Final Research Paper Assignment
What is a final research paper?
A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.
Research papers are similar to academic essays (Links to an external site.), and they are designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.
Your paper will be a minimum of 3 pages written about a playwright of your choice from the list below or you may review the module on playwrights and choose one with whom you are already familiar. You may also choose a playwright not on the list but make sure I have approved your choice. If you are new to college writing, or need additional information or assistance please let me know. We can meet on zoom to discuss your paper or communicate through email or messages.
- This is a final playwright project and you are allowed to collaborate with another student if you choose. You can also choose to make a zoom recording or other filmed presentation for the playwright project to be presented in Discussions for the class to view. The objective of this final paper aligns with SPO #7 – to write a research paper.
PCC guide-for-writing-in-theatrepdf-1.pdf
Here is the suggested playwrights list:
Bertolt Brecht, Henrik Ibsen, Maria Irene Flores, Nilo Cruz, Lynn Nottage, Martin McDonagh, Lorraine Hansberry, Arthur Miller, Sarah Ruhl, Caryl Churchill, David Mamet, Paula Vogel, Tracy Letts, Samuel Beckett, Tony Kushner, August Wilson, Anton Chekhov, Edward Albee, Sam Shepherd, Tom Stoppard, Neil LaBute, Craig Lucas, Moises Kaufman, John Patrick Shanley, Suzan Lori Parks, Tennessee Williams, Lillian Hellman, Eugene O’Neill, Harold Pinter, Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare, Moliere, Luis Valdez, David Henry Hwang.
Writing Guidelines:
- In your paper, introduce the playwright by sharing background/ historical information, including but not limited to the era, culture and world history at the time. ALL OF THESE PLAYWRIGHTS HAVE THEIR OWN WEBSITES WHERE YOU CAN GET BASIC AND ACCURATE INFORMATION TO ADD TO YOUR RESEARCH.
- Cover important works, influences, themes, etc.
- Your work must be articulate, factually correct and written in your own words.
- Paper should be 3 full pages (4 if working with another student), typed, double spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman or Calibri, and include a works cited page with a minimum of 4 sources (do not use wikipedia).
- Follow MLA style (Links to an external site.) for all formatting.
Review the guide for writing in theatre
and scroll down to research papers before you begin. This is a descriptive essay with the aim of communicating a deeper meaning for the subject through the detailed and specific description. Please do not be vague.
You should have a minimum of 4 research sources, including high-quality, scholarly websites, books and/or peer-reviewed journal articles (accessible through PCC library online). Please do not rely upon very general sources such as wikipedia, or answer.com for your research. Proofread your paper carefully before submitting in assignments. Due dates are posted for each assignment.
MAKE A COPY BEFORE YOU SUBMIT.
Recommended Research Sites:
If you want your work to be of high quality, then you need to gather information from genuine and reliable sources. The following sources can be of great help to you in making your research powerful. Ultimately, they will enable you to submit quality projects and assignments.
- Virtual Learning Resources Center (Links to an external site.) (VLRC) is an online index hosting thousands of scholarly websites, all of which are selected by teachers and librarians from around the globe.
- iSeek (Links to an external site.) is one of the best and widely used search engines for academic research on the internet.
- Refseek (Links to an external site.) pulls from over one billion web pages, encyclopedias, journals and books.
- Educational Resources Information Center (Links to an external site.) (ERIC) boasts a massive database containing over 1.3 million bibliographic records such as abstracts and citations.