Starts with your proposal… Learning Targets: I will decide on a process for research. I understand the components to the proposal.

 Preparing your proposal  Methods for research  Note-taking  Where to look

 “Compose a 7-10 page research paper …. That is a critical evaluation of an idea, an author, a book, or a theoretical examination of a subject from a literary, political, or historical point of view.”  Which will you do? ◦ Idea ◦ Author ◦ Book ◦ Literary world ◦ Political ◦ Historical ◦ Socio-economic ◦ Psychological or Sociological? ◦ Addresses Q1-4

 Things Fall Apart ◦ Racism in literature ◦ Invading cultures ◦ Changing cultures ◦ Native cultures destroyed by invading cultures ◦ Impacts of prejudice on society ◦ Prejudice – individual ◦ Prejudice – writer  Process for getting ready to write #5.  Help in text – pages 1436, 1461, 1470  Narrow it down – prejudice ◦ Achebe – his writings, writings on prejudice, attacks on Conrad ◦ Societal impacts of prejudice – sociological, psychological ◦ Legislation against prejudice – hate crimes, genocide ◦ Political Impact or sources of prejudice ◦ Other books – Huck Finn, Heart of Darkness, The Poisonwood Bible, To Kill a Mockingbird

Prejudice often has a destructive property on individuals and society; the effect prejudice had on Chinua Achebe was to turn him into a powerful voice against prejudice and for people to stand up and overcome it. How is this argumentative?

 What do I need to know ◦ What were Achebe’s experiences with prejudice? ◦ What is prejudice? ◦ What historical evidence is there regarding the effects of prejudice? ◦ What prejudices existed in Nigeria? ◦ How did prejudice manifest itself in Achebe’s writings?  Where will I look? ◦ Biographical – about Achebe – biography, writer’s biography, literary, database, lit. crit. ◦ Historical – about Nigeria – world encyclopedia, databases – Nigerian history ◦ Psychological – effects of prejudice – mob mentality. Online psychology magazines, database on psych. ◦ Causes of Prejudice – sociological. SIRs.

 Note taking – ◦ Method – plan ahead: spiral, flashdrive, googledrive, notecards, highlighters  Use of time ◦ Organization – what will you do in class? What will you do outside of class? ◦ Know what you are looking for – use time well  Must “show” all notes – not just photocopies of what you will read and used. Must be selected, annotated, ready for use. Already “in your head.”  If you only have copies of sources. If you only have highlighted resources – no credit.  You must have notes, annotations.  Be careful – know what is word for word and what is in your own words.

 What sections will you need? ◦ This helps guide your research ◦ Order may change – but what is in it – know before writing it ◦ Prejudice often has a destructive property on individuals and society; the effect prejudice had on Chinua Achebe was to turn him into a powerful voice against prejudice and for people to stand up and overcome it.  Example – Q8 ◦ Define prejudice ◦ Illustrate destructive properties: history, social examples ◦ Nigerian history ◦ Achebe’s history, especially with prejudice ◦ Things Fall Apart – evidence of prejudice – why write it? How connected to prejudice? ◦ Other writings that reflect prejudice – of Achebe’s ◦ Other writings that reflect prejudice – throughout time ◦ Achebe’s mission - effects

 What is my process? How will I refine it from last year? What do I need to be concerned about as I research? What do I need to clarify?  I know what process I will use to gather and organize my research so that I can accurately site and document my research within my paper and so that I know when I have enough research.  I understand the components to the proposal.

 You should be done reading!!  It is too hard to read and research effectively.  Compose your proposal ◦ Submit today – handwritten or typed. If typed – print 2 copies. ◦ Know how you will want to conduct research – method and strategy. ◦ How will you use class time? How will you use out of class time.  At end of research ◦ Answered all your questions. ◦ Have a min. of 5 sources – 1 print, 1 non-print ◦ Have a draft of your works cited page – use materials to help you put it together.  This week – use class time well – research, take notes, monitor your progress.

 Learning Targets: ◦ I can find relevant and credible resources to use to develop and support my ideas for my paper. ◦ I can take notes in a systematic way so that I can easily reference them, organize them, and cite properly.  Find resources  Take notes  Monitor progress against your list of inquiry questions  Revise – if needed – your proposal. After Thursday – it is set in stone!

WHERE TO LOOKSOURCES  Look consciously and specifically for answers to your questions.  Try the databases.  Use Literary Criticism  Use IPL.org  When using a generic search engine – give as many clues as you can  Try different search engines – not always google. Metacrawler, Dogpile, Bing  Sources must be credible – You need to take the time to decide – home page, credits, author page.  Don’t look for a paper on your topic – look for research to develop your thesis.