Research-based analytical essay on “Hamlet” Basics
Essay #3 Research-based analytical essay on “Hamlet” Basics: • 1200 words minimum (4-5 pages), not counting the Works Cited • a paper that presents a thesis (remember to put your thesis statement in bold) and argues for it with evidence from the play and from secondary sources Sources: • primary source: the play Hamlet (which begins on page 878 in textbook) • secondary sources: at least three are required, of which at least one MUST be an article from an online HCC database. • other sources used can be print sources: books, scholarly journals, or the essays found in our textbook • NOTE: You are NOT allowed to use general Internet sources: i.e., Wikipedia, Sparknotes, or sites found through an open Internet search. However, if you already are using at least one online HCC database article, and you think you have found something that is a legitimate, scholarly source on the Internet, I may let you count it as one of the three, but you will have to send me a link to it and get permission from me before counting it as one of your required three sources. • No credit is given for sources not clearly used and documented in the paper; that is, unless you have an actual quotation from the source followed by a citation, you cannot count the source as a source. Documentation: • You will need to use the MLA documentation format for your citations • You will need to include a Works Cited page in MLA format • Note: only sources which you have actually used in a direct way–that is, quoted from and cited in your paper– are eligible to be counted as sources, and included on the Works Cited page. You may NOT list things you have read for background, or to get ideas, but not actually quoted/cited in your paper. Use of quotations: • You will need to use quotations from your sources, both primary and secondary; probably 10-15 quotes would be appropriate for a paper of this length • The quotes should be introduced, and followed up in a manner that smoothly integrates your own ideas with the ideas from the secondary sources, as well as using evidence from the play itself (i.e., I should see some quotes from the play in your paper, too) • I have given you more explanation on how to use quotations in the document, “How to use quotations in a research paper” under topic 10