ENGLISH 200C
Summer 2008
Research Paper Assignment
Your research paper
assignment is to write a 6-8 page critical research paper (exclusive of Works
Cited page) on a literary aspect of the Harry Potter novels. It counts as
20% of your final grade. You may choose to do one of the following:
-
Examine how J.K. Rowling
develops a particular archetype in the novels (e.g. the plucky heroine, the
father figure, the wise guide)
-
Examine how Rowling
develops a particular myth in the novels (e.g. a quest for information, the
search for identity, the fulfillment of a set of tasks)
-
Examine some aspect of
the genre of the novels (for instance, the Harry Potter series as “school
novels”)
If you wish to explore a
topic that does not fall under one of these three general umbrellas, you must
meet with Dr. K outside of class to present your idea and to explain why
pursuing that topic will help you meet the goals on the class syllabus.
You must give us a note or
send us an e-mail telling us your specific paper topic by June 23 at the
beginning of class.
You may not have a specific thesis by this point, but we want at least a focused
question. “I’m going to write about girls in the Harry Potter novels”
isn’t focused enough; “What can we learn from looking at the plucky heroines in
the Harry Potter novels?” would be sufficient.
This should be a critical
paper: that is, it must make an argument that is embodied in a clear
thesis. You are expected to use at least three outside sources beyond
the books in writing your paper; you may find these by looking at works on the
Resources page, consulting the books on Course Reserve for the class, and using
the suggestions provided by the Resource Mistress (Stephanie) to find
appropriate scholarly resources for your paper.
The paper must be carefully
written and edited, correctly documented in MLA style, and submitted to Dr. K in
hard copy on Tuesday, July 8, at the beginning of class (no extensions
possible).
The paper must also be submitted to
www.turnitin.com by that time. Our class ID# is
2299057
and our password is the name of Harry's owl (lower
case). (I can't put the actual password on the web--look on
your printout, please, or e-mail me.)
Some tips
on writing a critical paper
-
Don’t
make it an information dump. Just saying “I found plucky heroines in four of
the seven Harry Potter books´is not a critical thesis, nor is it an
argument; it’s simply a catalog. Once you find those plucky heroines, you
need to make an argument out of it—something that readers will care about.
Turning that statement into a thesis like “Rowling uses the plucky heroine
in increasingly complicated situations, but the heroine always turns out to
be subordinate to the boys in the end, reinforcing Rowling’s traditional use
of male and female stereotypes” gives you something to argue about, to
support, to find examples from the text and your secondary scholarship and
to make a case about.
-
Think
of a literary argument as making a case. You’re the prosecutor, and you’re
trying to convince the jury of your readers that you are right. So you will
make claims about your thesis to the jury, and for each claim you’ll
need to state your point, elaborate on it and explain it,
give examples from the novels and from your secondary research to
back your claim up, and then tie it in to your overall thesis. If you
use this four-part strategy, your points will be well developed. So, for
example, you might back up your plucky heroine thesis like this:
“In Chamber of Secrets, Hermione shows her spunk by doing independent
research to solve the mystery of the hidden chamber. [Claim stated].
She researches and brews the Polyjuice Potion that will let Harry and Ron
infiltrate Slytherin for information and she uses the library to find out
information on the monster’s identity. [Elaborates on your claim].
However, in both cases, her independence goes horribly wrong; in the
Polyjuice episode, “Her face was covered in black fur. Her eyes had gone
yellow, and there were long pointed ears poking through her hair” (168)
because she mistakenly used a cat hair to influence the potion. Then, when
she thinks she has identified the monster, she is found (along with another
student) lying petrified on the floor with a small mirror nearby (190)
because she has seen the Basilisk. In both cases, she is confined to the
Infirmary while the boys solve the mysteries her adventures have revealed.
[Evidence]. So while Hermione seems plucky, she actually reinforces
the stereotype that action should be left to the boys, because girls can’t
carry it off. [Ties back to thesis]
-
Remember who’s in control of the paper—you are. Don’t let your
notecards take over—you should be making the case, and using the evidence to
back you up. If your paper is just a string of “According to” and “So-and-so
says” without your ideas giving it structure, it’s not going to be a
successful paper.
-
Office
hours are for a reason!
Please feel free to bring in your outlines, drafts, notes, and questions;
Stephanie and I will be glad to help you. We will have formal
required rough draft
conferences on your papers the Thursday before your papers are due so that
you can meet with us and get our feedback before you turn your papers in for
a grade.