Name: ______
Critical Biography Research Project
Choose a poet from the list provided to research his/her life and background. (If there is a different poet you would rather investigate, get Mrs. Huynh-Duc’s approval first.)
We will spend several days in the media center during which you will gather ample biographical and literary information. Using your information, you will, then, type a critical biography about this author in the form of an outline.
This project will culminate with an oral presentation to the class about your poet, worth a separate test grade.
The work schedule below is a minimum. You may work ahead of schedule on any part. The due dates are set, so do not waste valuable class time talking or doing work for another class.
Friday, Jan, 6: Media Center / Read to gather information and take one page of notes. / One page of notes from at least one source.
Monday, Jan. 9: Media Center / Read to gather information and take another page of notes. / Another page of notes from a second source.
Tuesday, Jan. 10 Media Center / Read to gather information and take a third page of notes. / Another page from notes from a third source.
Wednesday, Jan. 11 Media Center / Read to gather information and take a fourth page of notes. / Another page from notes from a fourth source.
Thursday, Jan. 12: Media Center / Read to gather information and take a fifth page of notes. If done already, begin working on thesis statement and outline. / Another page from notes from a fifth source.
Friday, Jan. 13: Lab 104 / Last day of research. If done already, begin working on thesis statement and outline. / Make sure your notes and sources have been checked off by the end of the period!
Tuesday, Jan. 17, Computer Lab 104 / Typing up your Works Cited Page in MLA format / Turn in your Works Cited Page by the end of class today!
Wednesday, Jan. 18: Computer Lab 104 / Finishing your research outline / Outlines are Due at the end of class!
I. Information You Should Gather:
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q Birthplace and date (i.e., time period and culture) that influenced the writer’s life and writing
q Most significant personality traits
q His/her childhood influence on poetry
q Most famous poem(s) and why
q Most important influence as a poet
q Traumatic life events
q Successes and failures
q Awards earned and the effect of these accolades
q Impact of society on poet’s life and writings
q Literary period he/she wrote in
q Style of his/her poetry
q Others’ opinions about the poet and his/her poetry
q COMMON THEMES found in poetry and life (the following are just examples):
o Women's rights
o Love
o Death and the afterlife
o Religion
o War and peace
o Male and female roles
o Slavery or other persecution
o Prejudice
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II. Finding Sources
You need a minimum of 5 sources, and you must include at least one Encyclopedia, one traditional Book, and one Electronic Source (website or database). The other two sources are your choice. (NOTE: Wikipedia and Yahoo Answers are NOT valid sources.)
III. Documenting Your Sources
Your work will be made much easier if you take care to get complete information as you work. Going back to find missing information later is unnecessary and time-consuming. In addition, if you need to consult a reference work at a later date, a complete bibliography will help you relocate the material as quickly as possible.
IV. Taking Notes
The information you require from your 5 sources will provide the “meat” for your outline. Therefore, you need to take thorough and detailed notes that paraphrase or summarize what each source says. Do not write verbatim what is on the page; that would be considered plagiarism.
I am requiring a minimum of 5 pages (not front and back) of notes. You need to have notes from EACH SOURCE and you must label your notes accordingly. If you are copying a direct quote, be sure to use quotation marks. For quotes, specific facts, and statistics, you must also obtain page numbers.
V. Works Cited Page
If you prepared your source sheet correctly, creating a Works Cited page is a cinch!
1. Alphabetize your sources according to the first word of each one.
2. Type your information (keeping in alphabetical order).
3. Double space everything, but there are no additional spaces between entries.
4. If the entry is more than one line long, indent the second and all subsequent lines one-half inch from left margin. Use the ruler function to accomplish this hanging indent.
5. Underline the titles of books; place quotation marks around the titles of articles.
- Copy internet addresses with great care; they must be accurate!
- DO NOT number your entries.
Sample Works Cited Page (Yours will be double spaced on a full page, size 12)
VI. Outline (with Thesis Statement). The following is an example of an outline structure. Use this same format; however, use complete sentence s for the topic of each paragraph, and provide ample evidence from all of the notes you took in the media center.
How to Make Works Cited Page Entries
Go here for more information: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1/
Book with One Author
Author last name, Author first name. Title of Book. City of publication: Publisher, Year of publication. Medium of Publication.
Example:
Branch, Taylor. Pillar of Fire. New York: Simon Schuster, 1999. Print.
Book with Two Authors
Author last name, Author first name, and Author first name Author last name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.
Example:
Bonds, Barry, and Tyler Hamilton. Playing Fair. California: SI Press, 2005. Print.
Citing the Entire Anthology or Collection of Essays
Editor’s last name, Editor’s first name, ed. Title of collection. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Print.
Example:
Peterson, Nancy J., ed. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1997. Print.
Citing Just One Essay in a Collection or Anthology
Author last name, Author first name. “Title of article in quotation marks.” Book Title Italicized. Ed. Editor’s first and last name. City of publication: Publisher, Year of publication. Page numbers. Print.
Example:
Walker, Nancy A. “I can’t write a book: Women’s Humor and the American Realistic
Tradition.” American Realism and the Canon. Ed. Carol Travis. London: Oxford Press,
1993. 52-68. Print.
Citing an Entire Web Site
Author, Editor, or Compiler’s last name, Author, Editor, or Compiler’s first name (if available). Name of Site. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available.) Web. Date of access.
**Use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is given.
Example:
Guye, Sommé. Survey of American Literature. Perdue University, Aug. 2006. Web. 13 April
2015.
NOTE: Many web sites have no author. Leave blank and start with the title in that case.
Citing a Page on a Web Site
Author, Editor, or Compiler’s last name, Author, Editor, or Compiler’s first name (if available). “Name of web page.” Name of Site. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available.) Web. Date of access.
Example:
"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 24
Feb. 2015.
Signed Encyclopedia Article
Article author’s last name, first name. "Title of article." Name of Encyclopedia. Volume number. Year of
Publication. Print.
Example:
Clark, William W. "Gothic Art." World Book Encyclopedia. Volume 8. 1997. Print.
Unsigned Encyclopedia Article
"Title of article." Name of Encyclopedia. Volume number. Year of Publication. Print.
Example:
"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print.
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