TOPICS
Write a coherent, unified, properly documented research essay on one of the following topics:

1. Analyse Punk subculture in Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. You may write about Punk generally, or narrow your focus to women in Punk. You may repeat a chapter you analysed in your group project, but you must include another chapter or two as well.

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Interviews:  Interviews: 
Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>I strongly recommend that you bring a completed prep sheet to discuss your essay with me at least one week before the submission date (March 19 or March 26)

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>TOPICS

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Write a coherent, unified, properly documented research essay on one of the following topics: 

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>1.     

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Analyse Punk subculture in Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad.  You may write about Punk generally, or narrow your focus to women in Punk.  You may repeat a chapter you analysed in your group project, but you must include another chapter or two as well. 

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>2.     

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Examine the impact of the digital revolution on the individual in Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad.  You might consider its impact in terms of its role in increasing connectivity  vs decreasing privacy, or its role as a democratizing force vs that as a means of control. 

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”> 
.

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>SOURCES and ESSAY STRUCTURE

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>In your research essay, you will be analyzing one or more chapters in A Visit from the Goon Squad, creating an argument that also synthesizes information from outside sources: you’ll be quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing arguments to illustrate, support or provide contrast with your own position.  You will be using sources from other fields, such as cultural studies, and feminism.

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Sources

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>use at least 2 sources from the attached list, with a maximum of 4 sources. 

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>access ebooks online through the Langara library websie (you’ll need to sign in at some point), and look for hardcopy books on reserve (3 hour loan) in the library. 

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>please bring any other sources you would like to use to me during office hours (or send me an email with a link to an online source) so that I can check its appropriateness.  These sources should be a book or refereed journal article either in print or through a database such as JSTOR or Academic Premier (not just a website). 

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Introduction

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>remember to avoid starting your discussion too broadly: perhaps start with a brief observation, fact or question about Punk subculture or the impact of the digital revolution before turning to those topics in the novel itself. 

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>enter the scholarly dialogue or conversation, as Graff and Birkenstein say.  Because A Visit from the Goon Squad is fairly new, there is not much in the way of scholarly studies yet, but there are some book reviews (see list attached).  While these are not really suitable as serious sources, one or more might give you a springboard for your discussion – something “they say.”  You could use a combination of quotation and paraphrase of key ideas from one or two of these in your introduction.  You might agree and/or disagree with any of these reviewers, or you might identify a problem or a question your essay will explore in depth. 

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>include a thesis statement that makes a claim about Punk subculture or the digital revolution in the novel, not Punk subculture or the digital revolution generally (save the latter for your conclusion – see below). 

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Review of the Literature

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>in your first body paragraph, focus on more of what “they say” by providing a review of the literature: basically a paraphrase or summary of a relevant key idea or position from each of your two or more outside sources from other fields.  Resist going into any detail at this point: this is just introductory – save the details for your in-depth discussion in the coming body paragraphs. 

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”> 
.

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Body Paragraphs

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>After you’ve identified different authors’ main ideas or positions in your review of the literature, you will start your own analysis (“I Say”) while still drawing on these sources to support and illustrate your claims. 

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Remember to use topic sentences that make claims about Punk or the digital revolution in the novel, rather than generalizing. 

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Avoid relying too heavily on paraphrasing and quoting from your sources: put quotations in context (both those from the novel and from outside sources) and analyse/discuss their significance. 

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Avoid thinking a quotation can do all the work – ensure that you clearly explain its significance. 

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Resist going off on a tangent about Punk subculture or the digital revolution in general; always link your discussion of these back to the novel – remember you are applying the ideas of these other fields to provide insight into the story/novel.   

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Your conclusions/clincher statements in these paragraphs should be about Punk or the digital revolution in the novel, not generalizations about them in “real life.

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Conclusion
Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Provide a brief summary of the points you’ve made in your essay.  Avoid simply repeating what you said in the introduction: look at the clincher statements in each of your paragraphs, the conclusions you have drawn.  You might return to an idea, fact, question, problem you raised in the introduction.  Finally, provide a statement of theme that links what you analyse in the novel to Punk or the impact of the digital revolution in our society.

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>MLA PARENTHETICAL CITATION AND WORKS CITED
Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>You can obtain information on MLA style parenthetical citations and works cited pages on the library website and in the Writing Centre (main floor of library at the south end – turn right after entering the library).  You can also ask for help with these at the Writing Centre or during my office hours. 

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Include the following in your works cited:

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad.  If you use only 1-3 chapters, perhaps list these separately, cross referencing them if you list more than one (see handout on Course Tools).

·        

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Each outside source.  If you use more than one essay in a collection, list them separate, cross-referencing them (see handout on Course Tools). 

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Do NOT separate the stories or novel from the outside sources into separate sections in your Works Cited; keep them together in a single list, listing them in alphabetical order using the author’s or editor’s last name (the latter if you are cross-referencing).   

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”> 
.

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>A NOTE ON PLAGIARISM

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Helpful hint: as you work on your paper, incorporate and document quoted material correctly rather than writing your paper and then going back to correct punctuation and documentation.  In-text documentation is tricky and requires great attention to detail. Your ability to correctly incorporate and punctuate quoted material is a vital element in the overall success of this essay. Use your Handbook extensively as you prepare your research essay. Failure to correctly document your reference material is a serious error and plagiarism is a grave academic offense. If you have questions about what you should document, see the article on plagiarism at www.prenhall.com/understanding and consult the relevant sections of your textbooks. There is no excuse for failure to acknowledge your sources. If you plagiarize, your work will receive a zero and your offense will be reported to the appropriate Dean. So, read carefully the sections on quoting effectively and documenting your sources in Graff and Birkenstein, as well as the blue library handout on MLA format for citing sources.

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>You must have attended an interview with me and submitted your outline in order to receive a grade for this assignment.

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>DEDUCTIONS:

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Late
Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”> assignments will incur a 5% deduction per day (including weekends) if they are not accompanied by a documented medical excuse. 

Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”>Improperly formatted
Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;”> essays will also incur a 10% reduction.  See handout on formatting essays for guidelines.  You must follow proper MLA formatting (see Library handout).

< pstyle="m