Now that you have read the novel, the next step is to pick a topic to research. Remember that your research begins with the novel itself. Once you've picked a topic, go back through the book and look for information and details that pertain to your topic. I recommend using post-it notes to mark pages (with page numbers and notes); that way you can physically rearrange your notes to help create an organizational pattern for your paper.
STEP ONE: Read the book if you haven't yet...
STEP TWO: Pick a topic - from the list or on your own
- Type and sign a topic proposal letter for Monday, March 28th stating what you intend to write about and how - in other words, what evidence have you found, and how does it work to support a main idea? Please use block format.
STEP THREE: Type an outline for Tuesday (sample)
- Type your outline and format according to MLA - with your thesis at the top. You can skip the intro and outline the body only. Please use the alphanumeric example as your guide, noting that indentation denotes the hierarchy of the information (the more indented sections are more specific).
STEP FOUR: Write first draft in class Wednesday. Yes, of course, you may use both your book and your outline. Make use of in-text citation for all information from the book.
- For each quote, make sure you INTRODUCE and CONNECT the information: Introduce the quote with a signal phrase or introductory sentence followed by a colon; Connect the information to your main point and establish the context
For this first draft, you are only using one source, so it is not necessary to indicate the author in your citation. If you do refer to the author, please use her LAST name (and please spell it correctly). Here are three examples of in-text citation using the same information:
- Frankenstein first witnesses the potential power of electricity at the age of fifteen, when a lightning bolt turns the tree near his home into a “blasted stump” (35).
- Frankenstein first witnesses the potential power of electricity at the age of fifteen: “I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak […] and so soon as the dazzling light vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump” (35).
- Frankenstein is introduced to electricity as a young man of fifteen, when a lightning bolt strikes a tree near his home: “nothing remained but a blasted stump” (35).