, send email, or call me at home to make sure you start off on the right track.


Works Cited info: If your paper addresses only stories from the The Story and Its Writer, you have all the bibliographic info you need for works cited entries in the book itself.  All the photocopied articles on reserve thus far come from the 6th edition of The Little, Brown Reader, which was edited by Marcia Stubbs and Sylvan Barnet.  This book was published by HarperCollins, in New York, in 1993.  You should have the page numbers for the articles on the handouts.  (If not, the articles' inclusive page numbers are listed below:
"The Prisoner's Dilemma," 637-45
"Obsessed with Sport," 365-75
"A Proposal to Abolish Grading," 258-61
"Work," 295-300
"Work, Labor, and Play," 301-3
"My Husband's Nine Wives," 127-29
"Marriage as a Restricted Club," 708-12).