Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

Assignment 7: Mini Internet Research Report

 

Almost all major poetry is posted and analyzed at various Internet websites, as I m sure you know. However, the quality of these sites varies widely as to their reliability.

 

Choose one of the 6 poems we have read and discussed for WEEK 5, Sons and Lovers —

 

“My Papa’s Waltz”

“Those Winter Sundays”

“Dover Beach”

“To His Coy Mistress”

“Bitch”

“The Man Under the Bed”

 

Using the evaluation criteria below, choose 2 sites — a reliable site and an unreliable site   to report on.

 

When you choose your  good site  really look at the interpretations closely according to the criteria below. Also look at the “credentials” of the writer. Even a so-called expert in literature may not be very reliable if his/her interpretation is a pronouncement rather than an analysis.

 

Criteria for Evaluation:

 

1. First of all, ask yourself: Just who is this writer? What can you find out about him or her? What is the purpose of the website on which you find the information?

 

To find out about the writer, google him or her. Or work backward on the website: for instance, say you have the address usc.edu/smith/english233/poetry. Eliminate the “english233/poetry” section of the URL: you might find yourself at Professor Smith’s site where you can find out more about her.

 

2. Does the writer supply enough examples to support his or her conclusions? (In fact, what are his/her conclusions?)

 

3. Does the writer acknowledge and refute the most obvious arguments against his or her position? (What are these arguments?)

 

4. Does the writer ignore any information in the text that might call his or her conclusions into question? (What is that information?)

 

You should present this project to me in the form of a report entitled Research Project: and the name and author of the poem.

 

Click HERE for more information on site evaluation. HERE for information on quoting poetry.

 

You should use the following headings in your report:

 

1. Site #1: a reliable interpretation. Name of site and URL.

 

Description of the site, its author, his or her credentials, and how you found out the information about the author.

Summary of what is said about the poem.

Evaluation of the interpretation of the poem considering the criteria listed above. You should quote correctly from the site to illustrate your points.

Note: Be careful to use quotation marks to distinguish your words from the exact words at the site or in the poem.

1. Site #2: an unreliable interpretation: Name of site and URL.

 

Description of the site, its author, his or her credentials, and how you found out the information about the author.

Summary of what is said about the poem.

Evaluation of the interpretation of the poem considering the criteria listed above. You should quote correctly from the site to illustrate your points.

Note: Be careful to use quotation marks to distinguish your words from the exact words at the site or in the poem.

1. Conclusion: How are the two analyses different?

 

Here’s how I’ll grade you:

 

Criteria

Possible points

Your points