The Research Paper
I. Specifications
A. Length. A minimum of ten (10) complete pages, double‑spaced, typed. Not including title page, outline, or Works Cited page. Ten percent of the total number of points possible will be deducted from your grade for each page or part of a page less than ten.
B. Sources. Besides the novel you have read, your primary
source, you must cite at least 6other secondary
sources.
1.At least 2 complete articles must be cited directly from periodicals, collections, or databases.
2. At least 4 other sources must be cited.
3. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and multi-volume sets of criticism such as
C ontemporary Literary Criticism
(CLC)
found on the reference shelves or in data bases may be cited as sources, but
they cannot be counted
toward
the 6 sources required.
4. Do not use internet sites for critical sources.
C. Date Due. See your schedule.
Ten percent of the total number of points possible will be deducted from
your
grade for each calendar day the paper is late.
D. Outline. A three-level outline is required with this paper.
E. Margins.One inch on top, bottom, right, and left.
F. Type. Use a standard type (Times Roman) and point size (12).
II. Format
A. Front Matter
1. Title Page. Center and capitalize your title. Also place your name and the date on the title page. See the sample title page attached. Do not number this page, but count it as page i.
2. Outline. Center and capitalize your title one inch from the top of the page. Double‑space after the title, and double‑space the outline. The outline must have at least three levels. Do not number this page, but count it as page ii. If you use more than one page for your outline, number the following pages (beginning with iii, iv) in the upper right‑hand corner one‑half inch from the top and to the left of the one inch margin on the right.
B. Body
1. First Page. Center and capitalize the title one
inch from the top of the page.Double‑space and begin typing.
Do
not number this page.
2. Pagination. Begin numbering the second page
of your text in the upper right‑hand corner one‑half inch from
the
top and to the left of the one inch margin on the right. Double‑space
and then begin the text. Number
each
page consecutively all the way through your works cited.
C. Back Matter
The Works Cited should be placed on a separate page entitled Works Cited. Center the word one inch from the top of the page, double‑space and begin your entries. Double‑space the entries and double‑space between the entries. Include only works that you have actually cited in your paper.
III. Content
A. Brief background information on your author and your novel (not more than one paragraph).
B. Statement of your thesis and development and discussion of your thesis––the main part of your paper.
C. Conclusion (no more than one paragraph).
Note: Quotations and paraphrases from you critics should constitute no more than about 20% of your entire paper.
IV. Term Paper Draft (3-5 pages)
A. Working Title and Thesis Statement.
B.
Discussion of Main Points. In three or four paragraphs, develop one or two
of the main ideas of your paper.
Be sure
to give the critical opinions of several of the authorities critics you have
consulted in your research,
as well
as citing examples from the text of the novel itself.
C.
Bibliography. On a separate sheet of paper, construct a bibliography
of the works you have consulted thus far
in your research,
even if you do not cite them in this draft. Be sure to include your primary
source and use the
correct bibliographical
forms as specified in Quick Access or the MLA Handbook.
V. Taking Notes (See the Policy on Plagiarism)
A. You must cite:
1. Direct quotations.
2. Paraphrases in your own words if they contain other writers
opinions, judgments, or interpretations
of the
text; interpretations of "facts" that could be considered controversial.
B. You do not cite:
1. Dates (Birth, death, publication dates)
2. Matters of public record (Titles of published works, biographical material)
3. Commonly
accepted interpretations and judgments (Wordsworth was a major English romantic
poet. Voltaire's
Candide is a satire of the philosophy of Optimism.)
VI.
Disk: You must turn in a disk with your
term paper on it in addition to the printed paper.
Two Marriages
I. Henrik Ibsen's career can be separated into two distinct periods.
A. His historical dramas were written between 1848 and 1873.
B. His realistic dramas were written between 1875 and 1899.
II. Ibsen used the marriage relationship in his plays to underline his theme of self‑realization.
A. A Doll's House is essentially the story of a household moving to a crisis.
1. Torvald Helmer is the typical patriarch of the Victorian Age
2. Nora has used her femininity as a shield behind which she can hide her secret.
B. Hedda Gabler details the corruption that lies behind the marriage of convenience.
1. Jorgen Tesman is a scholarly, naive man who cannot see beneath any surface.
2. Hedda Gabler, the general's daughter, is a complex neurotic who draws back from any sort of commitment.
III. Only one of the characters arrives at self‑realization.
A. Tesman never looked inside himself.
B. Hedda ended her existence without having truly lived.
C. Helmer reached only a glimmer of the truth about himself.
D. Nora was the only one to stand revealed to herself.
Two Marriages
Henrik Ibsen (1828‑1906) was a nineteenth century dramatist who, in the second half of his career, revolutionized
the theater and became the father of modern drama. His career can be separated into two distinct periods. In the first,
between 1848 and 1873, he wrote historical dramas. His first play, Cataline, was published in 1850 under the
pseudonym Brynholf Bjarme. Afterwards, Ibsen continued to write historical dramas until 1873, the year The Emperor
and Galilean was published. Ibsen's second, realistic phase, began after a period of dormancy with the publication of The
Pillars of Society in 1877. Two years later A Doll House appeared to a storm of controversy. Subsequently, he wrote a
play every two years, culminating with his last, When We Dead Awaken, in 1899. These realistic dramas dealt with
varied subjects, chiefly those which emphasized the decadence of the society of his day. But he also concerned himself with
the individual’s quest for self‑knowledge. In two of his most famous plays, A Doll House and Hedda Gabler, Ibsen uses
the marriage relationship to illustrate this theme of the individual’s developing self-realization.
Works Cited
Brustein, Robert. "Artist and the Citizen." New Republic June 1970: 23‑24.
Clurman, Harold. Ibsen. New York: Macmillan, 1977.
‑‑‑. "Theatre." Nation 204 (1967): 156‑57.
Finn, James. "Not Women's Lib." New Republic Oct. 1971: 22‑23.
Fjelde, Rolf. ed. Ibsen: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice, 1965.
Ibsen, Henrik. Four Major Plays. Trans. Rolf Fjelde. New York: New American Library, 1965.
Lowenthal, Leo. "Henrik Ibsen: Motifs in the Realistic Plays." Literature and the Image of Man. Boston: Beacon, 1957. Rpt.
in Fjelde 139‑57.
Macfall, Haldan. Ibsen: The Man, His Art and His Significance. New York: Folcroft, 1976.
Mayerson, Caroline W. "Thematic Symbols in Hedda Gabler." Scandinavian Studies, 22.4 (1950): 151‑60.
Rpt. in Fjelde 131‑38.
Meyer, Hans Georg. Henrik Ibsen. New York: Unger, 1972.
Otten, Terry. “How Old Is Dr. Rank?” Modern Drama 41.4 (1998): 509-22. Literature Resource Center.
North Harris Coll. Lib., Houston, TX. 9 May 2003.
Safford, Noah David. “Burning Down the Doll House.” Classic Note on a Doll’s House. 25 Feb. 2000. 9 May 2003<http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/dollshouse/essays/essay1.html>.
Shaw, George Bernard. The Quintessence of Ibsenism. New York: Hill and Wang, 1957. 109–111. Rpt. as “George
Bernard Shaw on Hedda's Desires.” Bloom’s Major Dramatists: Henrik Ibsen. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia:
Chelsea House, 1999. 19-20. netlibrary. North Harris Coll. Lib., Houston, TX. 9 May 2003.