1. LENGTH — The paper is to be 5-10 pages not including title and references pages, but the average length of the drafts so far has been only 2-3 pages. Remember the paper is double-spaced and in 14-point type. 2. FOCUS — THIS IS THE KEY WEAKNESS SO FAR! REMEMBER OUR GUIDELINE: Since this is an American LITERATURE class, your FOCUS OR EMPHASIS must be on the literature or WRITINGS of your chosen author. This is NOT a biographical paper, but a paper on the writings of the authors!!! Certainly, one’s life and experiences can and will influence and dictate and explain the themes of one’s writing, BUT KEEP THE EMPHASIS ON THE LITERATURE!!! Therefore, you are EXPECTED TO READ, REFER TO, AND INCLUDE SEVERAL SUPPORTING OR EXEMPLARY QUOTES in your paper from the writings of your author. Try to find resources that discuss the THEMES (common and per work) of your author and then give supporting examples or quotes. If the author’s work(s) reflects his or her life, then specificly explain or show this. The question has been asked HOW / WHERE to cite or list your supplemental resources such as videos, powerpoints, movies of an author’s work, etc. To include those (which are required and expected), please make a separate page at the end of your paper but before your Works Cited reference page. Title it: Supplemental Resources. Then (1) list the weblink (URL), (2) what it is (video, movie, powerpoint, chart, etc.) along with (3) a short, but clear description of the content. For example, Faulkner discusses his writing style; Frost recites poem at Kennedy’s inauguration; Themes in the works of Eudora Welty; etc. As you continue to work on your research paper, you will need to plan and prepare two appendices (additions) for your research paper. This will answer several questions already asked about how to handle the Powerpoint and video resources you find on your author(s). 1. The first will be a bibliography on your author(s). This is a complete list of works (novels, stories, poems, etc.) by your author(s). If your research covers more than one author, then please complete a separate bibliography for each author. These would simply be titled ______________ Bibliography and would be a listing of all their works, divided into categories if your author wrote several types of works. 2. The second appendix will be a listing of those supplemental resources you found (videos, Powerpoints, films, etc.) about your author and/or topic. This list (page) would be titled Supplemental Resources. These appendices would follow your Works Cited page at the end of your project. RESEARCH PROJECT DUE DATE The final draft of your paper / project with MLA documentation, references, supplements (videos, Powerpoints, etc.) will be due April 22 (but it may be submitted earlier if you desire). This gives you time to find your supplements, add your appendices on your supplements and FULL author bibliography, check your documentation (in-text citations and works cited) carefully, ask question about any issues, and to revise and tweak your project as needed. NOTE: Your research paper bibliography page is NOT a listing of the sources you used in writing your paper. That page listing all the sources your used and for which you used in-text citations is your Works Cited page. See the MLA handout and sample paper!!! The author BIBLIOGRAPHY page is a separate page listing ALL the literature (novels, stories, poems, even written speeches) WRITTEN BY your author(s), whether you used or even read all of them or not. For example, if your paper is on William Faulkner, who wrote novels, short stories, and some poetry, then your PAGE TITLE would be Faulkner Bibliography, and you would divide your page into Novels and list ALL of his novels, Short Stories, and then list ALL of the short stories he wrote, and finally Poetry, with a listing of ALL the poems he wrote. If your paper is on multiple authors, such a female authors, then you would make a SEPARATE bibliography page for EACH of the authors your paper includes. Your research paper bibliography page is NOT a listing of the sources you used in writing your paper. That page listing all the sources your used and for which you used in-text citations is your Works Cited page. See the MLA handout and sample paper!!! Your research paper bibliography page is NOT a listing of the sources you used in writing your paper. That page listing all the sources your used and for which you used in-text citations is your Works Cited page. See the MLA handout and sample paper!!! The author BIBLIOGRAPHY page is a separate page listing ALL the literature (novels, stories, poems, even written speeches) WRITTEN BY your author(s), whether you used or even read all of them or not. For example, if your paper is on William Faulkner, who wrote novels, short stories, and some poetry, then your PAGE TITLE would be Faulkner Bibliography, and you would divide your page into Novels and list ALL of his novels, Short Stories, and then list ALL of the short stories he wrote, and finally Poetry, with a listing of ALL the poems he wrote. If your paper is on multiple authors, such as female authors, then you would make a SEPARATE bibliography page for EACH of the authors your paper includes.