Hunter's English 110
1st Research Paper

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Instructions for your first research based paper

Your topic should be chosen from the following:
 
Women and the Movies
Women and Television
Women and Sports
Women and Literature
Women and Popular Music
Women and Advertising
 
These are very broad areas and I want you to concentrate on finding information regarding the portrayal of women in one of these areas (part of your job is to narrow your focus down to a manageable size). 
 
Mainly, you will be looking at this topic with the help of feminist theory (who you will have to find and quote).
 
For Wednesday
 
1.  You will need to have a basic thesis statement (the point of your paper, i.e. "The advertising industry portrays women as sexual objects and therefore leads to the reinforcement of gender roles that lead to oppression."  or something like that.
 
2.  You need to have a basic outline (based on the five paragraph model, but you can have as many separate points as you need.)
 
3. You need to bring a printout of three websites where you found information on your topic. 
 
4.  You need five pieces of research material (excerpts from books, articles from scholarly journals etc.)
 
Obviously, the more work you do before Wednesday, the more help I can give you in class so it is in your best interest to work a little extra hard this weekend.
 
More than likely, you will need to go to the library.  Feel free to go to the reference desk and ask them for help.  They are extremely helpful, but the more direction you can give them, the more they can help you.
 
The two best places to start are the Merlin on-line card catalog and JSTOR.  JSTOR is an online resource that searches journals for your keywords and can you can print the entire article.  Keep in mind that the computer lab on the third floor of the library allows you to print out 150 pages a week and they reset your account on Saturday night.
 
If you have any questions, just e-mail me.
 
On Friday 4th, we will meet at the entrance to the Miller Nichols library for a presentation on research techniques.
 
On Monday 7th, you will need a first draft of your paper (but you don't need an inroduction or conclusion).  You need to have each separate point on a separate piece of paper (typed).
 
On Wednesday 9th, your first draft is due.