Writing Workshop Reporting Literary Research

1. Writing WorkshopReporting Literary Research Feature Menu Assignment Prewriting Choose and Narrow a Research Topic Consider Purpose, Audience, and Tone Make a Research Plan Get an Overview and Find Sources Note Sources Research and Take Notes Analyze Research Information Write a Thesis Statement Make an Outline Document Sources Practice and Apply

2. Reporting Literary ResearchAssignment Assignment: Write a formal research paper of six pages on a topic that links literature and historical investigation. Literary research involves the study of literary works and the sources that shed light on them. How do you think researching the history of a period might help you understand a literary work, its author, and the culture that produced it? [End of Section]

3. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Choose and Narrow a Research Topic Consider the plays we’ve read and what you know about Shakespeare and the time period during which he lived and worked. Do some preliminary research (textbook, general reference works, the Internet).

4. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Choose and Narrow a Research Topic Choose a general literary topic. Decide on your historical approach. how the plays reflect the culture of Renaissance England Women in the plays Prejudice in the plays how Shakespeare’s life influenced his writing Themes in the plays Shakespeare’s comments on life in his time Marriage in the plays

5. broad topic: Shakespeare’s plays and medieval culture What interests me about Shakespeare’s portrayal of English culture? how he portrays women in society What interests me about the women in the plays? Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Choose and Narrow a Research Topic Narrow your topic. Limited topic: how the complex female characters in Shakespeare’s work reflect the conflicting ideas about women’s roles at that time [End of Section]

6. information you gather from research your own insights into the topic conclusions you draw from that information Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Consider Purpose, Audience, and Tone Purpose: to inform Audience:teacher and classmates Tone:objective and formal (but not stuffy) Your research paper will be an original synthesis of ideas and information: + + [End of Section]

7. Who What When Where Why How Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Make a Research Plan Use the 5W-How? method to make a list of research questions: are the female characters in the plays? are their personalities like? did Renaissance women get involved in business? did Renaissance women spend their leisure time? were women’s activities restricted? did men treat women during Shakespeare’s time? did blahbedy blah blah blah [End of Section]

8. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources Search for answers to your research questions. • Look at general reference works to get an overview of your topic. • Then look for sources with more specific information. • Explore both print and nonprint resources.

9. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources Search for answers to your research questions. • Some specific places to start: • online encyclopedia • school or local library’s subscription • databases • museums or historical societies • film or TV documentaries • periodical indexes, such as the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature

10. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources Include a balance of primary sources andsecondary sources. Primarysources Secondary sources

11. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources Identify each of the following sources as primary or secondary. primary A letter Shakespeare wrote to his wife A journal article analyzing “Macbeth” secondary A video of an interview with a Shakespeare scholar secondary primary A historical document stating that Shakespeare was under King James, patronage

12. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources To make sure a source is reliable and valid, ask: • Are the facts accurate? • Are the ideas presented objectively? Reliable, valid sources areusually those published by universities or respected publishing companies.

13. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Get an Overview and Find Sources Cover all relevant perspectives, or points of view. Renaissance historians Other writers from the 1500s Literary critics women characters inShakespeare’s plays Sociologists Shakespeare biographers Experts in women’s studies [End of Section]

14. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Note Sources Keep a record of your sources. a source card, or bibliography card, for each source. Make the publishing information for your Works Cited list (see the Writing Workshop for this collection in your text). Record Number each source. (You’ll use these handy numbers as shorthand when you’re taking notes.) an annotation—a short note about the contents of the source. Add Include the call number or location of the source. Noodletools will simplify this process for you.

15. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Research and Take Notes Take notes on information that will help answer your research questions. a separate note card for each main idea. Use the source number and the page number(s). Include a heading showing the main idea. Write Re-read the note to make sure you understand it. Record each piece of information either as a direct quotation, a paraphrase, or a summary. [End of Section]

16. Prioress Appearance Interests Jewelry Fine forehead French Animals Gold brooch Rosary Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Analyze Research Information Divide your notes into categories based on their headings. Then subdivide each set based on relevant aspects of the category.

17. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Analyze Research Information To analyze your notes, ask: Is the factual information consistent? Do different sources interpret factual information differently? If two sources conflict in their presentation of the facts, determine which source is more reliable and valid, and use the information from that source. If two sources differ on an interpretation, consider logic, common sense, and different perspectives, and then explain the different interpretations. [End of Section]

18. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Write a Thesis Statement Assert yourself.Write a thesis statement stating your topic and your conclusion about it. Chaucer’s complex, often inconsistent female characters reflect the changing roles of women in fourteenth-century England. [End of Section]

19. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Make an Outline Order, please. Think about the most effective order for presenting your ideas. (You’ll probably use a combination of organizational patterns.) • chronological order—the order in which events occur • logical order—related ideas are grouped together • order of importance—most important idea to least important, or the reverse

20. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Make an Outline Make a formal outline. • Introduction A. Overview of research B. Thesis statement II. The Prioress A. Appearance 1. Fine forehead 2. Jewelry a. Green-beaded rosary b. Gold brooch with motto B. Interests/pleasures 1. French language 2. Animal lover major divisions of your paper secondary divisions supporting examples specific details [End of Section]

21. Reporting Literary ResearchPrewriting: Document Sources Plagiarizing is a form of cheating.Make sure to document all sources in your paper to avoid taking credit for others’ work. how to document sources See the examples in your textbook. Every direct quotation Any original theory not your own what to document Data from studies and interviews Anything you’re not sure of [End of Section]

22. Reporting Literary Research Use the preceding instructions to • select a topic for your literary research paper, • locate and record information from primary and secondary sources, • write a thesis statement, and • plan your paper’s documentation. Be sure to follow the guidelines for making source cards and taking notes. [End of Section]

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