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Pages:
6 pages/≈1650 words
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5 Sources
Style:
MLA
Subject:
Literature & Language
Type:
Research Paper
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
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$ 25.92
Topic:

Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado Research Assignment

Research Paper Instructions:

Research Paper
Throughout the course students will be working to prepare a 1,500 word research paper.  To create a research paper the student is expected to create a topic of his or her choosing, research that topic using ONLY scholarly sources, and report his or her findings using appropriate grammar and format. The research project and paper is an effort to further investigate a key element of our study. The paper should make use of either empirical or secondary data wherever possible to enhance the analysis. Students are expected to follow Modern Language Association writing style.
What Should the Topic of my Paper be?
The topic of your research is one of your own choosing. However, the topic must reflect one of the readings we have engaged in over the term.
Throughout the course we will be reading many authors and studying various critical schools that scholars use to engage with the readings.  As you read you should be on the look out for possible topics for your research. This is a fundemental part of the course! By selecting your own topic you are entering into an area of research of your own choosing. This is the first step to true scholarship.
I strongly suggest that you write notes on each reading.  These notes should include observations you've made while reading that reflect the topics covered in week 7: critical schools.  For example, if you've found the treatment of gender interesting in Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants be sure to note it in reading notes.  This is a very rich topic for later research!  This process can be repeated with any of our reading and any critical school you find interesting.  As always please send me your ideas as they occur to you and we will work on gettin the research paper together.
Your paper should
Contain an introduction paragraph which 1) introduces the audience to the issue being addressed, 2) identifies clearly the writer's claim, 3) examines why this information is important to the specified audience, 4) announces the organization of the paper.
Offer a thesis statement in the form of an argument.
Offer academic sources to support the thesis statement.
Include evidence of scholarly research such as peer-reviewed academic articles:
Maintain focus on the paper's thesis throughout.
Organize the material presented in a consistent, rational manner.
Contain a conclusion that reasserts the writer's thesis statement and reiterates the introduction.
Use transitions to achieve unity between ideas and paragraphs.
Use conventions of standard written English (appropriate diction, no omitted words, grammar, punctuation, spelling). 
Follow MLA format guidelines.
Please be certain that your treatment of your topic is complete, thoughtful, and well-researched.  The topic of the research paper can be any of the subjects covered over the course of the lecture series.  Listed below are few “seed ideas” for students that have difficulty getting started.  As always, please contact me with any concerns.Be certain your research paper contains all of the following elements:
(1) sound argumentation techniques
(2) coherent source synthesis
(3) correctly formatted MLA-style parenthetical citations
(4) standard grammatical usage
The research project and paper is an effort to further investigate a key element of our study. The paper should make use of either empirical or secondary data wherever possible to enhance the analysis.  Students are expected to follow Modern Language Association writing style.
TIPS:
Your paper should:
Contain an introduction paragraph which 1) introduces the audience to the issue being addressed, 2) identifies clearly the writer's claim, 3) examines why this information is important to the specified audience, 4) announces the organization of the paper.
Offer a thesis statement in the form of an argument.
Offer academic sources to support the thesis statement.
Include evidence of scholarly research.
Maintain focus on the paper's thesis throughout.
Organize the material presented in a consistent, rational manner.
Contain a conclusion that reasserts the writer's thesis statement and reiterates the introduction.
Use transitions to achieve unity between ideas and paragraphs.
Use conventions of standard written English (appropriate diction, no omitted words, grammar, punctuation, and spelling).
Follow MLA format guidelines.
Please be certain that your treatment of your topic is complete, thoughtful, and well-researched. The topic of the research paper can be any of the subjects covered over the course of the lecture series.  As always, please contact me with any concerns.
SOURCES:
The paper must utilize no less than three sources. One of these sources must be the primary text you are using such as our textbook. The other sources must be scholarly journal articles or appropriate books.  Be sure that the articles you select to use are peer-reviewed works from respected academic sources. 
The best resource for students to use in the research process of this project is the reference librarians of our college library.  We will be visiting the library during the semester for a training seminar on finding scholarly sources. 
REMEMBER:
Be connected to your topic—you should pursue a topic that interests you and perhaps fits in with other studies you are engaged in.
Specifically state your thesis early and often.
Spend your effort working to prove your argument based thesis. DO NOT waste time summarizing if it is not needed to further your argument.
Acknowledge and refute counterarguments.
Remember to cite when needed.  This includes quotes, paraphrases, and summaries you add to the paper.
Make sure your paragraphs are fully developed and have topic sentences and concluding sentences.

Research Paper Sample Content Preview:
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The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado is a short story of suspense authored by Edgar Allan Poe. It is centered on the narrator’s, Montresor, hate of his purported friend Fortunato. Montresor holds a grudge against Fortunato and he plans to kill him. in a premeditated plan which he executes perfectly, he lures him into his home, down through the vaults and chains him there where he dies. Montresor plots to kill his friend in his house for what he terms as the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could (Poe 1). Montresor lures his victim by a promise to taste his wine, Amontillado, a type of fortified wine which he claims to be held in his house. Fortunato, a connoisseur is eager to taste the wine for him and he ends up murdered. The author uses various stylistic devices to package his story and maintain the audience interest and suspense to the very end. The main stylistic device he employs is irony. This essay describes how the author uses irony to package his story for his audience.
Firstly, Poe has used a lot of irony in the story. Irony is a multi-faceted literary device that a writer uses to point out the discrepancy between reality and how things appear or what was expected. He has featured situational and verbal irony to enhance the plot and show some character traits of the characters. Poe uses irony in his story to make the story interesting. Situational irony in the story is tragic and leads to the death of Fortunato. Verbal irony just makes the story interesting and humorous. Poe uses irony to reveal some of his character’s personality and motives. It gives the reader some knowledge of the intentions and help develop the plot (Ray). Poe has also featured symbolism in his story. Symbolism adds meaning to the story. Themes focus on conveying important lessons on issues affecting the society. On the other hand, the story cannot be plain as they will sound shallow. Symbolism weaves the two together and help the audience deduce important lessons about the literary piece in an interesting and metaphorical way.
The whole plan is hinged on an opportunity to taste a rare sherry known as Amontillado. The narrator, who is the murderer, even attempts to discourage him from going to his home and instead consult with another connoisseur. Fortunato, who believes he is better than his friend, insists that he is allowed to go and taste the wine. It is ironic to have a person insist to do something which will eventually leads to his/her demise. Fortunato had an opportunity to escape and live for another day but his ego clouds his thinking and insists of heading to Montresor where he is killed.
Fortunato is the name of the victim who is lured into his death. His name is ironic since it translates into ‘fortunate’ in Italian. The choice of the character’s name is sinister and tragic judging from the way the events unfolded. He was ‘supposed to be fortunate’ but it seems his fate was tragic. Additionally, the narrator, who is the murderer does not give sufficient evidence that he was justified for killing his friend as he occasionally refers to him. all the reasons provided for killing is friend are that he insulted him and his family and ...
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