Assignment task: First, it's important to remember that your research paper should be an argumentative essay that makes a specific claim about the literature on which you're writing. To help prove your claim, you should apply a specific literary theory to your chosen text(s).
Note: Keep in mind that this isn't an informative research paper, it's an argumentative one, meaning that you will be presenting persuasive evidence to your reader in order to support a stance you've taken on your chosen topic.
One way to break down this task is to pick your texts/topic and consider something that interests you about that topic. Developing a question, you can research and argue will give you a place to go as you develop your thesis. From there, you will find what literary theory works best to help you reach some conclusions about your question, which should lead you to your thesis. Below are two examples of a topic, a research question, a literary theory, and a thesis that developed out of them:
Example #1
Topic: Star Wars
Literary Theory: Historical
Research Question: Is Star Wars merely camp, or was it an important contribution to cinema?
Thesis: Star Wars is the most important film of the 20th century.
Example #2
Topic: Hamlet
Literary Theory: Psychological
Research Question: Why is Hamlet so tormented?
Thesis: Hamlet experiences internal conflict because he is in love with his mother.
Keep in mind (for Example #2):
- You would not want to make an argument of this sort: "Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play about a young man who seeks revenge." That doesn't say anything-it's basically just a summary and is hardly debatable.
- Remember, an analytical research paper isn't about what happens in a story- it's about explaining why something happens, its causes, its significance. Analyze, don't summarize.
o The Hamlet thesis is debatable, controversial even. The rest of a paper with this argument as its thesis would be an attempt to show, using specific examples from the text and evidence from scholars, (1) how Hamlet is in love with his mother, (2) why he's in love with her, and (3) what implications there are for reading the play in this manner.