Research Argumentation Essay Assignment

Engl 1302

Introduction/Explanation of

Research Argumentation Essay Assignment

 

So, what are we doing in this Research Paper?:  For those who had me in Engl 1301, let me just begin by saying that the topic for this Research Paper is completely different.  While it is still an Argumentation essay, where you’ll need to make and support a claim using evidence based as entirely possible in logic through utilizing research articles (scholarly, peer-reviewed, academic journal articles from the Library Databases only) in order to make your case, there will be another element to the essay in which you’re trying to relate the themes of one of the assigned literary works from the class to some ongoing issue in the world today, hopefully in order to provide a path for solving that particular issue, or at least pointing out in what direction a solution could be found.  So, you’re trying to use the meanings and lessons of literature in order to help provide perspective and guidance to real-world issues.  

 

So, what case will we be making?  What will we be arguing?  The paper itself is a little more world-relevant/pragmatic than a traditional research paper; I have everyone choose a modern day situation or problem that the themes or situations from one of our literary works could help solve/analyze/provide perspective on. I know that sounds confusing, but here’s an example thesis from a previous class: “Hawthorne's portrayal of the hypocritical townsfolk in "The Minister's Black Veil" is nearly identical to the protests of the Westboro Baptist Church in a sense that both claim a profound level of morality, yet only notice when others around them commit sin, never themselves.”  So, he noticed that a story about a minister who gets hypocritically judged by his churchgoers for showing up with a veil on his face one day was similar to the protests of the Westboro Baptist Church, a controversial church that angrily protested the policy on gays in the military by being disrespectful at funerals of fallen soldiers who were in the military at the time (and who weren’t even necessarily, and usually weren’t, gay soldiers).  As you’ll see on the “Sample Research Paper Planning” page in this document, there’s usually a human problem that connects the two situations.  In this case, it’s “hypocrisy”.  Usually, the similarity between the Real-World Issue and Literary Work you choose is rooted in a human problem that they share, whether hypocrisy, pride, greed, discrimination, etc.  Your job is to find how your Literary Work relates to some Real-World Issue so that you might be able to provide direction to the Real-World Issue by how the story addresses the human problem through statements of theme.  You’ll know what direction the Real-World Issue should go by what direction the author implies should be taken within the story.  For example, any Real-World Issue you relate to Sarty from “Barn Burning” will need to contain an element in which an individual or group of individuals should abandon, in the name of truth and what’s right, an individual or group of individuals to whom they are linked but who are also dangerous or negative in some way.  That statement applies to Sarty’s relationship to his father and betraying him because it’s what’s right, but could also apply to some situation going on in the real world, if you can find one that has a matching situation.

 

How would a paper like this even be structured?  Generally, a paper like this will spend most of its time, in the Body Paragraphs, comparing the qualities/facets of the Real-World Issue with those of the Literary Work in a point-by-point style, arguing at certain points along the way what direction the Real-World Issue should take in order to properly implement the lessons of the Literary Work.  This doesn’t mean that, necessarily, a specific solution will be available.  It only means that a direction can be determined for the correct behavior that could one day result in a solution of some kind.  The Introduction, though, will need to be multiple paragraphs in length in order to Introduce the three concepts necessary for understanding the thesis for the paper, which will be stating that a Real-World Issue is similar to (and implies that it can learn from) one of our Literary Works in the way that it approaches its issues through handling one of the human problems at its core.  So, the Introduction will need to have one paragraph that introduces the Human Problem, another paragraph that introduces the Literary Work, and another paragraph that introduces the Real-World Issue.  Then, the thesis will need to be introduced, whether as part of the fourth paragraph or as its own separate Thesis Paragraph.  The Conclusion will wrap everything up as always.  It’s a complicated structure, but one that’s formulaic enough that structuring the paper isn’t too difficult.  Coming up with the idea for the paper itself, one that works, will probably be the most difficult problem initially.

 

Okay, so can you explain what the steps in the assignment are all about?  Yes.  The first thing you’ll need to do is Step 1, which is finding a Literary Work, Real-World Issue, finding research articles that cover both, considering a thesis that relates the two.  Then, on Week 10 Day 2, you’ll need to submit Step 2, a proposal for your Research Paper that I call the Research Paper Planning assignment, where you’re not just proposing the thesis for your paper, but also submitting your articles for review.  I do this so that you’re not wasting your time developing a paper idea using articles that wouldn’t even work.  Once I’ve approved your thesis, you may begin working on Step 4, the Research Paper, where you’ll be arguing your case for what should happen regarding your controversial issue by using your research.  You’ll bring a draft of it to class for Step 3, the Research Paper Peer Review, submit the paper that night for Step 4, then present your Research later for Step 7, the Research Presentation (which is VERY easy).

 

Nichols, speaking of the Research Presentation you just mentioned…for those of us that had you before, is the Research Presentation the same as last semester?  Well, yes and no.  Yes in that you present for at least 2 minutes with no need to go more than 3, yes in that you have to answer 2 questions at the end of your presentation which can be prepared ahead of time and handed to students of your choosing.  The difference is that, since there’s no Annotated Bibliography in this class and the focus is more on the connection you’re making between the Literary Work and Real-World Issue than it is on the Research itself, you won’t be presenting your articles in your Presentation.  Instead, your Presentation will take the class through a brief and spoken outline of your paper, basically: your Introduction, Thesis, Main Points, and Conclusion.  Otherwise, the Presentation is the same.

 

 

 

Steps and Formatting for  

Research Argumentation Essay Assignment

 

Assigned:  Week 8 Day 2

Due:  Each due date is by 11:59 on Blackboard for the date listed.

    

Steps:  This assignment is composed of the following 7 steps:

 

1.      Choose a Literary Reading and Real World Issue (and Find 5 Articles of Outside Research). (Do before Step 2) 

2.      Research Argumentation Essay Planning.  (Due on Blackboard Week 10 Day 2)

3.      Research Argumentation Essay Peer Review. (IN CLASS on Week 12 Day 2)

4.      Research Argumentation Essay Due.  (Due on Blackboard Week 12 Day 2)

5.      Research Argumentation Essay Graded and Returned.  (Returned to you, on Blackboard, graded and with comments for revision, BY Week 14 Day 1, perhaps sooner)

6.      Research Argumentation Essay Revisions Due.  (Due on Blackboard Week 14 Day 2)

7.      Research Presentation.  (In-Class on Week 15 Days 1 & 2)

 

BLACKBOARD:  Steps 2, 4, and 6 of this assignment will be turned in on Blackboard.  No handwritten or emailed papers will be accepted. 

 

Format:  All assignments should be formatted as per the description for out-of-class assignments in your syllabus (unless otherwise noted):  12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1-inch page margins. The assignment should have a heading on the left-hand side at the top, with your name, the date, the assignment, and the class, and last name/page number on the top right hand side on all pages except the first.  Third-person only.

 

Grading:  The entirety of the Research assignment is worth 600 points, or 30% of the class.

A)    Research Argumentation Essay Peer Review (4 in-class discussion and participation grades, tied to Achievements)

B)    Research Argumentation Essay Planning and Presentation (200 points):

a.       Research Argumentation Essay Planning (10 bonus points)

b.       Research Presentation (200 points)

C)    Research Argumentation Essay (400 points)

 

It is the biggest assignment of the semester, because it is meant to be the culmination of all you’ve learned.  To aid in your success, there are a few steps in the research process.  You’ll have conferences with me to talk about current class grade and can ask about your paper topic, and then you’ll be submitting your thesis/sources for approval. Advice: Skim your articles before submitting your Research Paper Planning, but read your research thoroughly before writing a single word of your Research Paper. Also, do not plagiarize your paper. 

 

Step 1

 

Choose a Literary Reading and Real-World Issue

(and find 5 total articles of outside Research)

 

Choose a literary reading and find Academic Journal Article(s) on it.  You will need to choose one of the assigned (green) literary readings from the book/syllabus to write a Research Argumentation Essay about.  This will need to be a literary reading that can be searched in the Academic Search Complete database to find at least 1-2 scholarly, literary articles about your literary reading (or its author if the choices are scant).  You are certainly welcome to choose your topic based on which one nets the most search results in the Academic Search Complete database; however, that’s fairly unnecessary since you need only find 1-2 articles of this type.

 

Choose a Real World Issue (modern news event involved with a current political/moral issue in the world today that has not been solved or is currently ongoing).  This research assignment is a bit different than a regular literary research assignment.  In addition to scholarly, literary articles, you must have 3-4 Academic Journal and/or News articles from the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (News Only) database and/or the Academic Search Complete (Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed Academic Journal Articles Only) database.  These articles should be perspectives and knowledge on a modern-day, real-world situation or problem with some degree of controversy or moral/ethical conundrum. 

 

How will these articles be used?

The purpose of this Research Argumentation Essay, or the idea that your thesis will address, will be to apply the thematic discoveries from analyzing one of our Literary Readings to provide perspective on a real world situation.  A thesis for such a paper might look like this:  “In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman’s distortion of the American Dream mirrors the American government’s indecision regarding degrees of constitutional privacy during the Edward Snowden scandal.” 

 

As you can see, you can be very creative with the relationships you create between the literary source material, and the thesis you ultimately devise which applies to a real-world situation.  For instance, Willy Loman is a man who will not accept the reality of his situation, and vehemently denies that he may not become a success; when he realizes he has not been and will not become a success, he commits suicide, which could mirror a possible future for the US when the fallout of the NSA scandals occurs.  The US may realize that its stubborn stronghold on civilian surveillance was one of the major international blunders of the 21^st century, but at a point when it’s too late to apologize or repair the situation.  In what situation will the US be then?  It’s best to prevent such a scenario.  Willy Loman is an individual man, and the US government is a large entity.  But, the relationships that each have to their own ideologies can be shown parallel.  It’s creative, it’s a stretch, and it’s a dreadfully interesting prospect for a research paper.  Will it be difficult?  Probably.  Will you spend more time finding your 5 total pieces of research than writing the paper?  Possibly.  Will you feel accomplished and intelligent at the end?  YES.

 

NOTE:  Your thesis may NOT examine Occupy Wall Street with Bartleby, or “Minister’s Black Veil” by Hawthorne (unless specifically approved by me BEFORE WEEK 10 DAY 2).

Step 4

 

Research Argumentation Essay

Week 12 Day 2

 

Research Argumentation Essay.  Using your research and a well-developed thesis, you will write a Research Argumentation Essay which supports that thesis about your Literary Work and Real-World Issue.  This Research Argumentation Essay must be at least 1250-2500 words (roughly 5 to 7 pages).  It will need to be organized exceedingly well, have a clear thesis, and use at least 5 sources (and cite textbook as 6^th source).  These sources must be cited internally through in-text citations, and follow MLA style (“Works Cited” instead of “References”, etc.).

 

Remember that it’s important that each paragraph of your Research Argumentation Essay work to advance your thesis in some way.  If you introduce any kind of background or related concepts, make sure they work to serve the thesis.  If you use a long quote from an article, make sure that it works to serve the thesis as well.  Above all, don’t ramble.  Keep control over your words; only say what needs to be said.  Hopefully, proposing your thesis early will allow me to help you decide on a topic that will better serve a paper of this length.

 

Blackboard:  Submit on Blackboard as a document upload in the assignments tab on the assignment “Research Argumentation Essay.”  The “Works Cited” page must be included in the document, not uploaded separately.  The best way to accomplish this is to copy and paste your entire Works Cited page to the end of your Research Argumentation Essay before submitting it.

 

Format:  This must be titled “Research Argumentation Essay.” Underneath that, the title of the literary reading must appear and, underneath that, a unique title related to your thesis, such as “Willy Loman’s distortion of the American Dream and the NSA’s civilian surveillance scandal.”  Length: 1250-2500 words (not including title/header/works cited).  This paper should have a page number in the top right corner of every page except the first page.  Also, this paper will have a works cited, with each of the 6 or more sources being listed in MLA citation form in alphabetical order.  Failure to include EITHER the Works Cited page OR internal citation will instantly reduce your grade to a ZERO.  I will not grade your paper until both items are supplied, regardless of how early it is submitted.

 

Grading:  You will be graded on your ability to A) have a clear thesis, B) support your thesis through convincing argument, C) support your argument through adequate and appropriate use of sources, D) have a complete Works Cited page in MLA style, E) contain deft use of in-text citation, E) correctly cite at least 5 sources, and F) satisfy the length requirements.  The Research Argumentation Essay will count 400 points (20% of the course). HINT:  Try to develop an original viewpoint and relationship between your literary reading and modern-day situation that you think hardly anyone has ever conceived of.  Also, try to avoid going for “easy” relationships, like the relationship between “Story of an Hour” and modern-day feminism, which is a bit too obvious (be more specific), or literal relationships like “Battle Royal” and racism against African-Americans.  BIGGEST HINT:  Make some compelling observation regarding the importance of the relationship that you have discovered; in other words, don’t allow the paper to become a simple comparison/contrast assignment.  Explore what possibilities for future behavior and societal/individual/political decisions exist now that the relationship has been realized.

 

Step 5

 

Research Paper Graded and Returned

Between Week 12 Day 2 and Week 14 Day 2

ON BLACKBOARD

 

Research Paper Graded and Returned.  During the time period listed above, I will be grading everyone’s Research Papers.  I may not complete everyone’s at the same time.  However, I will attempt to grade the papers as soon as possible after receiving them to give you ample opportunity to revise them for the Research Paper Revisions.  The absolute latest I will finish grading these is before the start of class on Week 14 Day 1, and the Revisions are due on Week 14 Day 2. 

 

Note:  If you submitted your essay on time, and I have not finished grading your essay by Week 14 Day 1, I will allow revisions to be submitted past the original Week 14 Day 2 due date.  I am merely preferring people revise before Week 14 Day 2, if at all possible, so they will enjoy their Thanksgiving and not think about paper revisions over the holidays.  That would be no fun.

 

Blackboard:  I would suggest checking Blackboard once a day during the period of time listed above.  If you do that, you’ll be sure to find your graded Research Paper at the soonest possible moment by which to begin your revisions.  Once you have received your graded Research Paper, you can immediately look through the comments, make the suggested changes, and upload your revision.

 

 

Works Cited

Ferris, David. "Morality without Intention." Critical Horizons, vol. 14, no. 3, Nov. 2013, pp. 380-406. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1179/1440991713Z.00000000014.

German, Norman. "The Veil of Words in 'The Minister's Black Veil'." Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 25, no. 1, Winter88, p. 41. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com. AN 7686033.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  “Minister’s Black Veil.”  Arguing about Literature, edited by John Schilb and John Clifford, 2^nd ed., Bedford, 2018, pp. 331-39.

Liptak, Adam. "Justices to Hear Case of Protesters at a Marine's Funeral." New York Times, 9 Mar. 2010, p. A19(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com.  GALE|A220621492.

McCain, Robert Stacy. "Kansas pastor's brimstone for gays draws some hellfire: Both Christians and homosexuals attack brutal tactics." Washington Times [Washington, DC], 14 July 1999, p. 2. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com. GALE|A56766321.

Smerconish, Michael.  "Free (and hateful) speech vs. the right to gather." Philadelphia Inquirer [Philadelphia, PA], 17 Mar. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com. GALE|A221324587.

Vanden Brook, Tom. "States restrict protests at funerals after Kansas church causes uproar." USA Today, 24 Feb. 2006, p. 01A. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com.  GALE|A142499253.

What you see above should be saved as a document and uploaded to the Research Paper Planning assignment.  It should be your 5 sources from Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed Academic Journals and/or Newspaper articles (WHETHER YOU ARE ABLE TO USE NEWS ARTICLES FOR YOUR PAPER DEPENDS HIGHLY UPON WHETHER YOUR TOPIC WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR NEWS ARTICLES), that are all different publications and written by different authors, as well as the textbook as a 6^th source.  The colorcoding you see above isn’t necessary when you submit (green are articles about the literature, blue are articles about the RWI).

 

What you see below is color-coded for your convenience of understanding, but you need only paste the thesis into the “Comments” box of the assignment (NOT the “Write Submission” box). 

 

Thesis:  Hawthorne's portrayal of the hypocritical townsfolk in "The Minister's Black Veil" is nearly identical to the protests of the Westboro Baptist Church in a sense that both claim a profound level of morality, yet only notice when others around them commit sin, never themselves.

Blue - Subjects

Red – Claim (about their similarity)

Green – Reasoning (how/why they’re similar)

 

Note:  I now require that all sources on the Research Paper and Research Paper Planning come from the Academic Search Complete database.  You will, however, see that many of the sources from this sample paper and sample planning come from the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.  In the future, I may eventually retool this same paper to work with my current source requirements, switching out all of his research references with my own, but I have not currently done so.  I would also be open to entertaining the idea of allowing a new Sample Research Paper, but such a paper would have to meet the following criteria:

1.      Two Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed Academic Journal articles about the literature.

2.      Four Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed Academic Journal articles about the real-world issue.

3.      Written about a piece of literature almost nobody writes about.

4.      Written about a real-world issue almost nobody writes about.

5.      Identifies and explains specific similarities between literature and real-world issue.

6.      Intention of pointing out the link between literature and real-world issue is so that themes from the literature can point people in the right direction to someday solve the real-world issue (specific solution likely not required).

7.      Uses source material well.

8.      Cited exceptionally well.

9.      Written in a style almost everyone can understand and achieve.

10.  Incredibly well-written in general.

 

What you see below is what the submitted Works Cited page and Thesis should look like when submitted properly as a document upload and comment, in that order. 

 

 

Magnus Baraka

04/09/2014

English 1302.400

Research Argumentation Essay

EXAMPLE PAPER

Research Argumentation Essay

“The Minister’s Black Veil” and The Westboro Baptist Church

 

            An unfortunately common quality of society today, especially in groups of people who share a background of some kind, whether it be geographical, socioeconomic, or ideological, is that of hypocrisy.  Groups of likeminded people who share some type of worldview have the tendency to judge others by that worldview, often in a way that is not only offputting to those who are more sympathetic, but completely immoral to the general population.  It is only when attention is brought to the foul behaviors resulting from hypocrisy that anything can be done about them.

            In the story of “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Reverend Hooper mysteriously begins to wear a veil for unexplained reasons. Though Hooper was a respected man of his residence, the townsfolk begin to shun him because of his new, peculiar appearance. Despite the fact that Hooper had not changed anything about his actions, and had remained the same compassionate Minister throughout the story, the citizens of Milford only recognize him by his outward being. From this, the reader begins to get a feeling of animosity between the town and the reverend (Ferris 382).

In modern times, the Westboro Baptist Church has begun to publicly persecute those that they see as unholy and sinful. The church came into the public’s notice whenever they protested the funeral of Matthew Shepard, who was beaten to death for being a homosexual. Since 1991, the church has held over 41,000 protests, picketing events ranging from military funerals to high school theater productions (Jonsson 1). Over the years, they have continued to show their disdain for those who stray against the “Calvinist” faith, by provocatively voicing their “God Hates Fags” campaign (Barrett-Fox 21).

Hawthorne's portrayal of the hypocritical townsfolk in "The Minister's Black Veil" is nearly identical to the protests of the Westboro Baptist Church in a sense that both claim a profound level of morality, yet only notice when others around them commit sin; never themselves. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Hooper is in conflict with the townspeople, though there has been no provocation. Hooper essentially minds his own business, while bearing his veil, while the town around him persecutes him for acting atypical. This is no different than the “God Hates Fags” protest by the Westboro Baptist. The church purposefully and harshly protests out on the streets against homosexuality by damning gays to hell, and throwing out derogatory insults. The church purposely advocates their hostility towards homosexuals, even though they have done nothing to offend or harm them. Though the Westboro Baptist Church may have a more extreme way of persecution, it is essentially the same as the townsfolk’s in “The Minister’s Black Veil.” This is because both show disdain for one who goes against a societal norm. 

In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Reverend Hooper attends several events at which he would normally be allowed or even encouraged to attend. However, because of his new appearance, the townsfolk gossip about him and question why he is even needed at such places. One of the events that Hooper attends is a funeral. This is similar to the Westboro Baptist Church, because they frequently protest at military funerals. However, the church does not resemble Hooper for their attendance of such events, but instead the townsfolk. Hooper attends the funeral out of moral obligation. He sits and pays his respects to the dead, without a word to anyone around him. All the while, the townsfolk gossip about his veil. This is a highly inappropriate action for a funeral, which is meant to honor the passing of a life. The fact that these citizens cannot rise above their impulses to berate Hooper, even in a situation of unfortunate circumstance, shows that Hooper has the most morality of all of them (Boone 167). He does not attend the funeral and bring high attention to his veil by vocalizing his aggravation at the town for shunning him. He doesn’t even mention a word about the hypocrisy of the town. He instead sits and does not say a word (Ferris 381).

This very idea mirrors what happens when the Westboro Baptist Church chooses to protest a funeral. On one side you have the family and the friends of the deceased who have come to pay their respects to their loved one, and on the other side you have the belligerent church members protesting the ceremony. The family and friends mirror reverend Hooper because they have attended the funeral for the right reasons. They have come to pay their respects, and say goodbye to their loved one just as Hooper had in “The Minister’s Black Veil”. The Westboro Baptist Church mirrors the townsfolk because of their insulting attendance at the funeral. They have attended the funeral claiming morality, just as the townsfolk had, but in actuality had defiled the ceremony by insulting the dead. Both the Westboro Baptist Church and the townsfolk had attended their funerals claiming to be something that they simply were not. In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” the townsfolk claim to be moral, because they have merely shown up for a funeral as a decent person would. However they quickly ruin this notion by gossiping of Reverend Hooper, something that a moral person would never do at a funeral. The Westboro Baptist Church claimed to be moral when they protested several military funerals because they claimed, “Our attitude on what’s happening with the war is that the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime” (Jonsson 1). However, the church failed to notice that their actions of protesting robbed several families of having a peaceful goodbye with their beloved family member. Their actions have only defiled funerals, instead of “setting them right” as they believe that they have done (Jonsson 1).    

In “The Minister’s Black Veil,” when Reverend Hooper is on his deathbed, he makes a broad statement that finally sheds a glimpse of light on the reasoning for his veil (Freedman 358). Hooper states, “Why do you tremble at me alone? Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil? What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crape so awful?” At this point in time, Hooper has finally become angered that the townsfolk have only judged him for his veil. He points out that that he is still the same man beneath what he bears on his face, yet they still continue to shun him. Hooper is baffled by this and even goes on to say “I look around me, and, lo! On every visage a Black Veil!” What Hooper means by this is that the townspeople have judged and berated him so harshly that they have forgotten to look at themselves (Freedman 358). This is similar to the Westboro Baptist Church in the most blatant way. They are a church that commits actions that are nearly categorized as “hate crimes” (Barrett-Fox 13). Most people go to a church to seek salvation and escape persecution from the hate of those around them by the “divine and universal love of god.” However, this church goes out of their way to persecute and condemn others, which is quite the opposite of a usual Sunday worship. The message behind Reverend Hooper’s deathbed statement is that the townspeople were indeed being hypocritical to their faith (Boone 168). They were claiming that they were decent people, yet they continually judged Hooper even after his death. The Westboro Baptist church fits this same profile. They claim to be devout followers of god, but they commit actions such as stomping on the American flag at a military funeral, defiling the dead, their country, and the faith that they follow so radically. Both “The Minister’s Black Veil” and The Westboro Baptist church go against their faith by even going against the words of the Bible, which would be considered “divine law.” In “The Minister’s Black Veil”, the townsfolk blatantly go against the verse of John 7:24, which states “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” This shows that the townspeople defiled their own faith by either purposely ignoring the verse to judge Hooper, or not knowing the verse at all. Either way, the townsfolk went against the “word of god” making them the same, if not worse than Reverend Hooper, along with making a mockery of their faith. The Westboro Baptist church goes against the Bible verse of James 4:12, which states “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” This shows that despite their claims of high morality, they fail to follow their own faith. The church continually condemns people to hell, and states that “God hates them” but they fail to realize that the bible states that only God himself can make such decisions and statements. So along with the townsfolk in “The Minister’s Black Veil”, the Westboro Baptist Church fails to comply with its own faith and makes a mockery of it. 

The townsfolk in “The Minister’s Black Veil” and Westboro Baptist Church resemble each other because they both fail to directly comply with their faith that they claim to have profound morality for. Both blatantly judge others around them, and continually try to play the role of God. Despite the fact that the Bible, their source of faith, specifically states that only God can determine the fate of people, both the townsfolk and the Westboro Baptist Church choose to ignore it on several occasions. This not only makes a mockery out of the religion that is followed, but also creates hypocrisy.  

Excellent work!  This is truly fun to read.  You look at it from a number of different perspectives, which is good.  You’re essentially doing an even-more-difficult version of explication, and doing it well.  The only issues I have with it are that it tends to repeat itself in phrasing (“This is similar to the Westboro Baptist church…”) and is a bit wordy (it could be more concise).  Otherwise, nice work!   97

 

Works Cited

Barrett-Fox, Rebecca. "Anger and Compassion on the Picket Line: Ethnography and Emotion in the Study of Westboro Baptist Church." Journal of Hate Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, 2010, pp. 11-32. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com.  AN 70548672.

Boone, N. S. "The Minister's Black Veil" and Hawthorne's Ethical Refusal of Reciprocity: A Levinasian Parable." Renascence, vol. 57, no. 3, 2005, pp. 165-76. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com.  AN 17479141.

Ferris, David. "Morality Without Intention." Critical Horizons, vol. 14, no. 3, 2013, pp. 380-406. Academic Search Complete, doi: 10.1179/1440991713Z.00000000014.

Freedman, William. "The Artist's Symbol and Hawthorne's Veil: `The Minister's Black Veil’ Resartus." Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 29, no. 3, 1992, pp. 353-62. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com.  AN 9705041512.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  “Minister’s Black Veil.”  Arguing about Literature, edited by John Schilb and John Clifford, 2^nd ed., Bedford, 2018, pp. 331-39.

Holy Bible. New King James Version, Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982.

Jonsson, Patrik. "Why is the Westboro Baptist Church Picketing Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral?" Christian Science Monitor, 11 Dec. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com, GALE|A307007426.

Note:  The word count of this paper is 1618, well above what you are expected to provide, so don’t worry if your length doesn’t match up.  Additionally, note that the many horizontal bars in this document should not appear in your papers, though you should have page numbers on your Research Argumentation Essay.  I attempted to update the MLA to the 8^th edition the best that I could, and noticed that the final article on the Works Cited page is now only available in abstract form.  By the way, I think it is important to mention that, no matter which Literary Work you’ve chosen, JOHN SCHILB AND JOHN CLIFFORD ARE NOT THE AUTHORS OF YOUR LITERARY WORK AND I WILL COMPLETELY LOSE MY MIND IF I SEE THAT YOU CLAIMED JOHN SCHILB AND JOHN CLIFFORD WERE THE AUTHORS OF YOUR STORY/POEM BECAUSE THEY MOST CERTAINLY WERE NOT.

 

Research Paper Rubric – ENGL 1302

 

Check boxes for all that apply to each paper (these are listed in order of importance to grade):

 

£  Research Paper contains Thesis (needs to appear immediately after introduction)

o   Mentions story/poem

o   Mentions real world issue

o   Makes a claim about how these two completely different situations compare

o   Directly states or implies why this comparison is being made, i.e., showing what can be gathered from the story/poem that would help solve the real-world issue (actual, detailed planning/logistics of solution not necessary)

o   Avoids vague language and is specific about the claim

 

£  Works Cited page

o   Only contains sources used in paper (all have different authors and publications)

o   Formatted properly

o   At least 6 citations (1-2 literary articles, 3-4 real world issue articles, 1 textbook)

o   First word of each Works Cited citation appears internally

 

£  Sources are cited when claims are made

o   Internal citations properly formatted

o   Sources are credible, valid to their purpose, and free of conflict of interest

£  Logic is tested, accurate, free of personal bias, and used effectively

o   Story/poem and real-world issue relationship clearly delineated and explained

o   Qualities of similarity arrived at using creative and in-depth connections

o   Importance of relationship directly stated or implied to validate relationship

o   Preferred: Relationship is semi-esoteric in nature, not arrived at easily

£  Sources are relevant, representative, typical, sufficient

o   Does not rely on mostly one source, rare cases, or anecdotal evidence

o   Provides enough research to prove points

o   Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed Academic Journal sources only (unless specifically approved by Nichols in advance on the Research Paper Planning assignment)

£  Introduction (may need to be multiple paragraphs in length)

o   Mentions the most relevant aspects and plot elements of the story/poem for understanding the comparison

o   Mentions the most relevant aspects and explains the necessary background information of the real-world issue for understanding the comparison

£  Ethos

o   Paper is free of spelling, grammatical, and even typographical errors

o   Paper is varied in style, 3^rd person only, respectful to the reader/other viewpoints

§  Does not insult reader, Provides helpful transitions