Trifle Play Historical/Cultural Analysis Essay

Trifle Play Historical/Cultural Analysis Essay Order Description *******Trifle****** is the Historical/Cultural Analysis Essay First steps Many students neglect the preliminary work of the writing process, but if you give it sufficient attention the actual writing of your paper will be faster and more organized than if you just start writing. The most important thing is to be systematic in your approach. 1. Finding a topic Perhaps the most difficult part of any research paper is finding an adequate topic, formulating a title and making a coherent argument. Once you have decided on a topic or a title, which in literary analysis will most likely involve a certain text, rephrase it as a question to guide your research. You should also think about the methodology you intend to apply to your analysis. •?Start by reading your primary text closely (again, as you have probably chosen a text you have already read this semester) Read both the text itself and the additional material carefully (if any) while taking notes. This will be the basis for your subsequent research. •?Try to summarize and organize your findings systematically. Figure out which aspects belong together, find contradictions and correspondences. A good place to start is your own questions – don’t be afraid of the questions you have about the text, more likely than not they are the ideal starting point for your study. •?Write a thesis statement. Once you have settled on a topic and perhaps even come up with a title, you need to develop a thesis statement. A thesis statement is a succinct formulation of your topic in terms of argument, i.e. your thesis statement must be arguable, you are stating an opinion that will be proven in the course of your paper with the help of sources. A good way to come up with a thesis is to generate questions surrounding your chosen topic. (e.g. “In Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” the desire for freedom is ever present but never achieved.”) •?Draft an introduction. Although writing an introduction may seem intimidating this early on, it will force you to focus your research process and prevent unnecessary diversions. Try to explain your topic, legitimate its importance and introduce the approach you intend to take. Regard this as the rough draft of an introduction, a working product. 2. Writing an Outline What you are trying to do when writing an outline is to come up with a systematic classification of the elements of your argument. You need to develop categories and relationships between and within these categories that will give your paper structure. Ideally, your outline will derive from your topic and will help guide your research. It is also a preliminary table of contents. Outlines can be structured in a temporal order (beginning, climax, end), a logical order (a fact and its causes and consequences), or a rhetorical order (from the general to the specific, from the specific to the general, from the simple to the complex, etc.). Which structure is best will depend on your specific paper. Important: Regard your outline as a work in progress, return to it repeatedly to a) make sure you are still on the right track and b) to change it when your research or your own thought process requires it. Example: Title: “Love in Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet” 1. Introduction 2. Love and gender in Shakespeare’s age 3. Love in Romeo and Juliet 3.1 Contradictory constructions of love due to gender, generation and class 3.2 Love and dramatic conflicts 3.2.1 The comedy of love 3.2.2 The tragedy of love 3.2.2.1 Fate or chance 3.2.2.2 Love and death 4. Conclusion 5. Works Cited 3. Conducting Research Again, the key is to be systematic. A good place to start research is through the library databases: •?Encyclopedias, Literary Histories, Kindler: More general reference works can often give new impulses to your research and offer a general starting point. They are also absolutely necessary for the correct use of critical terminology. •?Bibliographies: Both current and retrospective bibliographies offer the most systematic and reliable information on secondary sources. •?MLA: This online resource, which is also a bibliography, can be accessed via the library and is a very valuable up to date collection of essays, some of which are made immediately available. •?Library catalogues: Key word searches in library catalogues can give you an impression of what is available at your home institution. •?Snowballing: When you are ready to read your first piece of secondary material, don’t forget to look at the works cited. Here you will often find valuable sources that are very close to your topic. •?Internet: Be wary of internet sources. Although a lot can be found online and some sites qualify as good sources, you should be careful and always double check the source. Most importantly, do not limit yourself to online sources, they will not give you the research overview that you need to write a critical paper! ** Keep an annotated bibliography. What are its main tenets? What approach does it take? Was it helpful? Keeping track of your readings like this will help you remember the sources better later when you are writing your paper. It might also prove very valuable for future research. Out of this annotated working bibliography your works cited list will develop. Be careful of information overkill, i.e. be selective in the choice of your secondary material. Your criteria should be relevance, don’t lose valuable time by reading irrelevant texts or by reading texts that repeat very similar standpoints. Do not be afraid to discard sources – trust your own judgment. When you are searching for secondary material, keep in mind that you also need to be able to access it. So you might want to start with the monographs and journals that are available at your institution’s libraries and/or online (e-journals, e-books, etc.). Interlibrary loans can take a long time, so place them on time and be sure that the ordered source is really relevant.