The Romantic Era Literature Research Paper

You have been assigned a research paper form the Romantic Era or 19th century (1800s). Your research paper must be 5 pages in length. Page 1 is the title page. Page 2-5 is the body of the research paper. The final page is the bibliography or works cited page. The bibliography or works cited page must have at least 6 sources. Please refer to your planners, pages 44 and 45, entitled MLA Documentation as a guide to your research.

What to do: Choose an author form the list below. You must describe who the author is, what kinds of literature did he write, summarize his works, describe his life, describe some interesting things about him or her. Please tell in detail what you learned from his or her writing. What are the author's good points? What are his or her bad points? What types of things does he or she emphasize in their writing? Be creative and use your imagination. The research paper is due on _______.

Please select form these authors from the Early Nineteenth Century:

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Let's Get Started:

Use the Big 6 Research Paper Organizer © (1999) or the Assignment Organizer © (1999) to help you complete your assignment. They use the Big 6 format and keep your research organized and focused for you. Follow the directions given in the organizer and by Mr. Woods. You can type directly on the organizers and then download the information to a disc/flash drive or print it out. There is a section for each of the six steps of research. There are also links to important information to help you complete your research. A Writing Process Organizer can be printed out and used to develop a successful writing project!

Step #1: Task Definition A good way to get started. What does your teacher want you to do? Make sure you understand the requirements of the assignment. In order to define your task you must form your task around an essential question. Once you have formed your essential question you must decide what information you think you will need to support that question. You do this with supporting questions. To learn more about supporting questions look at "What kinds of questions did you ask today?" Remember there are several types or levels of supporting questions: Memory questions (Level 1), Convergent Thinking questions (Level 2), Divergent Thinking questions (Level 3), and Evaluative questions (Level 4). There is a worksheet you can print out to help you form your questions. Make sure your supporting questions use more that one type or level of question!

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Step #2: Information Seeking Strategies This means that you need to make a list of all the possible sources of information that will help you answer the questions you wrote in Task Definition above.

AND:

Step #3: Location & Access Figure out where you will get these sources. Beside each source, write its location. If it is a web site, list its web address. Try to use those that your teacher or librarian have linked or bookmarked. This will save you time. If your source is a person, figure out how you will contact him or her and make a note of this.

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For Step #2 and Step #3 you should use the COWS information literacy model. COWS is an acronym to help you remember the ORDER you should look for information.

• Current Reference/Print Material
• Online Resources
• Webliography (Pre-selected web sites)

And if all else fails:

• Search Engines

C =

When doing research, always start with current reference books, textbooks and non-fiction library books. Learn some basic information about your subject and start a list of "keywords" you can use to gain more information on your topic. Use the library's OPAC to check your resources. To find a list of titles in our library that apply to this project type in "Woods/Romantic Era " in OPAC and select the "Categories" icon.

Before you use OPAC you should make a list of all the keywords you could use in researching your subject.

Remember: When doing research you need to look at the second page of cataloging and review the "notes" section of the page to find out information about the book.  Also use the "subject" section of the page and look at the subject headings listed for the book.  Using these subject headings is an excellent way to narrow or broaden your subject search.  They can also provide you with additional keywords to use in searching for your topic.  Use your bookbag  while doing research using OPAC.  It helps keep your research on track, provides you bibliographic information for your project, and will save you time
in locating information in the library.
If you have forgotten how to use the library's OPAC check out the How to Use OPAC from the Library Information page of this site. Be sure to check out the Reference Section of the library first for specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases and almanacs to start your project.

Hints!

• On sets of encyclopedias look in the index for your keywords
• With any reference or non-fiction title always use the index to locate the information you need.
• On sets of reference books that are divided by year look only at the books that cover the years your paper needs.

Some of the Reference Books you could use are:

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O =

Use these resources every day! If you need them the usernames and passwords are provided. Our online resources are:

• The Gale Group, (Username:west60137 Password:west60137)
• Web Feet, ( Borrower's I.D.: west01196)
• Encyclopedia Britannica Online, (Use this resource first) (Username: hbuhsd Password: surfcity)

and

• World Geography Online. (Username: lions1 Password: golions)

These are password protected databases that you can access 24/7 from school or home. They work like a search engine but contain information that is not available for free on the World Wide Web. College students use similar databases for their research projects.

The Gale Group resources has five different databases:

• Student Resource Center-Gold (Use this Gale database),
• Student Resource Center-Health Module,
• Student Edition,
• Opposing Viewpoints,

and

• Virtual Reference Library.(This database may also contain information you need.)

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W = (Pre-selected web sites)
A webliography is similar to a bibliography only it's on the web. This is the webliography selected by your teacher or Mrs. Bowen to assist you with your project.

Abraham Lincoln Online.org: http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln.html

Africans in America: People & Events: Frederick Douglas 1818-1895: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html

American Literary Classics: A Chapter a Day:
http://www.americanliterature.com/SS/SSINDX.HTML

American Literature on the Web: William Cullen Bryant:
http://www.nagasaki-gaigo.ac.jp/ishikawa/amlit/b/bryant19ro.htm

American Transcendentalism Web:
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/index.html

Bibliomania: Short Stories:
http://www.bibliomania.com/0/5/frameset.html

British and American Literature 1800-1899:
A Web Guide to 19th Century British and American Literature: Index
http://www.literaryhistory.com/19thC/Outline.htm

The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore: http://www.eapoe.org/

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center: The Harriet Beecher Stowe House and Library: http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/index_home.shtml

Henry Adams: Globe Trotter in Space and Time: http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/easyrider/data/HAdams.htm

Henry David Thoreau: http://www.transcendentalists.com/1thorea.html

Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862: http://www.geocities.com/~freereligion/1thorea.html

Henry James (1843-1916): http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/james.htm

Henry W. Longfellow: http://www.dlstewart.com/longfellow/

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: http://www.hwlongfellow.org/

Hypertexts:http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hypertex.html

The James Fenemore Cooper Society: http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/

John Greenleaf Whittier Homestead: http://www.johngreenleafwhittier.com/

Kate Chopin: A Women Ahead of Her Time (1850-1904): http://www.angelfire.com/nv/English243/Chopin.html

The Life and Works of Herman Melville: http://www.melville.org/

Literature, Classic: Twain, Mark: http://marktwain.about.com/cs/twainmark/

The Literature Network: Index: http://www.online-literature.com/author_index.php (Look for the name of your author)

Louisa May Alcott: Teacher Resource File: http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/alcott.htm

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864): http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/hawthor.htm

PAL: Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/lincoln.html

PAL: Early Nineteenth Century: Frederick Douglas(1818-1895): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/douglass.html

PAL: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/poe.html

PAL: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/dickinson.html

PAL: (Francis) Bret Harte (1836-1902): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/harte.html

PAL: Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/stowe.html

PAL: Henry Adams (1838-1918): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/adams.html

PAL: Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/poe.html

PAL: Henry James (1843-1916): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/james.html

PAL: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/longfellow.html

PAL: Herman Melville (1819-1891): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/melville.html

PAL: James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/cooper.html

PAL: James Russell Lowell 91819-1891): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/lowell.html

PAL: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892): http://www.johngreenleafwhittier.com/

PAL: Kate Chopin (1851-1904): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap6/chopin.html

PAL: Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/lalcott.html

PAL: Mark Twain (1835-1910): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/twain.html

PAL: Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/hawthorne.html

PAL: Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/holmes.html

PAL: Phillip Morin Freneau (1752-1832): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap2/freneau.html

PAL: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/emerson.html

PAL: Sidney Lanier (1842-1881): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/lanier.html

PAL: Stephen Crane (1871-1900): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap6/crane.html

PAL: Walt Whitman (1819-1891): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/whitman.html

PAL: Washington Irving (1783-1859): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/irving.html

PAL: William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/bryant.html

PAL: William Dean Howells (1837-1902): http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/howells.html

Phillip Freneau (1752-1832): http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/freneau.htm

Poe Museum: http://www.poemuseum.org/poes_life/index.html

Resources for Educators: About Washington Irving: http://www.hudsonvalley.org/education/Background/abt_irving/
abt_irving.html

The Stephen Crane Society: http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/crane/index.html

The Walt Whitman Archive: http://www.whitmanarchive.org/

William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878): http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bryant/

Hint!
If you don't find what you were looking for in the Webliography check out Web Feet and the Encyclopedia Britannica Online. All web sites from these resources have been evaluated for you.

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S =
Once you have learned about your subject by visiting all of the books, online programs, and web sites recommended by Mrs. Bowen and Mr. Woods, and you still need more information it is time to search the web. BEWARE! Search engines are not all created equal and you need to learn what types of information each will provide and how that information is presented. Take a few minutes and check out the links listed below. You will also need to know about the "invisible web" and how to access its information.

Introduction to Search Tools

Search engines

How to Find a Specialized Search Engine for Your Topic

Invisible web

If you use a search engine to find material you must always evaluate the site you wish to use. To help you in evaluating your site use the Web Site evaluation Guide.

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And now back to the Big 6!

Step #4: Use of Information Engage the source (read it, listen to it, view it, touch it!) and take out the relevant information. If you can't understand any of it, be sure to ask Mr. Woods to help you. It's OK not to understand, it's not OK not to ask for help. Make sure that you check out "Ideas About Note Taking and Citing Sources" from the Use of Information page.

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Step #5: Synthesis You will need to:

• Organize information from multiple sources
• Present the information

To help you in writing your paper you may want to use the "Writing Process Organizer for Grades 7-12." Unfortunately, this page will not allow you type on it, but you can print it out and use it as a guide for your paper.

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Step #6: Evaluation To evaluate your product you will need to:

• Judge your product (how effective were you)
• Judge your information problem-solving process (how efficient were you?)

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Here are some additional pages and sites to help you put your paper together and evaluate your product.

Style Guides
To find out how to cite a source go to the MLA Guide and/or the Help with Citing Sources (Internet) guide. The Landmark Citation Machine is also an excellent resource for all types of citations. You can also use the Toolbox of the Gale online database and find a citing online reference works section. Each article in the Encyclopedia Britannica Online and the Gale Group online have how to cite the article either at the bottom or top of the article.

Copyright Information
Always check your information against copyright laws to make sure you are not violating any rules and are not accused of plagiarism. Copyright Information 

The Big 6 Rubric
This is a rubric (guideline) to help you understand the effort you need to put into the process of doing research. If you do not understand a task ask your teacher or Mrs. Bowen, the librarian. Both will be able to help you. Click Here for the Big 6 Rubric.

Editing Checklist
This is a guideline to use to edit your paper for errors. Print it out to use as you proofread your paper. Click Here for checklist.

Research Project Final Evaluation Form
This is a form that either students or teachers can use to evaluate research projects. Click Here for the Evaluation Form. Print it out and use it as you evaluate your project.

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