LITERATURE 12 RESEARCH PAPER: HAMLET
You will write a research paper discussing the importance of one of the central characters in the play. The purpose is for you to organize and synthesize your ideas in a formal research style that will be expected of you in college and university. The research paper allows you to posit and support your own thesis but also to incorporate the ideas of others who have published on the topic.
WHAT IS A RESEARCH PAPER?
It is a paper requiring you to pose a question or a thesis worth exploring, to read widely in search of possible answers, to interpret what you read, to draw reasoned conclusions, and to support those conclusions with valid and well-documented evidence.
This is not a speedy process. You need to allow time for pre-thinking, researching, drafting, revising and documenting the paper in the style recommended by your instructor, either MLA or APA.
Most English instructors and humanities instructors will ask you to document your sources using the Modern Language Association system of citations. The Sciences and Social Sciences often prefer APA. Make sure you know your instructor's preference.
You will face three main challenges:
- supporting a thesis
- citing your sources and avoiding plagiarism
- integrating quotations and other source material
TOPIC: Select one of the following characters: Gertrude, Ophelia, Claudius or Laertes.
In a six to seven paragraph essay, approximately 800 words, discuss the significance of your chosen character in the play, how his or her conflict affects Hamlet's action or inaction, and finally, how he or she contributes to one or more of the play's themes.
Each of your four to five body paragraphs should include two direct or indirect quotations from the primary source, which is the play, and two direct or indirect quotations from secondary sources, which will be your research.
GETTING STARTED:
- Formulate the topic of your paper into a question and then form a tentative thesis which attempts to answer the question.
Your thesis is a one sentence, or occasionally two-sentence statement of your central idea.
For example, postulate: How does Ophelia affect the action or inaction of Hamlet?
Although the Prince of Denmark seems to have loved Ophelia at one time, since his father's murder, he sees her as an aggravation and as a symbol of what is wrong with womankind.
Your thesis appears in your introductory paragraph. In your introduction, you will also mention the general sub-topics you will be discussing in support of your thesis. But unlike the standard five paragraph essay, you will not be required to mention every point you are going to cover in each paragraph. Since many research essays are over 1000 words, this would make your introduction too long. Therefore, your opening paragraph contains a thesis most certainly, but your other statements surrounding your thesis are general, relating only to the main points of your essay.
2- Consult the primary source, the play, for evidence to support your thesis. Then write a preliminary draft of your essay.
3- Start reading secondary sources (eLibrary is an excellent database)
(No fear Shakespeare is a good website) to inform and support your opinion. Be prepared to do a lot of skimming of material, searching for what pertains to your particular argument. Make sure you keep a very accurate working bibliography (see attached handout) so that you can re-locate material if necessary and make accurate citations.
4- Start summarizing material you want to use. Read and re-read the information carefully and then close the document or shut the book and restate the gist of the argument in your own words. This ensures you thoroughly understand what you are reading and that you avoid plagiarizing (see attached handout).
5- You must document credit whenever you borrow words directly from another author or even if you paraphrase or summarize the ideas of another. MLA style requires that you name the author/authors in the sentence where the borrowed idea is being introduced or presented, and then use a page number in parentheses after the idea is complete (see sample essays).
For example, Harold Bloom suggests that "………………………………………" (66).
**If the ideas are not your own, but exist widely in our culture, (for example, Shakespeare excelled in using the sonnet form)—you do not need to cite the source since the information exists in many sources.
6- Start incorporating secondary sources into your initial writing. Expand. Revise. Rewrite.
7- In your conclusion, summarize briefly your main ideas reminding the reader of your thesis. Tie together all the loose threads. In your final sentence or sentences, leave the reader of your paper with an interesting thought to ponder.
8- Make a "Works Cited" page listing all authors in alphabetical order in MLA style (see attached handout).
