Primary Text Responses: These responses are designed to open up the work under consideration for discussion. You should not need to do any outside research for them. Select a technique or a theme from the text for close reading and discussion (the general themes for each work will give you some suggestions, and I will make other suggestions in class). Your paper should be a 2-3 page analysis of your selected topic; on the day in question, you will turn in the paper to me at the beginning of class, and use your knowledge of the subject to make a 5-10 minute oral presentation and to lead discussion on the topic. Your presentation should not be read, though you may consult notes.

Secondary Reading Responses: Presentations and papers on secondary readings should focus on connections between the text at hand and an outside reading for the class. You may use one of the reserve readings, or something you've located on your own. You'll notice that the reserve readings are fairly general and historical in orientation; you may choose, rather, to locate a critic of the work at hand and analyze his/her approach to our text. In either case, as with the primary reading responses, you should write a 2-3 page paper on your subject and turn it in at the beginning of class. You will then make a 5-10 minute oral presentation and lead discussion on the topic. If you choose a reading which was not assigned for the whole class, some part of your presentation may be a summary of the reading.

Annotated Bibliography: Early in the semester, identify a text and/or theme you are interested in working with, and begin your research project. The first stage will be an annotated bibliography of works you locate in the library (remember to search for both books and articles) that seem relevant to your work. Select at least five such works, and list them in MLA bibliographic format, with annotations as to their theoretical approach, comprehensiveness, and relevance to your topic.

Research Proposal: By mid-semester you will have chosen a topic and produced a bibliography. Your research proposal will be a brief (3-5 page) outline of the topic you've chosen, your probable approach, and a working thesis. While all of these may change as you continue your work, it's important to begin with this blueprint and to refer to it often as you do your research. I will return these to you as soon as possible, with my comments, so that you can make any necessary modifications in your research program.

The Research Paper: Due the last day of class, the research paper should be a substantially researched (at least those five sources from the bibliography, if not more), original work of literary criticism. Your paper should be a critical study of one or more texts for the course, analyzing it in terms of technique, themes, and/or historical/biographical context. You need not limit yourself to the theme of childhood for the research paper. We will meet in conferences during class time in the last two weeks of the semester in order to go over drafts, revise and refine your arguments, etc.