1. The Research Paper
“Hamlet”

2. Definition
A research paper is a piece of academic writing that requires a more abstract, critical, and thoughtful level of inquiry than you might be used to.
Writing a research paper involves (1) first familiarizing yourself with the works of "experts"--for example, on the page, on the internet, or in the flesh through personal interviews--to build upon what you know about a subject and then (2) comparing their thoughts on the topic with your own.

3. You'll end up using relevant information--facts and/or opinions--from these expert sources, these "others," to support the topic you have been given or chosen to explore. Then the final product will be a unique and appropriate integration of evidence you have located outside yourself and personal insights generated from your own internal think tank--your mind.
For this essay, you will use 1) the play (I expect several direct references and direct quotes); 2) four of the articles I provide

4. Sources Bad sources a bad paper make.
You must use the sources I provide: paraphasals (referenced) and direct quotations.
Reference five (two provided) sources between 3 and 4 times each; a combination of direct quotes & paraphrased information.

5. The Final Product
The final product will be a unique and appropriate integration of evidence you have located outside yourself and personal insights.
It is a research paper. You MUST rely on the research. If you do not, despite the other qualities of your paper, you are not meeting the criteria for this assignment and will not get a passing mark.
I do want to see your thoughts and analysis, but this is not a reflective paper; it is based in research.

6. How to Use Sources
The inclusion of sources isn't just some arbitrary “can-you-use-the-library?” test in disguise, but complements your own ideas by providing academic context and credibility to what you are asserting. No teacher or professor will be marking what the published experts have to say, only how well you use what the experts have to say to advance your paper's purpose.

7. Be Careful…
Note: A mere review of the academic "literature" in a field--i.e. a summary of the existing body of knowledge on your subject--does not make a research paper.

8. The two main types: To Analyze or to Argue? That is the question.
Whether your paper is ANALYTICAL (uses evidence to analyze facets of an issue) or ARGUMENTATIVE (uses evidence to attempt to convince the reader of your particular stance on a debatable topic), is definitely going to have a bearing on your strategy from here on in. In fact, it will determine your paper's purpose.

9. Analytical Papers
"To analyze means to break a topic or concept down into its parts in order to inspect and understand it, and to restructure those parts in a way that makes sense to you. In an analytical research paper, you do research to become an expert on a topic so that you can restructure and present the parts of the topic from your own perspective.”
(SUNY Empire State College Writer's Complex)

10. Purpose
Go into the researching stage with a specific topic about which you have not made any kind of conclusions.
Your task is to survey the information and views already out there--both before and once you become familiar with the topic. That will require critical thinking and reading, plus evaluation of the resources you handle.
By the end of the paper you will be able to contribute your own thoughts to the academic discussion by drawing some conclusions about the topic you have just analyzed.

11. Critical Thinking
In a research or reading context it means not considering any view as "truth" simply because a source has been published or seems to be an expert.
It requires you to maintain some objectivity and ask questions to yourself as you read (or watch or listen).
Use what you find to draw your own conclusions and to show your insight.

12. Argumentative (or Persuasive) Papers
In addition to the concept of critical thinking (which any paper at the university level will demand of you), another widely-used term at the college level which you may or may not be familiar with in its academic context, is the term argument. This is the basis of the persuasive kind of research paper.

13. Purpose?
In direct contrast to the analytical paper, your approach here is to take a stand on an issue and use evidence to back-up your stance.
You are not just exploring a topic.

14. An Example
For an ANALYTICAL research paper, let's say you have decided to explore "the purpose of madness in Renaissance tragedies." You don't have an answer in mind to turn that into a sentence (that wouldn't be following the purpose of your paper!) so you do some research to locate instances of insanity in various plays.

15. The body of the paper would analyze or break down the topic into three or four "parts" which will later become the main paragraphs of your draft.
Perhaps your research helps you discover several purposes to madness in these tragedies, with your paper devoting a paragraph to considering each. Or perhaps there's debate among scholars as to the main purpose of madness, so you decide to present some of these varying opinions.
However you choose to explore the topic, in the body of your paper you'd be using evidence from the plays themselves (a.k.a. primary sources) and expert opinions on the plays (a.k.a. secondary sources).

16. Critical Interpretations at the End
Your concluding paragraphs would finally incorporate some of your critical interpretations of both the plays and the experts' essays. Here, you'd include a critical evaluation and discussion of your overall findings as well as some conclusions based on the patterns you've researched or detected yourself to make some final comments about the purpose of madness in Renaissance tragedies.

17. Same Topic, Different Approach
Now, an ARGUMENTATIVE paper would lay out exactly what you consider to be the purpose of madness in Renaissance tragedies in a declarative sentence right in the introduction--the thesis statement. Thus, the template would change accordingly to "the purpose of madness in Renaissance tragedies is ______ (for comic relief? to provide a reflection of moral chaos? and so on and so forth)."

18. See, it ceases to be just a topic (notice above that our topic for the analytical paper is not a sentence!) and has become instead an interpretation. The course of the paper will develop why you believe--and importantly, why the reader should believe--what you do.
This time, you'll select only that evidence (still examples from plays and opinions from experts) which directly supports your thesis. The body of your paper turns into a site for laying out the proof you've collected rather than a canvas for examining a topic.
And considering that scholars still debate the psychological state of Prince Hamlet (close to 400 years after the play was written!), there is no right or wrong answer. You will not get a bad mark if your teacher or professor happens to completely disagree with your thesis. That's not the point. Solid back-up and convincing arguments, not safe thesis statements, are what make for happy teachers.

19. Which to Do?
Because your insights, which are what your teachers and professors are most interested in, argumentative papers are probably the most popular type of research paper.
If you choose the analytical route, be sure to have 2-3 paragraphs (or at least a page), at the end, where you share your conclusions, insight, understanding of the topic.

20. Use Citation Machine & Owl Purdue
The website is very user-friendly and makes citing your sources simple.
I insist that you use it and expect no problems.
Also use Owl Purdue (+ MLA) for formatting. I strongly suggest that you re-read the sample paper and the notes that accompany it.

21. How and When to Cite
If the information you are including is not COMMON KNOWLEDGE (which means that most people, not just you, possess this knowledge), you MUST give your source.

22. Paraphrase and Cite
It is expected that most times, you don’t quote directly, but, rather, paraphrase and then cite your source.
Because it was not an original idea, and was not common knowledge, even when you have gone to the trouble to re-word, you MUST cite.

23. Notes
The first part of your assessment will be your notes. Notes for all 5 sources are due Monday, Nov 14.
Highlight and make notations on the articles you read.
Mark those lines you will use as direct quotes. (with a star, number, etc).
Highlight the sections you will paraphrase; paraphrase these on paper, with the MLA citation for the source at the top of the page. Include the page number so I can find the original easily. You must have clearly-organized notes for each source.

24. The Process With the first source, sit down and start to read.
You are reading with purpose: you know what your topic is; you want to determine what this author has to say.
When you find a section in the reading that you like, and think you may use, put a sticky note on it, and a few key words or questions or thoughts on the sticky.
After you’ve read the article, and have sticky notes throughout, I suggest you go back through and start organizing your ideas: I used to number my ideas (use sticky notes) into possible sections.
If you want to use something word-for-word, just move along after you mark it; if you want to paraphrase the idea in a passage, start to do so on paper (slide 23).

25. No Notes, No Mark, No Kidding!

27. Personal Insight & Observation
When you start to put your paper together, if you are sharing a personal reflection, observation, experience or idea that comes from your analysis of the topic, you DO NOT have to cite a source.
This is a formal essay (no “I think”, “I feel”, “I believe”).
Usually, in a paragraph, you have used (and cited) one or more external sources, and have also made your own assertions. Try to organize in such a way that it’s obvious what YOUR ideas are.

28. Rubric
The rubric will be saved on the Wiki page. It would be really wise to read it carefully, and to check your competence in each area (CAREFULLY), before you submit your paper.

29. Time Line
Wed, Thurs, Friday (Nov 2-4) in class, reading and taking notes from the articles and from the play book.
Nov 7, 8 and 9: read article, paraphrase, search for 3 articles online.
Notes due, Monday, Nov 14.
Monday, Nov 14 and Tues, Nov 15, computer lab, working on formatting the paper and MLA.
Monday Nov 14 rough copy due (necessary check
Thursday, Nov 17 is the final work day
Due date: Monday November 21th

30. Evaluation Research for Beginners:
15% of overall mark
You must have rough notes, rough copy and final copy to be accepted.
The paper must be based in research; to meet the requirements, this must be the case. This is not simply a literary essay.