English IV World Literature
2nd semester update
"Things Fall Apart" Research Paper
Guidelines for Paper
Things Fall Apart Research Paper
For this assignment, you are going to combine literary analysis with outside research.
When you wrote your previous essays, you only included evidence from the text itself and
did not do any outside research. For this essay, you are going to include examples from the
book AND research from other sources.
This paper will be need to be 3-4 pages in Times New Roman, 12 point font, double-spaced.
There are multiple prompts to choose from below. You will need to pick ONE of them:
Prompt 1- Research the effects of the British colonization of Nigeria. Then, discuss
how we see these effects portrayed in Things Fall Apart.
Prompt 2- Research the traditional roles of women (or men) in the Ibo culture.
Then, discuss how we see these roles portrayed in Things Fall Apart.
Prompt 3- Research the traditional religious beliefs of the Ibo tribe. Then, discuss
how we see those beliefs in Things Fall Apart and how the introduction of
Christianity changed the Ibo’s way of life.
Prompt 4- Research the Ibo’s beliefs about justice and crime. Then, discuss how we
see these topics handled in Things Fall Apart. You should also discuss how these
topics are handled differently once they are colonized by the British.
Prompt 5- Research the roles and traits of tragic heroes throughout literature.
Then, discuss how Okonkwo displays the characteristics of a tragic hero in Things
Prompt 6- If you have your own idea for a prompt, please see me before or after
class. Your prompt will need to be approved by me before you begin your paper.
Guidelines for outside sources:
Preferably published by a professor and/or a university
If not from the academic field, it should be from a credible source such as a
Wikipedia, Yahoo answers, Ask.com, etc. are NOT credible sources and should not
If you cannot find the author and/or the organization that produced the
information, you need to move on to another source
You need at least THREE outside sources in your essay plus examples from Things
Guidelines for in-text citations:
You need at least SIX in-text citations
We will review this week how and when to use those, but basically, anytime you get
information that you did not know before and/or a direct quote, you need a citation.
Even if you put things in your own words, if you did not know it beforehand, it needs
You will include a works cited page in your paper this time
We will go over that this week
The works cited page is in addition to your paper; it DOES NOT count as one of your
Note: If you are absent on the day that the paper is due, these are your three options to
ensure that your paper is not considered late and does not receive a deduction:
1. Give me the paper beforehand
2. E-mail me the paper before the end of that school day
3. Bring the paper to me the day you return to school WITH a doctor’s note
Otherwise, your paper will be considered late and will receive a 10-point deduction per day
NOTICE: Each time you plagiarize, you will get a 5-point deduction from your paper. If
more than ¼ of your paper is plagiarized, you will get an automatic 25-point deduction and
will have to completely rewrite your paper within 24 hours or receive an automatic zero.
Plagiarism is absolutely not tolerated in this class.
Your paper is due on: _________________________________________
Timeline for Research Paper
Timeline for Research Paper
Day 1: Introduce paper---jot ideas, brainstorm
Day 2: Summarizing and Paraphrasing
Day 3: Practice Summary and Paraphrasing Activity
Day 4: Source Cards/Working Works Cited
Day 5-8: Research
Day 9: Article Summary
Day 10: Plagiarism
Day 11-13: Research Outline
Day 14: Outline Due
Day 15: MLA format
Day 16-18: Rough Draft (typed)
Day 19: Peer Edit
Day 20-21: Final Draft
Day 22: Finish Final Draft (Due)
Senior Memory Book--Chapters due at various times throughout semester
Chapter 7: Love is a Wonderful Thing: Feb 22
Chapter 8: Yes! I am a Senior: Mar 22
Chapter 9: Most Importantly I've Learned: April 5
Chapter 10: If I could Live My Life Over Again... I would: Apr 25
Entire Project DUE: MAY 2nd!
Gretchen Hughes
Neosho High School
Email: hughesgretchen@neoshor5.org
Website: http://www.edline.net/pages/NeoshoHS
Location: 511 South Neosho Boulevard, Neosho, MO, United States
Phone: 4174518670