Research Paper Plan 

Thesis:
Although _(author & title)_ and _(author & title)_ are not part of the typical canon of high school literature, they are in fact worthwhile novels to read.
 

Thesis Support:
1.   Establish criteria for a “good book.”
2.  Identify and evaluate these elements in your two selected works. 

Types of Criteria Students Will Most Likely Address
 

Points to Develop in Paper	Where to Find Someone Talking About the Topic
Meaningful Title / Title reflective of book	Books on reserve in EIPL Lit & Its Times (Lord of the Flies)
Opens with a conflict, with a character in crisis	Dare To Be A Great Writer Good Advice on Writing
Clear conflict (main character wants something and someone/thing stands in the way)	Good Advice on Writing
Characters are not all good / not all evil	Dare To Be A Great Writer
Powerful villain to overcome	Dare To Be A Great Writer
Indirect Characterization character's actions show personality traits	Dare To Be A Great Writer Good Advice on Writing M.E. Kerr's Blood on the Forehead (at EIPL)
Characters change and grow	Dare To Be A Great Writer Literature & Its Times (To Kill A Mockingbird)
Secondary character serves a specific purpose	Dare To Be A Great Writer
Teenage main character is perceptive, mature, sensitive, independent	From Hinton to Hamlet
Uses teenage, slang language	From Hinton to Hamlet "How Classics Create an Aliterate Society"
Funny	Good Advice on Writing (page 100)
Sad	Good Advice on Writing (page 100)
Suspenseful	Good Advice on Writing (page 100)
The reader learns something	Good Advice on Writing, "How Classics Create an Aliterate Society"
Universal theme that readers can relate to	Good Advice on Writing
Setting adds to the mood	"How Classics Create an Aliterate Society"
Open ending, lives of characters seem to go on / leaves off with room for a sequel	Good Advice on Writing
Uplifting, "happy" ending	Good Advice on Writing (Characterization)
Characters “prevail,” but do not get off “scot free”	Good Advice on Writing (Characterization)
Significant names	Good Advice on Writing (Names) American Writers (Tennessee Williams)
Book uses well placed chapter breaks, chapter headings, or summary headings	Dare To Be A Great Writer
Interesting point of view	Good Advice on Writing (Point of View) Dare To Be A Great Writer
Action / adventure	"How Classics Create an Aliterate Society"
Surprises at the end were set up (foreshadowing)	Good Advice on Writing (Foreshadowing)
Detailed, vivid description	"How Classics Create an Aliterate Society"
Figurative language (metaphors,similes,alliteration,foreshadowing,allusions,imagery parallelism,symbols,irony)	Good Advice on Writing "How Classics Create an Aliterate Society" American Writers (Tennessee Williams [symbols])
Graphic violence and/or sex	Good Advice on Writing "How Classics Create an Aliterate Society" Literature & Its Times (Catcher)
About “real” problems, realistic (perhaps just realistic for teens)	Good Advice on Writing From Hinton to Hamlet "How Classics Create an Aliterate Society"

Required Sources:
Three reviews of your texts (total)

One critical source from a clearly academic or scholarly source (may use A Streetcar Named Desire, The Color Purple, Of Mice and Men, To Kill A Mockingbird, or Catcher in the Rye)
    CLC
    Contemporary Authors
    Literature and Its Times
    Magills Critical Survey of...
    Masterplots
    American Writers

General Sources:
Use quotations from famous people about what makes good literature
    Bartlett’s Quotations
    Magills Quotations

Look at books on the subject of “Fiction Technique”
    See card catalog (There are books on reserve at EI Public Library for you!)

Created by L. Lopez, 2/13/05