Sec. 01-02
Dr. Moir
10/8/2015
GUIDELINES FOR PAPER 2
This paper will be 2400-3000 words and will have a research component. You will need to
consider two works (one from the first half of the term and one from the second) and examine
the ways in which you think they share a particular theme, paying close attention to differences
in the way they treat this common thread and constructing an argument about why these
differences are important to our understanding of the texts you chose. You will need to use at
least 5 outside sources. These can be literary criticism of the works in question, general literary
criticism, or works from some other discipline that are relevant to your argument. Do not use the
same text you wrote about in your first paper. Due on Monday, 12/7.
FORMATTING (This is going to involve changing the MS Word defaults.)
1. Your paper MUST be submitted in 12-pt. type, Times New Roman font.
2. NO spaces between paragraphs (to turn this feature off, click the “Line Spacing” icon;
paragraphing features are at the bottom of the list).
3. Use standard MS Word margins.
4. Notation should be MLA Style, parenthetical, with a Works Cited page at the end,
even if you are only quoting from one text. (e.g., (Hawthorne 12)).
5. If you are quoting from a source text (this includes the text about which you are
writing), and the quote is four lines or longer, it should be set apart as a single-spaced
block quote.
6. Integrate quotes into your own sentences; don’t leave them hanging as free-floating
entities. This is often as simple as putting them in parentheses or adding a colon at the
end of the sentence.
7. 2400 words means 2400 words; this is the MINIMUM acceptable word count.
8. You are permitted only ONE online-only source.
9. The primary texts with which you are working DO NOT count towards your five
secondary sources.
WORKING WITH SECONDARY SOURCES
You will need to consult at least five secondary sources for this paper. Appropriate secondary
sources include:
1. Scholarly books and journals in any discipline
2. Journal articles found online through JSTOR or the MLA Bibliography (both
available through Carter Library’s website)
The following are NOT appropriate sources:
1. Wikipedia (or any other encyclopedia)
2. Book reviews
3. Newspaper or magazine articles
4. Random websites found via Google searches
5. Cliff’s Notes, Sparknotes, Shmoop.com, MasterPlots, or similar ‘summaries’
6. Texts that may be important to you but are not directly relevant to the material you
are expected to analyze (e.g., the Bible, self-help manuals, popular fiction)
Keep the following in mind when working with secondary sources:
1. You don’t need to read the entire book.
When consulting a scholarly book as a source, use your judgment. In general, you
won’t need to read the whole thing. Rather, read the introduction to get the author’s
argument and check the index for any parts that might be relevant to the story or
author you’re researching.
2. When dealing with sources that offer counterarguments to your thesis, use a
Rogerian approach.
Carl Rogers was a psychologist who specialized in conflict resolution. He would not
allow his clients to argue until they could state one another’s positions in a way the
opposition would consider fair and accurate. When dealing with a source whose
conclusions are contrary to your own, don’t dismiss the argument out of hand, and try
to do more than simply refute it. Acknowledge that you probably agree with this
source about something, and try to incorporate that into your argument.
3. If you find sources with whom you agree absolutely, you probably need to
rethink your argument.
While it has been said that there is nothing new under the sun, a source that has
already covered all of the ground you hoped to explore is more of a hindrance than a
help. If your ideas echo a particular source’s too closely, you probably need to do
something to complicate your argument further.
4. Explain why your sources mean what you think they mean.
Don’t just use sources to back up your own arguments, throwing them in when you
feel your ideas need more support. Make sure your reader understands WHY the
source you quote means what you think it means, and explain the ways it supports
your point. Show your reader what the source made you think about.
5. Sources should lead you to further questions, not answers.
Avoid the temptation to write your argument first, using quotations from your source
materials to fill in space later on. That is not research. Look at your secondary sources
FIRST and let them guide you from a rough idea to a refined argument.
6. Your sources do not exist in a vacuum. Put them into conversation with one
another.
Your sources are part of an ongoing scholarly conversation about a particular work or
works, as is your paper. Look at them in the context of this conversation, and make
them speak to each other. Does Source A cover something that Source B doesn’t?
How would Source B respond to Source C’s argument?
7. Make sure that you do more than act as a conduit or mediator for your sources.
Remember, this is YOUR paper, and it should be your ideas that are paramount. Your
sources can help guide you to further insights, but not at the expense of drowning out
your own voice. Use your sources to refine, qualify and support your own argument;
don’t use them to provide arguments for you.
