Research as Quest

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Research as Quest
Heroes and Villains
By Carol Clarke
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The goal of the Research Quest is to prepare a
formal proposal for a research paper on topics
related to our first semester focus of study
Heroes and Villains.
In this presentation we will look at
Possible research themes
Thesis statements
Linear and holistic outlining
Research Sources
Web evaluation techniques
Bibliography format and
Conclusionary statements
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First you need an idea!
Ideas can arise spontaneously when you see
something that intrigues you or,
when you start doing some exploring of an area of
interest, ideas that tickle your fancy may
develop.
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Ideas for exciting research can be either
Concrete, like
mythology warriors, outcasts war tools of war
World War I Vikings.
Or they can be abstract, like
evil good persecution purity destiny loss of
innocence immortality impossible odds.
I think Ill pick outcasts for my Research
Quest.
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Once you pick a subject, how do you begin?
Start by writing down what you know about your
subject and what you would like to know.
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OutcastsWhat do I know?
For Shakespeare, Richard the III was one.
We all feel like one occasionally.
They are frequent subjects in literature.
Grendal in Beowulf was one.
You can be born an outcast or do something so
that you become one.
Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series was one.
They are self centered. They dont have empathy
for others.
Sometimes, outcasts can do some pretty nasty
things.
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What makes a good thesis statement?
It excites the readers interest. (someone
besides your teacher.)
It provides the reader with your point of view
and the subject of your research.
It lays out the framework for the direction of
your paper. (Without ever saying I am going to
tell you)
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Now, take what you think and turn it into a
thesis statement.
The outcast or other in Beowulf is represented
by the character Grendal and the character Gollum
in Lord of the Rings. Such characters have been
cast off by society and each generates evil owing
to their self centrific needs and desires and are
cast out by their own societies. They are victims
of themselves and evoke a self hatred that they
turn on others.
Not bad, but I can do better! Remember, rewrite
and polish!
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Sample Thesis Statement
We have all experienced the social
marginalization of standing on the outside of a
group or event not a part of the moment, the
uncomfortable witnesses to others pleasure or
companionship. It is a fleeting despair but an
acute sensation. Literature magnifies emotions
or social interactions and Epics aggrandize the
same. The socially marginalized person becomes,
in general literature, the cultural outcast. In
the Epic, such characters are enhanced into
archetype such that the cultural outcast gains
antihero proportions and all the power and threat
that accompany such depiction
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Next, create an outline for your presentation of
information.
There are many types of outline styles. Here are
three
Linear
Holistic
Spatial
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Linear outlines go from the first to the last
point in a straight line.

• Thesis Statement
• First idea
• a. detail support
• b. detail support
• III. Second idea
• a. detail support
• Etc.

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Holistic outlines look at the subject as the
center of many ideas without sequencing them.
Anti-social
Self hatred
Victims
Outcast
Vicious Killer
Cain Curse
Gollum
Without family
Grendal
Nordic Myth
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The Spatial Outline is one in which ideas are put
on moveable objects and manipulated
kinesthetically into the order best suited to the
writer.
Index cards work well for this.
List ideas on cards
Begin grouping cards according to similarity of
intention or concept.
Experiment with different concept development
patterns.
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Knowing what your want to say will help narrow
down the research you wish to do.
There are two kinds of research.
Primary Sources if I want to write about
Grendal, a primary source is the book Beowulf.
Secondary Sources include everything else.
i.e. books newspapers magazines TV film and
the internet.
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Internet researching
Not all web sites are created equally nor even
accurately.
In research, you must become a careful consumer
or information.
The Quality Information Checklist
Information Literacy
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For this project, you will need to compose a
bibliography.
There is specific information you need for a
formal bibliography and it must be recorded in a
specific manner. The following websites will help
you do that.
Easy Bib
Citation Machine
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Last, but never least, the
Conclusion.
This is where you show your stuff. Impress your
reader.
It is the last view he or she has of you before
your intellectually walk out the door.
It is never a simple restatement of the thesis
statement. It should reflect the development of
ideas throughout the search.
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Sample conclusion OutCast
This then is what Tolkiens character Gollum
discovered which Grendal in Beowulf can never
know that our need and cry is to escape from the
socially imposed prison and struggle toward a
goal that is converted into treasure only in the
striving for it. In spite of the blending of
destiny and events that lead up to the
inescapable fate of the literary Outcast, it is
the struggle of that outcast that defines the
possibilities of a culture, even if that which
drives the character into the role of outcast
is beyond choice. Neither Gollum nor Grendal
wished their fate but both, by birth and by
circumstance were lead to that path. Once upon
the path, each carried a self-imposed burden that
generated acts of cruelty and violence. And yet,
since we are all prisoners unto ourselves, have
all created tight systems for our daily existence
and placed bars and confines upon our spirit, we
justly long for an escape. But the Outcast flees
from engagement. Because the quest to be human is
often a thorny and frustrating one that demands
the most of our mortal wisdom, the Outcast
chooses the ease of the self-imposed and
destructive prison.
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Research Papers are like Icebergs.
That which is visible is not the greatest part of
the object.