The Research Paper “Hamlet”. Definition A research paper is a piece of academic writing that requires a more abstract, critical, and thoughtful level.

The Research Paper

“Hamlet”

Definition

• A research paper is a piece of academic writing that requires a more abstract, critical, and thoughtful level of inquiry than you might be used to.

• Writing a research paper involves (1) first familiarizing yourself with the works of "experts"--for example, on the page, on the internet, or in the flesh through personal interviews--to build upon what you know about a subject and then (2) comparing their thoughts on the topic with your own.

You'll end up using relevant information--facts and/or opinions--from these expert sources, these "others," to support the topic you have been given or chosen to explore. Then the final product will be a unique and appropriate integration of evidence you have located outside yourself and personal insights generated from your own internal think tank--your mind.

For this essay, you will use 1) the play (I expect several direct references and direct quotes); 2) the two articles I provide and 3) 2-3 sources that you, yourself, find.

The Final Product

• The final product will be a unique and appropriate integration of evidence you have located outside yourself and personal insights.

• It is a research paper. You MUST rely on the research.

• I do want to see your thoughts and analysis, but this is not a reflective paper; it is based in research.

How to Use Sources

• The inclusion of sources isn't just some arbitrary “can-you-use-the-library?” test in disguise, but complements your own ideas by providing academic context and credibility to what you are asserting. No teacher or professor will be marking what the published experts have to say, only how well you use what the experts have to say to advance your paper's purpose.

Be Careful…

• Note: A mere review of the academic "literature" in a field--i.e. a summary of the existing body of knowledge on your subject--does not make a research paper.

The two main types: To Analyze or to Argue? That is the question.

• Whether your paper is ANALYTICAL (uses evidence to analyze facets of an issue) or ARGUMENTATIVE (uses evidence to attempt to convince the reader of your particular stance on a debatable topic), is definitely going to have a bearing on your strategy from here on in. In fact, it will determine your paper's purpose.

Analytical Papers

• As the staff at the SUNY Empire State College Writer's Complex explains it: "To analyze means to break a topic or concept down into its parts in order to inspect and understand it, and to restructure those parts in a way that makes sense to you. In an analytical research paper, you do research to become an expert on a topic so that you can restructure and present the parts of the topic from your own perspective.”

Purpose

• Go into the researching stage with a specific topic about which you have not made any kind of conclusions.

• Your task is to survey the information and views already out there--both before and once you become familiar with the topic. That will require critical thinking and reading, plus evaluation of the resources you handle.

• By the end of the paper you will be able to contribute your own thoughts to the academic discussion by drawing some conclusions about the topic you have just analyzed.

Critical Thinking

• In a research or reading context it means not considering any view as "truth" simply because a source has been published or seems to be an expert.

• It requires you to maintain some objectivity and ask questions to yourself as you read (or watch or listen).

• Use what you find to draw your own conclusions and to show your insight.

Argumentative (or Persuasive) Papers

• In addition to the concept of critical thinking (which any paper at the university level will demand of you), another widely-used term at the college level which you may or may not be familiar with in its academic context, is the term argument. This is the basis of the persuasive kind of research paper.

Purpose?

• In direct contrast to the analytical paper, your approach here is to take a stand on an issue and use evidence to back-up your stance.

• You are not just exploring a topic.

An Example

• For an ANALYTICAL research paper, let's say you have decided to explore "the purpose of madness in Renaissance tragedies." You don't have an answer in mind to turn that into a sentence (that wouldn't be following the purpose of your paper!) so you do some research to locate instances of insanity in various plays.

• The body of the paper would analyze or break down the topic into three or four "parts" which will later become the main paragraphs of your draft.

• Perhaps your research helps you discover several purposes to madness in these tragedies, with your paper devoting a paragraph to considering each. Or perhaps there's debate among scholars as to the main purpose of madness, so you decide to present some of these varying opinions.

• However you choose to explore the topic, in the body of your paper you'd be using evidence from the plays themselves (a.k.a. primary sources) and expert opinions on the plays (a.k.a. secondary sources).

Critical Interpretations at the End

• Your concluding paragraphs would finally incorporate some of your critical interpretations of both the plays and the experts' essays. Here, you'd include a critical evaluation and discussion of your overall findings as well as some conclusions based on the patterns you've researched or detected yourself to make some final comments about the purpose of madness in Renaissance tragedies.

Same Topic, Different Approach

• Now, an ARGUMENTATIVE paper would lay out exactly what you consider to be the purpose of madness in Renaissance tragedies in a declarative sentence right in the introduction--the thesis statement. Thus, the template would change accordingly to "the purpose of madness in Renaissance tragedies is ______ (for comic relief? to provide a reflection of moral chaos? and so on and so forth)."

See, it ceases to be just a topic (notice above that our topic for the analytical paper is not a sentence!) and has become instead an interpretation. The course of the paper will develop why you believe--and importantly, why the reader should believe--what you do.

This time, you'll select only that evidence (still examples from plays and opinions from experts) which directly supports your thesis. The body of your paper turns into a site for laying out the proof you've collected rather than a canvas for examining a topic.

And considering that scholars still debate the psychological state of Prince Hamlet (close to 400 years after the play was written!), there is no right or wrong answer. You will not get a bad mark if your teacher or professor happens to completely disagree with your thesis. That's not the point. Solid back-up and convincing arguments, not safe thesis statements, are what make for happy teachers.

Which to Do?

• Because your insights, which are what your teachers and professors are most interested in, argumentative papers are probably the most popular type of research paper.

• If you choose the analytical route, be sure to have 2-3 paragraphs (or at least a page), at the end, where you share your conclusions, insight, understanding of the topic.

Use Citation Machine & Owl Purdue

• The website is very user-friendly and makes citing your sources simple.

• I insist that you use it and expect no problems.

• http://citationmachine.net/• Also use Owl Purdue (+ MLA) for

formatting. I strongly suggest that you re-read the sample paper and the notes that accompany it.

How and When to Cite

• If the information you are including is not COMMON KNOWLEDGE (which means that most people, not just you, possess this knowledge), you MUST give your source.

Paraphrase and Cite

• It is expected that most times, you don’t quote directly, but, rather, paraphrase and then cite your source.

• Because it was not an original idea, and was not common knowledge, even when you have gone to the trouble to re-word, you MUST cite.

Personal Insight & Observation

• If you are sharing a personal reflection, observation, experience or idea that comes from your analysis of the topic, you DO NOT have to cite a source.

• Usually, in a paragraph, you have used (and cited) one or more external sources, and have also made your own assertions. Try to organize in such a way that it’s obvious what YOUR ideas are.

The Process• Find a source you like.• If it’s a book, sit with a piece of paper. If it’s an electronic source, sit

with a Word document open.• Use Citation Machine to put the bibliographical information at the

top of your page.• For books, write down either in bulleted form or in paraphrased

form, the key points you think you will use. Put direct quotes around the bits you think you will use as direct quotes.

• For e-sources, cut and paste pieces from the original into the word document and read it – make point form notes or paraphrased notes from the original. Delete the original and you are left with your bulleted notes or paraphrased version (in your own words as often as possible).

• Do this for each of your sources.• When you have page numbers, use them throughout.

And / Or

• If you want to, you can print off, or photocopy, the sources you are using.

• As you read, highlight, underline, make notes in the margins. Show me that you are using the source, that you are indicating which bits you will use, that your own words are mixed on the side, that you are indicating which parts you will use word-for-word, as direct quotes.

No Notes, No Mark, No Kidding!

Locate the Information• Use the New Brunswick Public Library site. If you do not have a library card, make

every effort to get one or to borrow a parent’s card and bring the number with you.• I would start with the electronic sources and do a search, but you can look around in

their site and see if there are other suggestions.• Use books from the MHS library.• Talk to your librarian.• Go to the public library (ask for help); go to U de M (that’s where I got the sources I

am sharing with you).• If you can get access, tap into university websites. You will see “.edu” as the

extension; “.gov” is also generally reliable.• Do not use Wikipedia. • Use Google Scholar.• If you must google, be critical of the sources you find. • If you reference our class notes, cite me as a source (MLA + more + lecture).• Finding sources does not mean use dictionary.com or other such sources. You can

use them, but they don’t “count” towards the type of academic sources / articles I expect you to find and use.

• Your paper is only as good as your sources.

Sample Fact Sheet• Cruxton, J.Bradley and W.Douglas Wilson. Spotlight Canada, Fourth

Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2000.

• Topic: CANADIAN AUTHORS: Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood (page 388).

• Alice Munro:– One of the best known short story writers in the world– Stories set in town like one she lived in in SW Ontario.– Went to UWO for two years.– Moved to Victoria, B.C with her husband.– Opened a bookstore, Munro’s Books.– “Munro quickly became known for her insight into small-town life. She herself

lived in such a town.” page 23

• Personal Commentary: I think we will use this info in the first few slides to set up the presentation and to give background. Can we find another site to support what we have here?

Is Hamlet’s Revenge Successful?

• Decide for yourself how you feel about Hamlet’s revenge. Did he achieve it? Did he wait too long to act? Are there valid reasons for why he might have taken so long to act?

• Read the article “ A physician's Hamlet” to see a different perspective on Hamlet’s revenge

• Read the article “'His semblable in his mirror': Hamlet and the Imitation of Revenge” to learn more about Hamlet’s revenge

• Was there a better to exact revenge? Was it Hamlet’s fault the revenge took so long?

Understanding Hamlet: How Might Psychology Help?

• Research psychoanalysis to gain a better understanding of it.

• Read article, “Freud in Time: Psychoanalysis and Literary Criticism in the New Century” to learn a little more about psychoanalysis

• Read article “How might Hamlet help to educate psychotherapists?” to begin to see the connection between psychoanalysis and Hamlet

• Read article “Psychoanalysis and the Corpse” to see another way psychology could be used in Hamlet.

• Are there any other moments where psychology or psychoanalysis could play a role in our understanding of Hamlet?

Death and Dead Bodies: The Treatment of Death in Hamlet

• How is death manifested in Hamlet? Who dies? How do they die? What about the afterlife? Who represents the afterlife? What kinds of discussions are had about the afterlife?

• Read the article “ The Afterlife of Hamlet” to learn more about Hamlet’s treatment of what happens after death

• Read article “Good Night Sweet Prince: Saying Goodbye to the Dead in Shakespeare’s Plays”

• Is the treatment of death on Hamlet realistic?effective?

Rubric

• The rubric is saved on the Wiki page. It would be really wise to read it carefully, and to check your competence in each area (CAREFULLY), before you submit your paper.

Evaluation

• Research for Beginners:• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/

hypertext/ResearchW/types