Research Paper Guidelines
ENG 201 Sections: 1014 & 1500
Prof. Desiree C. Bailey Assignment:
In 5-8 pages, write a research essay in response to The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat. In
this essay you will be using 2-3 secondary texts/sources in the form of scholarly articles to
support your argument, in addition to your primary text, The Farming of Bones. As with the
previous essays, this essay should not be an overall summary of the plot. Your essay should offer
an argument or a unique perspective on the text. The essay must have a specific topic, a thesis
statement, supporting evidence from your chosen text (in the form of in-text citations), 2-3
secondary sources and a works cited page. The essay must be typed, double-spaced, paginated,
written in font-size 12 and have 1-inch margins. The essay must also include your name, date, the
professor’s name and your course section (201-1014 or 201-1500).
For this essay, you will be submitting a draft and a final essay. The draft and the final will be
graded separately.
*
First Draft Due: May 4, 2017 (for ENG 201-1500)
May 5, 2017 (for ENG 201-1014)
Your draft will consist of:
• A thorough introduction, complete with a topic sentence and thesis statement
• At least 3 quotes from the primary text (The Farming of Bones). Remember that your quotes/intext citations serve as evidence. Under each quote, write at least two sentences on how it
supports your thesis.
• At least one quote from two secondary texts/sources (these are the scholarly articles). In other
words, you should list two secondary sources and include at least one quote from each. Under
each quote, write about three sentences on how the quote supports your thesis.
• Works cited page. Even though your sources may change for the final essay, include the ones
that you are currently working with.
• Remember that you can find secondary sources via the databases provided by the BMCC
Library: http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/
* Final Essay Due: May 18, 2017 (for ENG 201-1500)
May 19, 2017 (for ENG 201-1014)
Your final essay will be 5-8 pages. This means that your essay should at least reach to the end of
Page 5. If your essay stops in the middle of Page 5, your essay is not complete! Also, see the
complete instructions listed under “Assignment” and “Helpful Reminders.”
1 DO NOT:
• Email the paper unless you have received permission
• Leave it in my mailbox or in the English Department
• Turn the paper in late. Late papers will not be accepted. Helpful Reminders:
1. The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat is your primary text. Include at least 3 quotes from
this text.
2. You need to use at least two secondary/outside texts or sources. In your essay, include at least
one quote or in-text citation from each secondary source. You can find reliable sources at the
physical BMCC library or at http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/. If you do online research, use
reputable websites. Avoid blogs and social media sites.
3.
Your essay must be/have:
• 5-8 pages
• typed
• page numbers
• double-spaced
• font type: Times New Roman
• font-size 12
• 1-inch margins, all around
• a thoughtful title
5. Your paper must have a works cited page. This should be on a separate page at the end of your
essay.
6. Headings should be on the top left corner. It should contain:
• Your name
• Your Student ID or Social Security Number (last four digits)
• Name of class (ENG 201-1014 or ENG 201-1500)
• Name of instructor: Desiree Bailey
7. Your essay should have a thoughtful title that include your topic and the text considered.
• For example: The Manipulation of Time in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
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5. When writing the title of an essay, story, or poem, capitalize every word in the title and put the
title in quotation marks. Generally, do not capitalize small words like a, an, the, or, etc. unless
they are the first word in the title.
• Example: “Girl” or The Things They Carried”
6. Use italics for websites or titles of books, novels, or plays and capitalize as above.
• Example: The Emily Dickinson Museum Website, Othello
7. Use an author’s full name (first and last name) the first time you mention it. From then on, use
only the last name. DO NOT use only the author’s first name.
• For example: Jamaica Kincaid and Kincaid, NOT Jamaica.
8. When using quotations (exact words) from the text in your essay, you need to introduce the
quote, use quotation marks, and give the page on which they appear in the book in parenthesis at
the end of the quote.
• Example: In the story “A & P,” John Updike writes, “In walks these three girls wearing nothing
but bathing suits” (310). For Secondary Sources:
• Visit http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/
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[Danticat_Edwidge]_The_Farming_of_Bones_A_Novel(bookzz.org).mobi