Paper Assignments

• Paper 1: Oral/Written Reports
• Paper 2: Literary Analysis
• Organization/Focus
• MLA Documentation
• Avoid Plagiarism
• Typing Directions

Paper 1: Written and Oral Cultural/Historical Reports

Due: Separate date assigned for each oral/written report.

Length: 5 pp. (typed, double-spaced), plus Works Cited page; 10 or more online sources.

Grading: 20% of final grade; based on substantive content, insight into your material, focus and organization, documentation, grammar.

Topic: This assignment requires that you bring together and synthesize 10 or more different online sources from our resource webpage (see Resources). Each student will select a topic and research the cluster of online links for that topic.

• Wed., 2/7: Slave Trade/Plantation System
• Fri., 2/9: Caribbean Indigenous Peoples
• Fri., 3/2: Afro-Caribbean and African Religions
• Mon., 3/12: Slave Rebellions and Rebel Heroes/Heroines
• Wed., 4/11: Carnival and Calypso
• Fri., 4/13: Rastafari and Reggae

(NOTE: It takes time to read and assimilate all that
material so don't put it off until the last minute.)

To keep the written report well-focused, draw an overall conclusion about the online material you researched and use it as your thesis. Then organize your paper around that thesis/conclusion. (See Organizing Your Paper.) Using a concise style, include as many specific details and brief examples from your sources as possible.

List your sources on a separate page by author, title, posted/updated date, date you accessed the online source, and online address (see MLA directions). However, instead of alphabetizing your sources, use "Numbered List of References" style. Number each source and insert that number (in parenthesis) at the end of all material paraphrased and summarized and quoted in your main text. (See Typing Directions.)

Since most of this paper will consist of summary and paraphrase (occasional short quotes are acceptable), it is crucial that you Avoid Plagiarism.

For the oral presentation, do not read your paper to the class--instead, talk to your classmates informally for about 10 minutes--share the information with them. One-page outlines for the class are strongly encouraged.

See also: Organization/Focus and MLA Documentation and Typing Directions

Paper 2: Literary Analysis: Naipaul

Due: Wed., 5/2

Length: 5 pp. (typed, double-spaced)

Grading: 20% of final grade; based on substantive content, insight into your material, focus and organization, grammar.

Topic: To be posted later.

See also: Organization/Focus and MLA Documentation and Typing Directions

Focusing/Organizing Your Paper

• Introduction: Introductions in short papers should be short--maybe 3-4 sentences long. Begin with some general statement about your topic. If you are going to write about carnival or Naipaul, try to get the words "carnival" or "Naipaul" somewhere in the opening sentence. (Also include the complete title of Naipaul's novel in the opening sentence.) Perhaps give a one-sentence summary of what the text is about, or provide some pertinent background, or explain why there have been problems with the topic or even disagreements about it, or maybe suggest why that topic is so important in Caribbean culture and/or literature. End the paragraph with your thesis (your thesis will be the overall conclusion you have drawn about your topic). Remember that your thesis is what the rest of the paper will be about.

NOTE: Most or perhaps all of the introduction will be your own
writing, but it is OK to include a short paraphrase/quotation, properly cited.

• Body of Paper: Since you can't talk about everything at once, sub-divide your thesis/conclusion into 4-5 sub-points. Those sub-points will form the topic sentences for the body paragraphs--the point that you want to make in that paragraph. Each topic sentence should be followed by lots of specific details and examples and short quotations from the texts, as well as your explanation/analysis of that information.
  
  WRITING TIP: Arrange your sub-points according to the Order of Climax--begin with your second-best sub-point followed by your weakest sub-point and then work your way up to your best sub-point at the end so that the paper finishes on a strong note.
  
  For quotations, include a page number (in parenthesis) directly after the quote. Avoid long quotations in short papers. It is often more effective to work a quoted word or short phrase into your own sentence. Put quotation marks around quotations, or the reader won't know they are quotations.

NOTE: I hate skimpy body paragraphs that are only 1-2 sentences long; put some meat on those bones--another 6-8 sentences of details and examples and explanations, please!)

• Conclusion: Conclusions in short papers should be short--maybe 3-4 sentences long. Begin the concluding paragraph with a re-statement of your opening thesis/conclusion--but in language very different than was used in the introduction. In a couple more sentences, refer to your topic as a whole-- why it is significant and worth studying, for instance, or finally, what it all adds up to.

NOTE: In a short paper, do not repeat your
sub-points--much too repetitious!

MLA Documentation

If you consult any outside sources, you must include references to them in your paper. Also use standard in-text citation (author and page), and put the source information on a separate bibliography page (labeled "Works Cited"). Follow MLA directions.

The usual order of information for an online source is: author (when known), title, date the web page was posted or last updated, date you accessed the web page, and the online address (in brackets). If the web page states that the article was previously published in a journal or book, include that information first and then add the information about your online source after it.

See me if you have problems with any of this, or consult Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format (online), created by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab, for information on how to list electronic sources.

Also check MLA Style: Frequently Asked Questions (online).

For more detailed information on MLA style, consult a hardcopy of the "official" MLA Handbook.

Avoid Plagiarism:

• The language used for paraphrases/summaries should be very different than the original language used by your source.
• The language used in quotations must be exactly the same as the original language used by your source.
• Quotation marks must be used around all quotations. If you have a quote-within-a-quote, use a combination of double and single quote marks (see me for assistance).
• Cite a source for ALL summarized and paraphrased and quoted secondary material (articles on your topic, etc.).

For more detailed information on MLA style, consult a hardcopy of the "official" MLA Handbook.

Typing Directions for All Papers

Use Times New Roman font, size 11 or 12. Double-space everything--no exceptions. Use one inch margins on all sides. Put your last name and page number in top-right corner (1/2 inch from top).

On the first page, in the top-left corner, put your name, your instructor's name, the class name and number, and the date. Below that, in the center of page, insert a title.

See an MLA example: Paper Format

Put all documentation on a separate page and follow MLA directions.

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