English 253 Paper Topics

Length: 1000-1500 words (roughly 4-6 pages)
Research Requirement: 2-3 secondary sources (reviews, criticism, biography, literary history, etc.)
Due date: Friday, December 5th
Last day for conferences: Wednesday, November 26th

The assignment
Option 1: Ideally, your paper will explore the development of technical, stylistic, or thematic issues in a "literary" novel not on our syllabus.

Option 2: You might compare one of the novels we've read with a novel not on the syllabus.  Since you must incorporate secondary research into your papers, it is imperative that your chosen novel be one on which there is significant criticism available: popular novelists such as Stephen King, Danielle Steele, Tom Clancy, P.D. James, etc. will likely be off limits.  Let me know ASAP if you are interested in writing a paper on any recent or contemporary fictionI'll try to work with you if at all possible.

Option 3: You may write a paper making significant connections between the works of two or three writers we've read this semester, provided at least one of the writers is among those covered in the second half of the semester (i.e. after the mid-term).

Regarding specific themes, techniques, or other features as topics of comparison or discussion, the field is wide open.  If you know which writer or writers you want to write about but don't have a specific angle of exploration, I'll be happy to help you generate ideas on an individual basis.  Feel free to call the English 253 paper hotline (524-4685) or send me email (chip@fleetman.com).

Conferences
Before you start writing, I must approve your topic in a fifteen-minute conference outside of class.  As soon as you have paper ideas, see me about setting up a conference.  If I haven't heard from you before Friday, November 21st, I will expect you to sign up that day in class for a conference sometime before Thanksgiving break.

Put simply: no conference, no paperno exceptions.

The following novels are off-limits:
The Great Gatsby
The Scarlet Letter
Wuthering Heights
Huck Finn (Actually, you may use Huck Finn if and only if your paper deals with three different novels, one of which must be from our syllabus.)

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