James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”
Research Essay
Your Name: Patricia A. West
Instructor’s Name: Prof. West
Course: ENGL 2222
Assignment: Final Research Essay
Date: Spring 2017
Insert an engaging title that includes the literary title or author
Example: Movement and Migration: The Trope of Journey in James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”
Part 1- Essay opening
Attention-getter
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Background information identifying author, work, and genre.
Example transition: Such a scene or theme is found in James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues”.
Write a clear thesis statement in 1-2 sentences. Introduce your claim.
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For help, see:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/
Outline Part 2- Providing a social, political, and/or cultural context—6-7 sentences only. No biography of the author!
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You may use Gates’s chapter introductions from the text and glossary information from studyspace:
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/africanamericanlit2e/
Outline Part 3- Analysis of first thesis point with examples
Write a topic sentence.
Add
3-4 supporting sentences:
Add literary quotes and examples from the text you are analyzing and provide your analysis.
Add quotes from expert sources with in-text citations. Provide analysis.
Repeat this process throughout the paper.
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Outline Part 4- Analysis of second thesis point with examples
Topic sentence
3-4 supporting sentences:
Insert
Literary quotes and your analysis
Insert
Quotes from sources with in-text citations
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Outline Part 5- Analysis of third thesis point with examples
Topic sentence
Literary quotes and your analysis
Quotes from sources with in-text citations
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Outline Part 6- Analysis of fourth thesis point (if applicable) with examples
Topic sentence
Literary quotes and your analysis
Quotes from sources with in-text citations
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Outline Part 7- Conclusion
Raise rhetorical questions
Re-engage the reader with a quotation
What does the research show?
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Part 8- Works Cited
Do not use these headings: References, Bibliography, or Sources.
This is the last page of the essay with sources in ABC order according to MLA documentation style.
O’Neale, Sondra. “A Slave’s Subtle War: Phyllis Wheatly’s Use Of Biblical Myth And Symbol.” Early American Literature 21.2 (1986): 144. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.