glish 1120 Research Essay.
Choosing one of the topics listed below. write a 6-pa9e comparison essay based on your own interpretation of the

stories. Support your interpretation with specific evidence drawn from the texts of the stories themselves, and from

a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 secondary sources. These must be scholarly sources: your grade will reflect

the quality of your source material.

Your research may focus on any ideas-psychological. historical. sociological or literary-pertinent to the issues being

explored in these stories. Since this is a short paper, confine your analysis to no more than three or four major points. so

that you are able to explain your ideas about both stories thoroughly.

Format your comparison of the two stories in point-by;point format. rather than block format. This means that you will be

discussing both stories in each paragraph of your paper.

fiy sources you consult MUST be cited. Use MLA style to document any quotations, paraphrases, or examples drawn

from the stories and reference materials. Proper formatting of quotations, paraphrases and the Works Cited list will

account for 10% of your grade for this paper.

You must photocopy or print out the ages of your secondary sources from which you have taken either

Quotations or mphrases. If you do not submit these photocopied @gLsLyour paper will not be graded.

1. Explore and compare the phenomenon of “initiation” or “coming of age” as it is presented in two of the following works:

Young Goodman Brown,” “The Boat,” Barometer Rising, A Wizard of Earthsea, and “The Resplendent Quetzal.” Possible

approaches to this tepic might be as follows:

a) Is “coming of age” or initiation a “one-time thing.” or can it occur multiple times?

b) What are the challenges or obstacles (social or personal) that might face a character on the brink of an initiation?

c) What might be the price of initiation? Do the benefits outweigh the cost. or not?

d) What might be the consequences of never having actually “come of age”?

2. Explore the significance of psychological trauma as it is demonstrated in two of the following works: “The Boat,”

“Rope,” Barometer Rising, A Wizard of Earthsea and “The Resplendent Quetzal.” Include in your discussion the idea of

the “coping strategies” that people develop when under stress. and how these strategies may have both positive and

negative effects.

3. In two of the following stories, investigate how the authors present problems related to the presence and operation of

power dynamics in personal and social relationships: “The Resplendent Quetzal,” “The Boat,” “Rope.” Barometer Rising,

and A Wizard of Earthsea.

4. Examine the notion of “hero” as it is presented in any two of the following works: “Araby,” Barometer Rising, A Wizard

of Earthsea. and “The Boat.”

Marking Rubric and Writing Tips:

Content / Argument (50%)

Please note the word “argument.” DO NOT simply describe what occurs in a story. Propose interpretations which could be

further discussed or debated (even disagreed with). Support your interpretation by analyzing the ideas and details

contained in the stories. Please do express an opinion, but make sure to do so in relatively impersonal and clear language

that is appropriate for an academic paper. Your opinion will be presented in a thesis statement consisting of one or two

sentences in the introductory paragraph. (By the way, good thesis statements often lurk in the concluding paragraph of a

first draft.)

Grammar / Organization (40%)

Common grammatical errors: 1) confusing “it’s” and “its”; 2) misusing apostrophes or not using them at all; 3)

creating sentence fragments (every sentence needs a subject and a predicate and has to be able to stand on its own)

or comma splices (using only a comma to join two independent ciauses); 4) confusing semicolons and colons. or

semicolons and commas (if you’re not sure how to use semicolons, DON’T!); and 5) (my recent favorite) using the word

‘Women” to denote a singular subject. Give yourself enough time to edit and proofread your essay!

Organization: There should be only one main idea per paragraph; sentences should be arranged in a logical order within

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account for 10% of your grade for this paper.
You must photocopy or print out the pages of your secondary sources from which you have taken either
guotatlons or paraphrases. If you do not submit these photocopied figgLyour taper will not be graded.
1. Explore and compare the phenomenon of “initiation” or “coming of age” as it is presented in two of the following works:
“Young Goodman Brown,” “The Boat,” Barometer Rising, A Wizard of Earthsea, and “The Resplendent Quetzal.” Possible
approaches to this topic might be as follows:
a) Is “coming of age” or initiation a “one-time thing,” or can it occur multiple times?
b) What are the challenges or obstacles (social or personal) that might face a character on the brink of an initiation?
c) What might be the price of initiation? Do the benefits outweigh the cost. or not?
d) What might be the consequences of never having actually “come of age”?
2. Explore the significance of psychological trauma as it is demonstrated in two of the following works: “The Boat.”
“Rope,” Barometer Rising. A Wizard of Earthsea and “The Resplendent Quetzal.” Include in your discussion the idea of
the “coping strategies” that people develop when under stress, and how these strategies may have both positive and
negative effects.
3. In two of the following stories. investigate how the authors present problems related to the presence and operation of
power dynamics in personal and social relationships: “The Resplendent Quetzal.” “The Boat,” “Rope,” Barometer Rising,
and A Wizard of Earthsea.
4. Examine the notion of “hero” as it is presented in any two of the following works: “Araby.” Barometer Rising. A Wizard
of Earthsea, and “The Boat.”
Marking Rubric and Writing Tips:
Content / Argument (50%)
Please note the word “argument.” DO NOT simply describe what occurs in a story. Propose interpretations which could be
further discussed or debated (even disagreed with). Support your interpretation by analyzing the ideas and details
contained in the stories. Please do express an opinion, but make sure to do so in relatively impersonal and clear language
that is appropriate for an academic paper. Your opinion will be presented in a thesis statement consisting of one or two
sentences in the introductory paragraph. (By the way, good thesis statements often lurk in the concluding paragraph of a
first draft.)
Wow (40%)
Common grammatical errors: 1) confusing “it’s” and “its”; 2) misusing apostrophes or not using them at all; 3)
creating sentence fragments (every sentence needs a subject and a predicate and has to be able to stand on its own)
or comma splices (using only a comma to join two independent clauses); 4) confusing semicolons and colons. or
semicolons and commas (if you’re not sure how to use semicolons. DON’Tl); and 5) (my recent favorite) using the word
“Women” to denote a singular subject. Give yourself enough time to edit and proofread your essay!
Organization: There should be only one main idea per paragraph; sentences should be arranged in a logical order within
each paragraph; and the paragraphs themselves should be arranged in a manner that allows your argument to unfold
clearly. Develop the main idea in each paragraph with examples and ideas drawn from the stories and from your research,
and be sure to fully explain and analyze these ideas and examples from your own point of view. If a paragraph contains
less than three sentences. usually it is not sufficiently developed. Conversely. if your paragraphs are very long (over a
page). be sure to double-check that you’re not discussing more than one main idea. If you are. separate the paragraphs
and fully develop each idea on its own.
MLA format (10%): ln-text citations 5%, Works Cited page 5%
Briefly. quotations and paraphrases in the body of your essay are followed by parentheses containing the author’s last
name and the page number (not separated by a comma). and the sources themselves are listed on an alphabetical Works
Cited page at the back of your essay. Make sure that you pay attention to small details: a V2 point will be deducted for
every format error. Consult a style guide!
Length Requirement: If your paper is substantially shorter (by more than V2 a page) than the required length, marks will be
deducted. If you pass in a 4 ‘/2 page paper, for example, it can only earn about 80% of possible marks. If your paper is too
short. look for places where you’ve skimped on analysis or the use of relevant examples to support your ideas. (If your
paper is too long. edit and proofread carefully for repetition and wordiness.)

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