Grade 11 University English
The Kite Runner: Literary Essay with Secondary Sources
The Task
1. How are the characters’ private lives shaped by the larger forces of culture, with reference to cultural traditions and beliefs? Consider the influence of culture on characters and their relationships with others.
2. How does religion and/or morality unite or divide the characters in the novel?
3. How are the challenges that immigrants face reflected in Amir and Baba’s flight from Afghanistan to Freemont? Consider the effects of immigration on their relationship and their life experiences.
Your Task:
Step 1:
Choose an essay topic. Conduct secondary research using the databases and resources available through our school library. Your research should come from credible sources. You must include a minimum of three different academic sources. Your research must be current and relevant.
Step 2:
Then, review the events in the novel to locate specific quotations that relate to your topic.
Step 3:
Using a Venn diagram or other suitable comparative graphical organizer, compare and contrast your secondary research with the novel. Draft a thesis which reflects a theme noted from this graphical organizer. Your theme should be expressed as a thematic statement with three supporting details applicable to the novel and your secondary research.
Step 4:
Use the comparative essay organizer to draft an outline of your essay. Each body paragraph should include direct quotations (proof) from the novel and your secondary research. In your analysis, you must consider the significance of your comparison.
Step 5:
Using your organizer, write a draft of your essay. Be sure to follow proper MLA format.
Step 6:
The rough copy of your essay is due_________________.
Step 7:
The good copy of your essay is due_______________. Submit a soft copy to D2L and a hard copy in class, along with your rough draft and other process work.
Searching For Secondary Sources
Research - How to Find the Databases
- Go to the applications page and click on "Library Catalogue - Louise Arbour". Then click on Library eResources. Click on eResources. Click on Intermediate/Secondary. Then you will find all of our databases.
- Go to www.peelschools.org. Click on the BYOD link. Then click on the "Library" link at the top of the page. Scroll down to the Intermediate/Secondary databases.
Research - Using the Databases to Find Information
- Encyclopedia Britannica Online - This is a great place to start to get general information about the topics that you are searching for. You will be surprised just how much you can find here.
- Canada in Context - This database also contains a wealth of information from a Canadian perspective. The great thing about this database is that it is connected to Google drive and Google Classroom so you can download your information directly to your Google Drive and work on it from home.
- Canadian Points of View/Points of View - The great thing about this database is that it gives information from different perspectives. If you are unsure which perspective you agree with, information from both sides will be found in this database.
- Global Issues in Context - This database is excellent as it gives perspectives from all around the world, not just the Canadian point of view.
All of the databases are great sources of information. They are better than a random search on a website because you can find a lot of information here that has been written by experts in the field. A proper secondary source should have been written by experts or scholars and this is the type of information you will find in these databases.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Canadian Points of View
Global Issues in Context
How to do an effective Boolean search!
MLA 8 - The New Way to Cite Using MLA Formatting
Creating a Works Cited Page in MLA 8 Format
MLA 8 was designed to simplify the process, helping writers accurately and intuitively cite sources more easily, requiring that every source type follow the same format. This means that books, websites, periodicals, videos, photographs, and all other types of sources now use this same standard format.
MLA 8 requires researchers to locate the same “core elements” from their sources and place them in a standard order in order to create their citations.
The “Core Elements” of an MLA 8 citation, along with their corresponding punctuation marks, include the following (in this order):
- Authors.
- Title of the source.
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Numbers,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location.
The appropriate punctuation mark will follow each core element, unless it is the final piece. In this case, the punctuation mark would be a period.
Example of an MLA Eighth Edition Works Cited Page:
Patterson, James, and Chris Grabenstein. House of Robots. Little, Brown and Co., 2014.
Patterson, James, and Chris Tebbetts. Middle School: Get Me Out of Here. Little, Brown and Co., 2012.
Sparks, Nicholas. Dear John. Grand Central, 2007, p. 82.
– – – . A Walk to Remember. Warner, 1999.
Twenty-Eight Days Later. Directed by Danny Boyle, produced by Alex Garland, Fox
Searchlight Pictures, 2002.