) Decide which play you would like to write about.2) Think about what aspect of the play you’d like to investigate as the topicof your essay [see some possibilities below].3) Search the scholarly databases for a critical articledealing with that topic.[NOTE: As you begin to read scholarly articles, you may find one thatdeals with a different aspect of the work from the one you’re investigating. If you find the idea so fascinating that it makes youwant to go back &look at the play again, feel free to change the focus of your discussion].4) Read the article several times so that you’re familiar with it; then read the play again so that you can see how the critical article and the playconnect.5) Begin writing your rough draft. 6) Be sure to review the correct methods for using MLAdocumentation, bothwithin the body of your essay and on your‘Works Cited’ page. Complete guidelines for writing Essay 3Choose any of the plays that we have read so far: “Antigone”or“The Importance of Being Earnest.”Then, do some research on that work.Look for articles in which other writers or critics discuss some aspect of the play that you have chosen. Then, write an essay based on that idea, integrating the material from the outside source with your own ideas about the topic. Be sure to tie your discussion directly to the text, using quotes to support your argument.To give your essay a focus and clear structure, write a good thesis statement…..a sentence that focuses on a specific aspect of the play. Do not choose some generalized assessment such as “Sophocleswas a great playwright.” Instead, you might say “Sophocles’plays confronted controversial issues in society, such as the conflict between moral law andhuman law.” Your paper, with support from a critical outside sourceto back up what you say, could then show how this idea is revealedin “Antigone.” An example of some ideas on which you might find critical articles are the following:(you are NOT limited to these topics; let your ideas and your research be your guide!)“Antigone”1)Civil disobedience: non-violent dissent2)Moral law vs human law3)Women fighting unjust rule4)Antigone’s fatal tragic flaw5)Antigone as a fighter for human rights“The Importance of Being Earnest”1)Morality and respectability in Victorian society2)The nature of marriage: duty or pleasure?3)Secret lives in a repressive society4) The satirical treatment of ‘earnest’ topics (religion, death, illness, etc.)5) The idea that “In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vitalthing.”Choose your secondary source from Literary Reference Center, a Gale online resource, EbscoHost, or another of the NWACC library’s database resources,a book from the library,or an electronic book from the library’s ebook resources. Use no open web sites for your sources (Sorry….Schmoopis NOT a literary database!).Now is the time to learn to use scholarly databases, which are more reliable and actually easier and faster to use. Email me if you have questions about using the NWACC database, although you might also have great success chatting directly with a librarian on the NWACC Library home page.A major goal of this paper is to properly integrate the ideas of an outside source with your own ideas, without plagiarizing.
