English 102 Literary Research Essay: Paper #3 Dr. Milne Rhetorical Précis pre-writing due – Monday, Nov 23, before start of class in ACE under Assignments. First draft due – Friday, Dec 4, aim for 4-5 full pages On Dec 4, post your first draft to the Assignments channel in ACE as a separate Word document (.doc or .docx) by the start of class, or your first draft will be late. You will ALSO print one copy to bring to class for peer review. Per the syllabus, if you do not bring a hardcopy to class on Dec 4, your grade will be negatively affected. Try to make this first draft as complete as possible to maximize your grade. (Use e-mail as a backup—following syllabus instructions—ONLY if you ACE is down). Revision due – Friday, Dec 11, 4-5 full pages Post your revision to ACE as a Word attachment (.doc or .docx) no later than start of class on Dec 11. Formatting requirement – 12pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins. MLA format (see LIT 1247-1261) Refer to ACE or LIT on arranging your paper in MLA format. See the syllabus for details. Review your MLA formatting lessons from ENGL101 if necessary. You may use only one (1) block quote in this essay. Purpose and Overview: In many ways, the biggest distinction between a literary research essay and the other papers you have written this semester is that the literary research essay requires secondary sources in addition to explication and argumentation. Incorporating secondary sources into your work helps you frame your thoughts and arguments in a larger context, showing how you such ideas add to the broader conversations going on about your topic and text. This essay also allows you to practice the close reading, note-taking, analytical, and interpretive skills you have learned this semester. Steps to Completion: Pre-writing: · Find a theme that is loosely related to empathy and/or some of the other major issues we’ve discussed this semester. Your specific choice of theme is your first and best chance to express creativity. Be prepared to think a lot about your topic, and for your theme to change as you write and research. Start with an interesting question that came up in discussion, a subject that you have wanted to explore more deeply, or a captivating thought you wrote down in your reading journal. Find a text that you feel speaks to that theme in an engaging, complex, or even controversial way. Narrow your theme down (remember what we discussed in Paper #2: “Growing up” is not a complete theme, but this one is: “Smith’s short story shows how only those who also grew up in poor families could understand what it is like to live in a factory town in southern Illinois.”). · Alternatively, start with a text(s) (i.e., primary source) that you think has potential for exploration and interpretation. Do a close reading for a thought-provoking and specific theme loosely related to empathy and/or one of our other main topics this semester that you want to examine and analyze, just as w ...

1. English 102
Literary Research Essay: Paper #3
Dr. Milne
Rhetorical Précis pre-writing due – Monday, Nov 23, before
start of class in ACE under Assignments.
First draft due – Friday, Dec 4, aim for 4-5 full pages
On Dec 4, post your first draft to the Assignments channel in
ACE as a separate Word document (.doc or .docx) by the start
of class, or your first draft will be late. You will ALSO print
one copy to bring to class for peer review. Per the syllabus, if
you do not bring a hardcopy to class on Dec 4, your grade will
be negatively affected. Try to make this first draft as complete
as possible to maximize your grade. (Use e-mail as a backup—
following syllabus instructions—ONLY if you ACE is down).
Revision due – Friday, Dec 11, 4-5 full pages
Post your revision to ACE as a Word attachment (.doc or .docx)
no later than start of class on Dec 11.
Formatting requirement – 12pt Times New Roman font, double-
spaced, 1-inch margins. MLA format (see LIT 1247-1261)
Refer to ACE or LIT on arranging your paper in MLA format.
See the syllabus for details. Review your MLA formatting
lessons from ENGL101 if necessary. You may use only one (1)
block quote in this essay.
Purpose and Overview: In many ways, the biggest distinction
between a literary research essay and the other papers you have
written this semester is that the literary research essay requires
secondary sources in addition to explication and argumentation.
Incorporating secondary sources into your work helps you frame
your thoughts and arguments in a larger context, showing how
you such ideas add to the broader conversations going on about
your topic and text. This essay also allows you to practice the
close reading, note-taking, analytical, and interpretive skills

2. you have learned this semester.
Steps to Completion:
Pre-writing:
· Find a theme that is loosely related to empathy and/or some of
the other major issues we’ve discussed this semester. Your
specific choice of theme is your first and best chance to express
creativity. Be prepared to think a lot about your topic, and for
your theme to change as you write and research. Start with an
interesting question that came up in discussion, a subject that
you have wanted to explore more deeply, or a captivating
thought you wrote down in your reading journal. Find a text that
you feel speaks to that theme in an engaging, complex, or even
controversial way. Narrow your theme down (remember what
we discussed in Paper #2: “Growing up” is not a complete
theme, but this one is: “Smith’s short story shows how only
those who also grew up in poor families could understand what
it is like to live in a factory town in southern Illinois.”).
· Alternatively, start with a text(s) (i.e., primary source) that
you think has potential for exploration and interpretation. Do a
close reading for a thought-provoking and specific theme
loosely related to empathy and/or one of our other main topics
this semester that you want to examine and analyze, just as we
have done in past papers. Take notes on literary devices and
passages related to that theme. Group related notes together.
Texts on which you can write: at most—one novel, one or two
short stories, or one to three poems. You can also combine
genres, but in that case, stick to two texts total (for example,
one poem and one short story).
· Before you examine what others have to say about your ideas,
take a moment to think on your own. Review all of your notes
and craft a tentative thesis statement that ties the theme together
with your text in a way that you think will be interesting.
· Explore both the text and the specific theme in more depth.

3. Use Google Scholar and the library database. Scan titles of
articles and abstracts. Get a sense of what people are saying
about the text, and what people are saying about your topic. Use
more than one search term to find what you are looking for.
Don’t just settle on the first link you see. Evaluate your sources
for scholarly value and quality. Once you have done some
preliminary research and note-taking, revise your thesis
statement.
· Rhetorical Précis: Typically, secondary sources in literature
are: (1) literary criticism on the text, (2) literary criticism on
how the text relates to larger issues (similar to what you are
writing here!), (3) biographical sketches or interviews about a
particular author, (4) examinations of a theme or
literary/historical event that connects to a text or set of texts.
Your secondary sources will often be a combination of the
above. Scan titles for interesting options. Read abstracts (if
available) for a summary of the article’s argument and
evidence. Choose at least three for your rhetorical précis from
the library database.
· IMPORTANT: Your articles do not have to exactly match your
theme. In fact, it’ll be better if they are related, but not an exact
match, since you want your own argument to be fresh and
original. If you choose a review, make sure it is longer than a
few paragraphs. Some review essays are simply summaries,
which will not be helpful. Avoid E-notes, Shmoop, or websites
like it. Choose good sources. If you stick to the library
databases and Google Scholar, there’s a good chance you’ll be
okay. If you choose poor articles, then your rhetorical précis
and your paper itself will be much harder to write. Scan the
Works Cited of your sources to see if they have other sources
you can use as well.
· The rhetorical précis format is in the Assignment Sheets folder
in ACE Resources. The précis is very formulaic: Stick to the
formula to gain the maximum points and to show your
understanding of your articles. Start with your tentative thesis,
your citation, and the five sentences delineated in the example.

4. Put all three précis citations and paragraphs in alphabetical
order by author last name. As much as possible, each of the
sentences should be in your own words!!! If you find yourself
quoting too much, it means you don’t understand the text you
are trying to analyze. Make this part of the prewriting as useful
as possible.
Drafting:
· While your précis pre-writing focused on three secondary
sources from the library page, remember that they are just that:
secondary. Your argument is what matters most to this paper;
the sources are there for support and to uphold your credibility
as a reader and researcher. With that in mind, reread through
your notes and your precis, and revise your thesis statement
based on what you have discovered. Your thesis statement
should be narrow, precise, and specific. It should make a
debatable argument related to our class discussions. Avoid
observation or summary; make a point. Take a risk! And have
fun!
· Examples:
· Observation: In James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues”
the title character Sonny struggles to explain his life to his
brother. In turn, his brother struggles to empathize with Sonny.
· Argument: In James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,”
Sonny’s struggle to explain his life to his brother, the narrator,
represents a gap between empathy and experience, one further
represented in their clash over the jazz musicians, Louis
Armstrong and Charlie Parker. While unable to express his
frustration through language, Sonny communicates his
experience through jazz, encouraging his brother’s empathetic
response.
· While the first example above is possibly factually true, the
most one can do with this is read the text and confirm the
statement. Is there a struggle? Yup. Well, what else is there to

5. discuss? The first example is more of a summary or an
observation. It doesn’t show the writer’s voice, or give a sense
of an original argument. The second example, however, has
some intriguing and unexpected details. How do the two
brothers connect to Armstrong and Parker? And how does jazz
music assist in empathy and understanding? The questions make
me, the reader, curious to keep on reading. The second example
is also debatable: Someone can argue that the mother’s story
about their father is more important to the brother’s empathetic
response than Louis Armstrong ever was. The debatability
shows that there is a potential conversation here, and it’s an
interesting one!
· Be creative with sources. In the above example, you might
find one source related specifically to “Sonny’s Blues,” one
related to Louis Armstrong, one article about James Baldwin’s
connection to music, etc. All are potentially useful!
· Begin your body paragraphs with topic sentences that preview
your paragraph’s specific focus. Treat each paragraph as a mini-
argument that supports, clarifies, and expands upon your thesis
statement. Include evidence (quotes, specific examples, etc.)
and explication that support your main points in each paragraph.
Carefully balance your explication of your primary text with
analysis of the three secondary sources. Keep each paragraph
tied to your thesis statement. Revise your thesis statement!
Write up an introduction that specifically looks at your theme
and your text together and leads up to your thesis statement.
· For your conclusion, avoid bringing up brand new sub-
arguments. Instead, use this as a final space to contemplate an
important point or two about your theme and/or your text.
Revising:
· Set your paper aside for a least a day before you revise.
Consider revising with a friend and/or reading your paper aloud.
· Highlight your thesis statement. Does it focus on one narrow

6. and specific aspect loosely related to empathy? If not, you must
rethink your main argument and revise. Sometimes, looking
back at your paragraphs allows you to discover a focus.
· Review each paragraph. If you cannot find a good connection
between the point of the paragraph and your thesis, then you
should consider omitting or revising the paragraph! Consider
doing a reverse outline.
· Check for connections between paragraphs and between your
ideas and evidence. Always introduce and interpret evidence.
· Underline all the quotes you have in your essay. If you have a
paragraph that is made up mostly of quotes or other people’s
ideas or words, then you must revise that paragraph. Your voice
is the one that counts here, so let it shine through! (
· If you have time, reread for grammar, spelling, and
punctuation. As we did in class, skim LIT 1231-1266 for
assistance.
Tips:
· Samples are on ACE for the rhetorical précis as well as the
research paper itself. Scan these examples for help!
· Be creative! Don’t choose the first idea that springs to your
head if it’s not original or unique. Don’t rely on the first source
that pops up in Google. Think outside the box!
· Keep an open mind and an open heart. Don’t forget that
discomfort can be a really important part of learning. Embrace
it! And of course, never hesitate to contact me if you have any
questions or concerns. (
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