Here are some general instructions for writing the seminar paper:
The first thing you need to do is to identify a critical question you would like to address and the text or texts you would like to use in addressing that question. Ideally, your choices will stem from questions/texts that have interested you the most this summer. Your choice of topic may well be a tentative one at first-your rereading and your research will undoubtedly clarify your thinking, even change your mind. If you begin with something too big, you will need to narrow your topic as your reading proceeds.
You should go to the library (either in person or online) and, using both the library's online catalogue and online bibliographic services, especially the MLA bibliography, identify criticism that concerns your text(s). You are also encouraged to use Internet resources, many of which I have made available as interactive syllabus links, but Internet research is no substitute for research in books or journals.
Once you have read and thought about some of the criticism concerning the primary text(s), reread and think about the text(s) themselves, identify, formulate, and reformulate your critical question with an eye toward developing an "angle" or thesis. Try to discuss your thesis and run a preliminary "Works Cited" by me at your earliest convenience. My home phone number is (912) 489-1913.
Ultimately you will produce a 15-20 pp. paper on a novel (or novels) in which you advance an original argument informed by previous criticism. By no means are you supposed to summarize or paraphrase others' arguments exclusively, but, of course, you will need to refer to others' arguments in order to make your own. When you use anyone else's ideas but your own, you must document them properly, using the parenthetical style of documentation approved by the MLA. Simply putting someone else's argument into your own words does not relieve you of the obligation to document Your paper must exhibit substantial original in order for it to be successful. Please consult the library paper dos and don'ts that are linked to your electronic syllabus.
As graduate students, you should be well-versed in MLA style documentation, but feel free to address any questions about the mechanics of documentation directly to me. Don't hesitate to ask me questions about anything you don't understand. Don't hesitate to use me as a sounding board for ideas, either. E-mail is fine, but often telephone or personal interaction is more efficient.
The paper is due on Tuesday, July 6th and it counts for 50% of your grade. It must be typed or word-processed, double-spaced, on good, non-erasable bond, in 10 or 12 point type (Times New Roman 12 pt. like this assignment is good!), with a ribbon or ink cartridge sufficiently fresh that your paper will be pleasing to the eye.