Research Essay Assignment: Choose one of the poets listed below, and examine the poet by exploring his or her biography and historical context, as well as critical perspectives on his or her work; then make connections among the three. The connections you make among these three features will comprise your thesis for the essay. Select one poet from the list below: Emily Dickinson Robert Frost Maya Angelou Langston Hughes Billy Collins Mary Oliver Richard Blanco Amanda Gorman [Note: some of the poets are represented in your textbook; some are not.] To review how to begin – see Module 11: “Getting Started: A Research Project” Essay Requirements: Essay Length Five paragraphs 700 - 750 words Essays under 700 words or over 750 words will have points deducted. Fully develop your essay or edit it down if it's too long! Essay Point of View Third person point of view (Use third person pronouns such as: he, her, they, his, hers, theirs, them; do NOT use first person pronouns such as: I, we, ours, my, us.) Please note POINTS will be deducted for any essays written in first person point of view. Title for your essay. Essay titles should give a hint to the paper's subject matter. Please, no titles such as Essay #2 or Research Essay. Be creative! Outside Research Sources Three to five outside research sources from credible sources. (Review Module 10; remember sites such as Wikipedia are not credible or acceptable sources.) All sources must be web accessed. No print material accepted. Poems/Literary Works Whether you quote a poem from your textbook or quote a poem from another source, the poem (literary work) is considered a primary source and not one of the required 3 – 5 outside research sources. Include a Works Cited entry for any poems/literary works quoted in your paper. Introduction paragraph [approximately 5 to 8 sentences. Introduction paragraph must include these four required elements: hook background information (this should generally present the three areas the essay will address: biography, historical context, and critical perspective) full name of poet (chosen from list above) thesis (present the connection YOU have found by researching the poet's biography, historical context, and critical perspective) Three body paragraphs topics [approximately 7 – 10 sentences each]. Each body paragraph focuses on the following topics as it relates to your thesis biography historical context critical perspective (select one of the your author's poems for critical analysis + use at least one literary criticism article related to that poem) Body paragraph requirements indentation 5 spaces begin with a topic sentence that presents the topic of that paragraph (biography, historical context, or critical perspective) and its relation to your thesis three to four supporting details in each body paragraph one to two brief quotes from outside research sources MLA formatted citation for each quote one to two sentences of explanation in your own words for each quote Concluding paragraph [approximately 3 sentences] Wrap up and/or summarize your essay. Works Cited entry Works Cited list should have an entry in alphabetical order and MLA format for each outside research source quoted in your paper. Remember to include web access date. Works Cited list should have an entry in alphabetical order for any poet/poem quoted in the paper. Papers with missing Work Cited lists will receive zero points for this assignment. Sorry, no exceptions. To review Works Cited MLA format, review the Module page MLA Citations & Works Cited Entries Quoted Material as Evidence Use quotes briefly whether from research sources or the poems selectively. Follow the MLA rule and use no more than 10% quoted material in your essay. (Example: If the total word count of your essay is 750 words, then no more than 75 quoted words are permitted.) Essays with more than 10% quoted material will have points deducted. Essays without the required quoted material from a minimum of three research sources will have points deducted. MLA Format Double-space One inch margins all the way around Indent each new paragraph 5 spaces 12 pt font Identification in upper left-hand corner includes first and last name, professor’s name (spelled Mintz not Mints like the candy ;), class and date. Running headers with last name and page number. There is no punctuation between the last name and the page number, nor is the word page used or any abbreviation such as p. or pp. included.