As a formal piece of university writing, your research essay should be typed and double-spaced throughout, using a standard font (like Times New Roman) in 12-point size, and with margins of one inch all the way around each page. Provide an MLA-style header and essay title as explained in #20 and #22 in "Tips for Better Prose" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html>. Please do not use a cover page or footnotes. If you wish to quote, do so only after reading Becky Reed Rosenberg's document, "Using Direct Quotation" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Quotation.html>. If you paraphrase or quote Erdrich, you can provide just a page number if it is obvious that it is Erdrich whom you are citing.

Using MLA formatting, you will append a Works Cited list.  Use a page break to make sure it starts on a new page.  Remember that only works you actually cite go on this page.  Also, remember that you must provide, in addition to complete publication information, the details regarding where you found the sources if you retrieved them electronically.  For guidance regarding assembling a Works Cited list, consult the latest edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, or Diana Hacker's online guide at http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s2.html.  See also Tip 19 in "Tips for Better Prose" at http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html.  For guidance regarding how to use and format in-text citations, see the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or Diana Hacker's online guide at http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s1.html.  Remember that you need to cite at least three sources, at least two of which must be from peer-reviewed, scholarly sources.

After your paper is carefully written, it will be time for editing and proofreading. Because all teachers have their own idiosyncratic preferences for writing, you should learn what mine are by reading "Tips for Better Prose." Reading this document is a required part of the assignment. When I return your paper to you, I will indicate common errors that I find in your paper that tend to distract your readers. I will use a list of codes such as "T1," "T2," and so forth, which refer to the numbered items of the "Tips for Better Prose" document. Of course, it would be better for you and for me if you pay close attention to the document so you can avoid some of the mechanical errors that I commonly find in student (and even professional) writing, rather than have them pointed out to you afterward. I recommend printing that document, and, after you finish writing your paper, check the items off one by one to make sure your paper is as mechanically sound as you can make it. Although the mechanics of writing are less important to me than the ideas expressed, the mechanics inevitably improve the effectiveness of your communication of ideas, which, after all, is your ultimate goal with each piece of writing that you do.

When you think you have a completed draft, do a final word count (in the Tools pull-down menu of Microsoft Word) to make sure your paper meets the length requirement.  Do not put the word count in your paper, though; I can check that myself.

I have posted an example of a very good essay (written in a different literature course) in the "Course Documents" area of Blackboard at <http://bb.uwb.edu/> You may read it if you want to see an example of an essay that I have liked.

Needless to say, your work must be entirely original. Using another person's ideas or words without proper attribution, whether intentional or accidental, constitutes plagiarism, and will result in a zero on this assignment. Please re-read "Policy on Academic and Behavioral Conduct" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Integrity.html>.

Optional preliminary draft:  If you would like my comments on your paper before revising for your final submission, you may submit it to me after Thursday, April 20, but before Tuesday, May 16, by re-submitting your midquarter portfolio with the paper in it.  I will read a preliminary version of your paper only once, so please make sure it is as finished and polished as possible so I can provide the most helpful feedback.   I expect to return interim portfolios containing preliminary versions of research essays, with my comments, within ten days of their submission, so the earlier you submit your preliminary research essay, the more time you will have to revise the paper for your final portfolio.  Be sure to allow some time for unforeseen problems with the electronic submission or other unforeseeable circumstances like illness or computer malfunction.