Download English II - Research Paper

English II - Research Paper
For this assignment you will research a topic and write a 2-3 page (plus works cited)
paper using the information you find.
Research:
Your research should include the required MLA source information and any notes that you
take. You will need to research information from at least three different sources. A total of
three (full) pages of notes is the minimum allowed for full credit. As you research your
topic, you should be asking yourself “Who? What? When? Where?” and especially, “Why
should my reader care?” Your research notes are due Tuesday, April 26th.
Paper:
Your paper must follow MLA format. You will be required to include parenthetical
citations and a works cited page. This paper should thoroughly describe and define your
topic. The most effective papers will develop a thesis (prove a point). Your first draft will
be due at the beginning of class on Thursday, May 5th. Your Final Draft will be due
Thursday, May 12th. A penalty of –8pts will be given for each day a paper is late. No
discs/drives or excuses will be accepted.
Grade:
You will be given a separate grade for each component.
 Research Notes (3 Sources / 3 Pages Minimum)
 Rough Draft
 Final Draft
(Quiz Grade) Due 4/26
(Quiz Grade) Due 5/5
(Test Grade) Due 5/12
Schedule Overview:
4/13-4/15
Classroom
Choosing a Topic, Summarizing/Paraphrasing/Quoting
4/18-4/21
Media Center
Research, Notes, Thesis Formation, Organization
4/26
**** NOTES DUE ****
5/5
**** FIRST DRAFT DUE ****
5/12
**** FINAL DRAFT DUE ****
Classroom
Peer Editing
Note that we will reserve the 1020 lab as scheduling and testing allow. Dates are yet to be
determined.
Topic Ideas!
The first step in writing an effective research paper is selecting an engaging, productive topic.
Look through the 30+ topics below, and circle the one(s) that interest you the most. You should
begin your initial database and general internet research before getting into the media center to
see if there is adequate material available for that topic. Note that websites like wikipedia are
adequate for topic summaries and very general background information early in the research
process, but these sites are inadequate for your final 3+ research citations.
Authors/Literature:
Erich Maria Remarque
Elie Wiesel
The Grimm Brothers
Edmond Rostand
Sigmund Freud
Chinua Achebe
Dante Alighieri
Joseph Campbell (Archetypes)
Victor Hugo
World War I:
Trench Warfare
Propaganda Posters/Military Recruitment
Advancements in Military Technologies (tanks,
airplanes, machine guns, poison gas, etc.)
Women’s Role in WW1
World War II/Holocaust:
Jewish Ghettos
The Night of Broken Glass
Adolf Hitler
Nazi Political Party
Dr. Mengele
Nazi Medical Experiments
Oskar Schindler
Auschwitz/Birkenau
IBM and The Holocaust
Hitler Youth
Kindertransport
Buchenwald
Anne Frank
Women’s Role in World War II
Selection Procedures
The Nuremberg Trials
Holocaust Denial
Neo-Nazi Beliefs (may be difficult with filters)
Death Marches
Modern Genocide Connections
Rwanda… Tutsi and Hutu
Pol Pot and the Cambodian Killing Fields
Native American Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Sudan, Darfur, and the Janjaweed
Other
Somalian Piracy
Ibo Culture
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Gender roles in the 19th Century
Nigerian Oil (Postcolonial Issues)
Sierra Leone’s Political Rebellion
South Africa’s Apartheid System
Creation/Origin Myths
June Rebellion
Systems of Justice
Any country connected to a work of literature covered this year (overview of its culture, politics,
famous figures, etc.)
*** Other APPROVED topic