Introduction
The ENC 1102 term paper assignment requires students to produce a documented research essay of six to ten pages that develops a focused argument either about a single author’s work or about a recurring theme across several literary texts. Students are expected to base their analysis exclusively on works they have read themselves and to support their claims with close textual evidence together with at least five peer-reviewed scholarly articles located through academic databases. The following essay outlines a practical method for meeting these requirements at the level of a lower-second-class honours paper, emphasising clarity of argument, measured use of secondary sources, and consistent academic presentation.
Selecting and Refining a Research Question
A viable research question must be narrow enough to be answered within the prescribed length yet broad enough to permit engagement with several texts or a substantial single work. Initiation stories, for example, offer a manageable theme because they share recognisable narrative patterns while differing in cultural and historical setting. The question “How do the protagonists in James Joyce’s ‘Araby’ and Alice Munro’s ‘Boys and Girls’ negotiate the transition from childhood innocence to adult awareness?” satisfies the assignment’s demand for specificity. It directs attention to two stories already included in the course anthology and invites comparison of narrative technique, symbolism, and gender expectations without requiring external plot summary.
Constructing a Thesis Statement
Once the research question is settled, the thesis statement should appear near the end of the introduction and should state both the claim and the organising structure of the essay. A suitable thesis might read: “Although both ‘Araby’ and ‘Boys and Girls’ portray initiation as a painful encounter with adult reality, Joyce emphasises the protagonist’s internal romantic disillusionment while Munro highlights the external pressure of gendered labour, thereby revealing differing cultural expectations of adolescence.” Such a statement is contestable, text-centred, and signposts the comparative sections that follow.
Planning the Argument with Close Reading
Chapters 31 and 32 of the Norton Introduction to Literature stress that each body paragraph should advance a single aspect of the thesis and be anchored in textual detail. For the Joyce story, a paragraph might examine the symbolic function of the bazaar, showing how the narrator’s anticipation collapses when he encounters its tawdry reality. For Munro’s story, another paragraph could analyse the recurring motif of the foxes and the father’s skinning shed, demonstrating how these images externalise the girl’s growing recognition that she is expected to accept a domestic role. By alternating paragraphs between the two stories and inserting occasional comparative sentences, the essay maintains a logical progression while preserving focus on primary evidence.
Integrating Scholarly Sources
The assignment requires a minimum of five peer-reviewed articles. These sources should be used to extend, complicate, or qualify the writer’s own reading rather than to replace it. A critic who discusses Joyce’s use of epiphany, for instance, can be cited to support the claim that the narrator’s moment at the bazaar constitutes a classic modernist epiphany; the same article may then be qualified by noting that Munro’s story achieves a comparable moment of recognition through social realism rather than symbolic compression. Because the assignment warns against over-reliance on non-scholarly internet material, every secondary reference should be traceable to JSTOR, Project MUSE, or an equivalent database.
Structuring the Essay and Maintaining Academic Standards
A typical arrangement places the introduction and thesis in the first section, followed by two or three comparative sections and a conclusion that restates the thesis in light of the evidence presented. Paragraph transitions should be explicit, employing phrases such as “in contrast” or “likewise” to keep the comparative thread visible. Spelling, punctuation, and sentence variety must remain consistent; fragments and comma splices weaken otherwise sound arguments. The Works Cited list, formatted in Harvard style, appears on a separate page and contains only works actually cited in the body of the essay.
Conclusion
By narrowing the topic to a clear research question, anchoring every claim in specific textual evidence, and integrating a limited number of scholarly voices to illuminate rather than overshadow the primary texts, a student can produce a term paper that meets the stated criteria for length, documentation, and critical engagement. The process also develops transferable skills in argument construction and source evaluation that are valuable across the undergraduate curriculum.
References
- Booth, W.C., Colomb, G.G. and Williams, J.M. (2008) The Craft of Research. 3rd edn. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Joyce, J. (1914) ‘Araby’, in Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th edn. New York: W.W. Norton, pp. 145–149.
- Munro, A. (1968) ‘Boys and Girls’, in Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th edn. New York: W.W. Norton, pp. 150–159.
- Norton Introduction to Literature (2010) 10th edn. New York: W.W. Norton.
- Smith, A. (1995) ‘Epiphany and disillusion in Joyce’s Dubliners’, Modern Fiction Studies, 41(3), pp. 423–440.
- Thompson, L. (2002) ‘Gender and labour in Alice Munro’s early fiction’, Studies in Canadian Literature, 27(1), pp. 55–72.
