Research Essay (Final Exam) Guidelines
Please adhere to MLA format.
Length: At least 1800- 2500 words (That does not include the Works Cited Page))
Number of sources: Minimum of SIX sources
Format: MLA. At least FOUR of your sources MUST be secondary. At least ONE of your sources MUST
have been assigned in this course. There MUST be internal citations for ALL sources used in the Research
Essay. There MUST be citations on the Works Cited Page for all sources used.
Essay: Your essay should have a beginning (introduction with a thesis statement), middle (body paragraphs that
contribute to corroborating your thesis statement), and an end (conclusion that wraps up your main point(s)). It
should be your own work. Outside sources MUST be used either to corroborate or to clarify your point of view.
Your essay must analyze and discuss the literature. Do not provide a biography on an author. Do not submit
a summary. Do not discuss a period of history, this is a literature course. Your essay must analyze a literary
work. If you need help coming up with a topic, please contact me.
Documentation style: MLA. Instructions for using the MLA style are in most English handbook or
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/.
How to begin with the Research Essay (Final Exam)?
Ask yourself these questions…
1. What was my favorite reading?
2. Do I think I can tolerate this reading for 6ish pages?
3. Do I think there will be enough credible secondary sources to corroborate my stance on the literature?
4. Do I have a critical opinion about this piece of literature that I am willing to dissect/analyze?
Then go from there, and begin the research/drafting process.
Next, this is a literature course. Literature MUST be the focus of your Research Essay (Final Exam). Themes
dealing with gender, social, psychological, and historical issues CAN be incorporated, but those issues cannot
be the focus of your Research Essay (Final Exam).
***I would prefer that you come up with your own research topic, but here are a few suggested topics:
1. Compare a theme in the work of two or more authors from the course.
2. Explore a question that has come up on a Discussion Board.
3. Compare and Contrast the tone of the slave narratives of Equiano and Douglass.
4. How has Malcolm X’s stance on Black Nationalism affected the perspective of other writers?
5. A comparison of the writings of two different writers from this course or one writer from this course with
another writer. (Pick a point for making your comparison.)
6. Analyze Bigger and Jan’s relationship in Native Son or any character from Native Son****None of the required texts for the course can
be used as secondary texts for the Research Essay
(Final Exam) OR the Annotated Bibliography. This includes readings posted under Course Content,
Native Son, and Norton’s Anthology of African American Literature Volumes 1 and 2.
Please do not insert photos
USING THE SOURCES BELOW, THE REAEARCH ESSAY (FINAL EXAM) WILL
AUTOMATICALLY A GRADE OF 50F. THESE ARE NOT CREDIBLE SOURCES. ALL
ASSIGNMENTS GET SUBMITTED TO TURNITIN.COM, A PLAGIARISM
DETECTION SOFTWARE
Dictionary.com
Gradesaver.com
Shmoop.com
Enotes.com
Litcharts.com
Study.com
Sparknotes.com
123helpme.com
About.com
Boundless.com
Wikipedia.com
Cliffsnotes.com
Goodreads.com
Cummingsstudyguide.net
Novelguide.com
Studymode.com
Bookrags.com
Huffingtonpost.com
Brighthubeducation.com
Schoolworkhelper.com
Freebooknotes.com
Schoolbytes.com
NO Blogs, Book Reviews, Dictionaries or Encyclopedias can be used
FAILURE TO HAVE THE LIST OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN ESSAY FINAL
SUBMISSIONS WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE GIVEN A GRADE OF 65D
Correct word length
Internal citations (for every source used))
Works Cited page (including every source used)
Thesis Statement
Based on Literature
MLA Format
If you come across a source without an author please verify it with me before incorporating it
into your essay.
Remember, no late work will be accepted and no emailed assignments will be graded. If a Research Essay (Final
Exam) is not submitted by the deadline, the student will automatically receive a zero (0)F.