BIS 490C (LN 8544)

Senior Seminar:

Postmodern American Literature

David S. Goldstein, Ph.D.

Research Paper Assignment

Due online at 1:05 p.m. sharp on Monday, Nov. 15

The purpose of this assignment is to use critical thinking skills mastered during your studies at UWB to produce a capstone work of writing. To make this assignment as meaningful and interesting to you as possible, you will have considerable flexibility in choosing a topic and approach for this paper. Please choose one of the following options.

Option 1: Research Paper on Postmodern American Literature
Option 2: Research Paper on a Topic Other than Postmodern American Literature

On Thursday, Oct. 14, Research Librarian Mark Szarko will conduct a research paper workshop in LB1-220 (second floor of the library) to help you identify a topic and potential sources for your project. Please think about a potential site (What do you want to study?) and a tentative analytical question (What do you want to find out about that site?) to work on at the workshop (although you do not have to have decided upon anything yet).

Option 1: Research Paper on Postmodern American Literature

This option will enable you to investigate an area of postmodern American literature that most interests you by entering into an academic conversation or debate, building on the work of others and contributing your own.

First, identify a topic, related to postmodernism or postmodern American literature that interests you. Think about what you already know about the topic, and what you still want to learn about it.  Use the question, "What do I want to learn?" as a way to generate a good research question.

Then, use appropriate sources to learn what other scholars have said about your topic. In most cases, you will need to use academic books and articles, which you can locate most readily via the UW Library Catalogue <http://catalog.lib.washington.edu/> and the nearly two hundred academic databases <http://www.lib.washington.edu/types/databases/>to which the UW Library subscribes.

Then write a research paper in which you argue your own point of view on the topic. Please use the appropriate resources for guidance in writing a research paper, including, but not limited to, the following:

• UWB Library Research Guides: <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/library/guides/index.html>
• Reference/Research Librarians
  • American Studies: Sarah Leadley (425-352-5387; email: leadley@u.washington.edu)
  • Culture, Literature, and the Arts: Mark Szarko (425-352-3451; email: mszarko@bothell.washington.edu)
• Writing Center: <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/writingcenter/> (Note: The Writing Center usually offers a one-day workshop focusing on research papers.)
• Prof. Goldstein: <http://depts.washington.edu/ctlt/catalyst/umail/mail.cgi?user=davidgs&form=5>

Option 2: Research Paper on a Topic Other than Postmodern American Literature

This option will enable you to investigate an area of inquiry, other than postmodern American literature, that most interests you by entering into an academic conversation or debate, building on the work of others and contributing your own. Follow the instructions in Option 1 above, except that you are free to choose any topic; it need not relate directly to postmodernism or American literature. Your topic should, however, relate to your concentration in some way.

This is a research paper, and I expect that you will be entering a scholarly discussion on your topic. You therefore need to take into account previous work and opinions on your topic, and you should cite those sources in your paper using proper MLA formatting as described in the latest edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. You should cite at least three scholarly sources. What are scholarly sources? I am glad that you asked. A scholarly source is one written by and for scholars, basically. You can tell that you probably have a scholarly book in your hands if it is published by an academic press (University of Washington Press, for example) or if the author is identified (usually on the title page) as a scholar (e.g., the person's institutional affiliation is indicated). At least two of your sources must be peer-reviewed articles from academic journals, which also are scholarly sources. How do you know whether a journal is scholarly? I am glad that you asked. Read this fine document prepared by our professional academic librarians: <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/library/guides/sources.html>.

Assume that your audience is a smart, educated person who is not an expert on your topic but is very interested in academic discussions of your topic. As you write, it might help to think of a smart friend of yours as your audience.

All papers must be written in Microsoft Word (available in all UWB computer labs) and must run between 2000 and 2500 words (not counting the mandatory Works Cited page), according to the word count tool in Microsoft Word. Do not use Microsoft Works. It must be Word.

As a formal piece of university writing, your paper 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. In the top, left-hand corner of the first page, place a heading that includes (using one line per item) your name, the course number (BIS 490C), the date, and my name (Prof. David S. Goldstein). (See item #20 in "Tips for Better Prose"; a link appears below.) Provide a meaningful but brief title for your paper (not "Research Paper" but rather a short hint of your paper's main argument) that is centered just one double space beneath the heading on the first page and in plain type (no underlining, bold, italics, or quotation marks). (See item #22 in "Tips for Better Prose.") Please use just one side of each sheet of paper.

The body of your paper, beginning with an indented paragraph, should start exactly one double space beneath the title. In other words, there should be one blank line between the bottom of your heading and the title, and then one blank line between the title and the first line of your paper's body. Just before you submit your final draft, do a final word count (in the Tools pull-down menu of Microsoft Word) to make sure you are within the stated word count requirements. To count all of the words except the Works Cited page, highlight all of the text except the Works Cited page before using the word count tool. If you are not within the required parameters, then please edit appropriately.

Please do not use a cover page or footnotes. If you wish to quote, do so sparingly, and only after reading Becky Reed Rosenberg's document, "Using Direct Quotation" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Quotation.html>. If you paraphrase or quote one of the authors about whom you are writing, you can provide just a page number if it is obvious whom you are citing (such as when you refer to an author in the text of your sentence). Be sure you cite correctly according to MLA format according to the latest edition of the MLA Handbook.

Before you submit your paper, but after getting close to a final version, do some careful editing and proofreading. (I recommend that you wait until you get your ideas organized and on paper before worrying about the less-important mechanics of prose.) Because all teachers have their own idiosyncratic preferences for writing, you should review what mine are by re-reading "Tips for Better Prose" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html>. Reading this document is a required part of the assignment. If I think your paper is at least a middle draft, then when I return your paper to you, I will indicate patterns of problems that I noticed in your paper, using 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.

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 "Maintaining Academic Integrity" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Integrity.html>, which I consider to be part of this assignment.

To provide time for a revision prior to the final version that you will submit in your learning portfolio, you must submit your research paper no later than 1:05 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 15. (Note that this is not a date on which our class meets.  You will be submitting your paper electronically on a non-class day.)  I will do my best to return your evaluated paper to you (as an e-mail attachment) within a week of receiving it, so the earlier you submit it, the more time you will have for revising.

To submit your research paper, please follow these instructions:

1. You must have an electronic copy of your paper on the computer that you use to submit the paper electronically. That means the paper needs to be a Microsoft Word document located on your computer's hard drive (if you have Internet access at home or work) or on a floppy disk or Zip disk that can be inserted into a computer on campus. Allow time for that. (If you do not own Microsoft Word, you sometimes can purchase a deeply discounted copy through ASUWB <http://depts.washington.edu/asuwb/> or else use one of the campus computer labs.) You must save your document as a Microsoft Word (not Works!) document. Even if you use Microsoft Word to write your paper, you have to make sure that you don't save it as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) or other format, but instead make sure it is saved as a a Microsoft Word (.doc) document. To make sure it is saved as a Word document, choose "Save As" in the pull-down File menu. Where it says, "Save File as Type:" choose "Microsoft Word document."
2. Name your Word file exactly in this format (including capitalization): LastnameFirstinitialR1. For example, if you name were Mary Husky, your filename would be "HuskyMR1" (but without quotation marks). Note that there is no space between the last name and the first initial or between the first initial and the "R1" (which stands for Research paper, first version). Your file name cannot have a space in it.
3. Log onto this course's area of Blackboard at <http://bb.uwb.edu>.
4. Click on the "Tools" link, and then on the "Digital Drop Box" link.
5. Click on the "Send File" button.  Do not use the "Add File" button because you will have access to your paper but I will not.  Only "Send File" submits the paper to me!
   
6. In the "Title" box, type your last name (with only the first letter capitalized), then a space, then your first initial (capitalized), then a space, and then the word "Research" (capitalized but without the quotation marks). For example, if Mary Husky were submitting her paper, she would type: "Husky M Research" (but without the quotation marks).  Note that for this title, you need to use spaces, unlike the name of your Word document, which cannot have spaces in it. To reiterate: Your file name (document name) cannot have spaces in it, but your document title must have spaces in it. It is important to name your document and title your submission this way so that I can keep track of the hundreds of documents that students submit to me. Invariably, some students will disregard these instructions, vexing me greatly, and I will be in a cranky mood when I grade your paper. You do not want that. Trust me.
7. Under "File," use the "Browse" button to find your computer file that contains your paper.
8. Click on the "Submit" button. You should then arrive at "digital receipt" page. I strongly recommend that you print and save this receipt page.

I cannot accept any research papers after 1:05 p.m. on Nov. 15 because I will not have enough time to return the paper to you to revise again before your portfolio is due. After you get comments back from me, though, you can revise one more time for inclusion in your learning portfolio. The version that you include in your learning portfolio will be the final version, and your evaluative (i.e., "final") research paper grade will be determined at that time. Instructions for submitting your portfolio version of your paper will be included in the learning portfolio assignment sheet.

Although you will have the opportunity  to revise your paper, I expect none of the versions to be a "rough" draft. Your rough drafts are for your own use in developing a version as close to ideal as possible. Please make each submitted version as good as you can.

Criteria for evaluating research paper drafts: Please carefully read "Criteria for Assessing Writing" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/WritingAssess.html> for an explanation of my assessment criteria. In addition to substantive comments on each version, I also will designate each draft as "early draft" (E), "middle draft" (M), or "late draft" (L).

Some additional advice:

• Get in the habit of saving your work often (maybe every ten minutes) so you do not lose everything when your computer freezes. It also is a good idea to keep multiple copies in different places, such as on a different computer, on diskettes or Zip disks, or in your electronic "shell" on the UWB student computer server. I usually e-mail important files to myself at the end of the work day, so if my computer blows up, I still can retrieve my work.
• I do not have time to read rough drafts, but I am very glad to discuss your paper as you work on it. You would be wise to visit me during office hours (see syllabus) to make sure you are on the right track, to see whether your thesis makes sense to me, and to get advice about any particular difficulties you might be encountering.
• Re-read this assignment sheet just before printing each submission version of your paper to make sure it meets all of the requirements.
• Visit the Writing Center (see <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/WritingCenter/>) as many times as you can to help you build confidence in your writing process.

This page last updated October 6, 2004.

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