Guidelines
for Successful Completion of the Research Paper
BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
The typical research paper for an
undergraduate class is 8-10 pages long with 8-10 secondary or supporting
sources.
A paper with fewer that 6
academic sources will not be read.
The final text is an essay and
like other essays needs a clear thesis and organization, acceptable Standard
American English, appropriate diction and sentence structure for a
college-level academic audience.
The secondary sources should not
all be of one sort: not all from the internet, not all from dictionaries and
encyclopedias, not all articles, not all books.
The essay must follow the MLA
Guide for documenting research papers.
The secondary sources should be
as up to date and as exhaustive as our library holdings will allow.
SECONDARY SOURCE DESCRIPTION
A secondary source is any source that
supports your study of the primary material or source. The primary material is as follows:
1. If you
are working on a dialect or language, then the primary material is the data set
or corpus of that language.
2. If you
are working on a literary text, the primary material is that text; if you are
working on an author’s works, then the texts of that author, including,
depending on the topic, nonliterary materials.
3. If you
are working on a theory, then the primary texts are usually the published essays
espousing that theory.
RHETORICAL AND THEORETICAL
DESCRIPTION
The secondary sources should be
clearly worked into to fabric of the paper in one or more of the following
ways.
A.As a
source of evidence (e.g. historical information, art, architecture)
B.As a
source of a reading or interpretation
C.As a
source of an informing theory of the subject or related subjects (e.g critical theory, anthropological
theory, linguistic theory)
If you are writing an essay on a
literary text, then your research should bring you up to date regarding the
scholarly opinion of that text. At that
point, you can offer either an counter argument to that opinion or use that
opinion and extend it to other areas not covered in the secondary material.
It is more likely that your research
will not lead you an opinion, but several opinions. In this case, you can argue that one or more of these opinions is
better (more logically presented or has better evidence or is more
theoretically sound) than another one or more of the opinions.
If you are working on a
linguistics project, such as dialect or slang, you may use all manner of
contemporary primary sources for your data collection, but you will still need
a scholarly foundation constructed from solid secondary, academic sources. In this case, you may not have 8-10 academic
sources, you may have five and then five non-academic sources.
Sample Essay:
Dr. Crafton
ENGL 4188
In the General
Prologue to the Canterbury Tales,
Chaucer describes the men and women of the Church in extreme forms; most of
these holy pilgrims, such as the Monk, the Friar, and Pardoner, are caricatures
of objectionable parts of Catholic society.
At a time when the power-hungry Catholic Church used the misery of
peasants in order to obtain wealth, it is no wonder that one of the greatest
writers of the Middle Ages used his works to comment on the religious politics
of the day.
Yet not
all of Chaucer’s religious characters are failures in spirituality. His
description of the Second Nun is of a truly pious woman who spends her life in
the service of others; she claims this service as the very reason she tells her
tale:
And
for to putte us fro swich ydelnesse,
That
cause is of so greet confusioun,
I
have heer doon my feithful bisynesse,
After
the legende, in translacioun
Right
of thy glorious lyf and passioun
Thou
with thy gerland wrought with rose and lilie –
Thee
meene I, mayde and martir, Seint Cecilie.
(22-28)
She is using her time wisely and in the service
of her God, avoiding the easy-to-commit sin of sloth as she journeys on her
horse, and aiding her comrades in the avoidance of this sin. In addition to saving the pilgrimage from
sloth, she enlightens and teaches those around her, much like her beloved Saint
Cecilia.
However, while the character
herself is fascinating and worthy of study alone, most intriguing is the choice
of her tale. What is Chaucer’s purpose
in having the character tell the tale of a saint, the only tale of its kind in
the entire Canterbury Tales? Contrary to his usual expressions of satire
and humor, Chaucer’s version of The Tale of Saint Cecilia is a serious tale
told by a serious character. Chaucer
does not only the tale to show off his writing abilities -- it is not simply a
display of his incredible versatility as an author. Chaucer uses this tale to contrast his anti-church sentiments
within the Canterbury Tales; it shows his great respect for spiritual beliefs and
benefits him in making his argument against the Church. In essence, Chaucer is clearly defending his
anti-secular position by showing his reverence and devotion to spirituality;
his problems lie with the Church, not the faith. While very well known for his
sardonic criticism of the Church, he is less often acknowledged for his
appreciation and respect for the religion itself.
Judith A.
Weise puts forth one of the more shocking theories concerning the Second Nun’s
Tale in her essay Chaucer’s Tell-Tale Lexicon:
Romancing Seinte Cecyle. Weise
argues that Chaucer’s purpose for writing the saint’s tale as a self-imposed
literary penance for the “raptus” of Cecilia Chaumpaigne. She posits:
Chaucer began translating
the lyf in the wake of Cecilia’s release to deflect negative reactions by his
family… Is it just a stunning coincidence that the one saint’s life Chaucer
writes concerns a virgin martyr with the same name? (1)
Why not?
Perhaps Chaucer, like many other writers, uses his writing as some form
of psychological and spiritual cleansing; writing can certainly be a form of
emotional release. But perhaps Chaucer
genuinely enjoys this particular saint’s tale, for it certainly contrasts his
other religious characters and shows the rewards of living a virtuous
life. While Weise puts forth an
interesting argument, she completely misses the true message of the tale. Her argument seems more biased and less
rational, using inconclusive historical notes and “statistics” to guess at
coincidences.
By simply
looking at the big picture of the tale, it becomes clear that Chaucer chose it
for the love of the tale itself, and not for some kind of self-sacrificing
punishment. Most scholars agree that
the Second Nun’s Tale was finished in the latter part of Chaucer’s life, a time
when people typically begin to reflect and look for more meaning, more
substance to their lives and faiths.
The great author could very well have wanted nothing more than to grow
closer to his god and show his devotion and respect; perhaps he simply wanted
to let god know that he did not necessarily view all clergy in the same light
as the grotesque Summoner.
Weise also pointedly states
that “the one and only time Chaucer writes a saint’s life, he chooses one about
a celibate martyr with erotic associations, St. Cecilia” (1). These allegedly erotic associations come
from forms of art and iconography of St. Cecilia in “works of art dating to
Chaucer’s day” (1). Yet nothing in
Chaucer’s tale comes through as erotic – in fact, it stresses continuously the
celibacy of not only St. Cecilia, but also of her followers that commit to
Christianity. For example, after
Valerian returns from his Baptism, Cecilia’s angel gives him a wreath of
flowers, saying:
“With body
clene, and with unspotted thought,
Kepe ay wel these corones,” quod he,
“Fro Paradys to yow I have hem broght,
Ne nevere mo ne shal they roten bee,
Ne lese hir soote savour, trusteth me,
Ne nevere wight shal seen
hem with his eye
But he be chaast and hate
vileynye.” (225-231)
In order to be good Christians, they must not only
worship the savior, but they must also remain “chaast.” How does this possibly come across as
writing influenced by erotic artwork of the time? In attempting to use statistics to greater understand the tale,
Weise has clearly missed the messages of faith, love, and marriage to god
within the Tale of Saint Cecilia.
An even
larger argument stems from the idea that the Second Nun’s Tale does not show
evidence of Chaucer’s love of religion. Supposedly the tale displays his
contempt for the belief; critics cite structural problems and religious
conflicts, and complain of the tale being “cold.” In Increase and Multiply in
the Speech Acts of Chaucer’s Nun’s Priest, Second Nun, and Canon’s Yeoman,
Fredrick Martin accuses Chaucer of creating a negative message concerning
Christianity. Near the beginning of the
tale, Cecilia, speaking to Valerian, claims to have a guardian angel who will
“sle yow with the dede” should he touch her “in any way unclean” (155-157).
Martin believes this passage to be in conflict with the Christian
doctrine, stating:
In one way it seems to be a
direct, even insidious contradiction of Christian belief to posit the existence
of an angel who will kill “with the dede” anyone who violates Cecile’s chastity
and, in the process, commits a deadly sin.
To accept the Second Nun’s version of things is the same as denying
every sinful person an opportunity to repent and seek absolution for committing
a deadly sin. In that context, to place
a single person’s virginity above the gift of God’s grace and mercy seems to be
as much a denial of Christian truth as it is an affirmation of it. (1)
While Martin’s point of view is understandable, he
too has missed the deeper messages within tale. Christianity’s God has often been feared for his more
“irrational” temperament; the nature that would drown the world in a terrible
flood is the same disposition that would send an angel to protect the virginity
of one tiny, seemingly insignificant person.
Yet it must be pointed out that Valerian, at this point, is still a
pagan, and therefore not able to receive the grace or forgiveness of God; the
wrath of God against non-Christians has been stated very clearly by the Church
(the Crusades, the Witch-Hunters), and so it should be no surprise that
Valerian would be subject to the wrath of this entity if he harmed the
protected Cecilia.
Sherry L.
Reames also points out problematic areas within the text, saying that “Chaucer
leaves out every achievement of the men themselves (Valerian and Tiburce),
mentioning only the miracles Christ works – not even through them any longer,
but for them” (54). She also points out the problems with
Chaucer’s more concise version of the tale, arguing that “events just seem to
happen” (53). There are, however, those
who do not view the legend as deficient in detail; Eileen Jankowski addresses
the argument best by stating:
Thus unlike many of the
Canterbury Tales that tease out various themes and motifs, the Second Nun’s
Tale offers a saint’s life stripped to essentials. Old men and angels appear to deliver their messages, then vanish
when their task is done; conversions follow swiftly upon one another without
exploration of the process involved; and even the trial scene, the “high point”
of the narrative, moves so swiftly that logical gaps in argumentation
occur. Chaucer, by choosing this
particular saint’s life that stresses the urgency of immediate “assent,”
momentarily shifts the Canterbury Tales into an apocalyptic narrative mode
where marvels and wonders increase, ordinary human experience takes on new
meaning, and plodding, digressive earthly time is replaced by a vision of a
heaven that “is swift and round and eek brennynge.” (131)
Ms. Jankowski is right by all accounts: Chaucer’s
short version of the tale serves to accentuate the religious tones and places
its gaze on the awe-inspiring Saint Cecilia instead of the more common
followers. While her followers and
converts are important, they mainly assist in revealing the miracle of her
teachings. The title reads: The Tale of Saint Cecilia -- not “The Tale of
Valerian and Tiburce.” Brother Anthony
of Taize, in his article Chaucer and
Religion, also points out that the tale is meant to be less “literary
perfection” and more “literary tribute.”
He admits that problems do occur within the flow of the tale, but we, as
readers, should be getting more than mere literary structure out of the tale:
The life and the message
here are one, in a story where the literary technique is significantly weak…
This tale demonstrates a key notion: the only way a text can tell the truth is
by shunning the self-conscious search for the aesthetic effects, humbly
reproducing as closely as possible the original Auctor, because the aim of
telling is to bring hearers to salvation.
(1)
Chaucer chooses to tell this tale in this style to
display his adoration and veneration for both the saint’s life and the
faith. He does not put much stylistic
finesse into the tale (although that, perhaps, does display his finesse) because to do so would be akin to
adorning the Virgin Mary with lipstick.
The Tale does not need to be embellished; both the message and intent
exhibit pure, simple beauty.
Some
critics have also pointed out that the tale is “cold,” void of the emotion that
would have made Chaucer’s version seem more “religiously correct.” Actually, the text is highly emotional and
an excellent display of the huge range of human emotions. The Second Nun gives a very emotional
monologue concerning her admiration of the Saint:
And
right so as thise philosophres write
That
hevene is swift and round and eek brennynge,
Right
so was faire Cecilie the whie
Ful
swife and bisy evere in good werkynge,
And
round and hool in good perseverynge,
And
brennynge evere in charite ful brighte,
Now
have I yow declared what she highte.
(113-119)
This certainly does not have the tone of a
stale, uncaring character; the Second Nun’s awe echoes that of Chaucer – if not
his thoughts, then why write them at all?
He could have just as easily made her prologue cold and unfeeling, which
would in turn display irony and give the entire tale the same overtones as the
other satirical religious tales – yet he does not. The Second Nun and her tale are neither ironic nor unfeeling.
In fact,
there are several sections in the tale where the characters are very clearly
experiencing strong emotions – from love, to awe, to doubt and even fear. When Valerian first hears of Cecilia’s
angel, his mixed response consists of both fear and suspicion:
Valerian,
corrected as God wolde,
Answerde
agayn, “If I shal trusten thee,
Lat
me that aungel se, and hym biholde,
And
if that it a verray aungel bee,
Thanne
wol I doon as thou hast prayed me;
And
if thou love another man, forsothe
Right
with this swerd thanne wol I sle yow bothe. (162-168)
Obviously worried that his new wife may already be
cheating on him, he has already begun to foster jealousy; however, he may also
be a little afraid of the truth: that her angel is actually real, which would
in turn threaten his entire belief system.
In any case, the emotions he feels at this time are written very
plainly, showing him to be a very emotional character within the story. After his Baptism, given the option of being
granted any wish, Valerian only requests for his beloved brother, Tiburce, to
also become enlightened:
“I
have a brother,” quod Valerian tho,
“That
in this world I love no man so.
I
pray yow that my brother may han grace,
To
knowe the trouth, as I do in this place.”
(235-238)
His love is so great that, although the angel will
bestow upon Valerian any desire as a reward for his newfound belief, his only
thoughts are of his brother, whom he loves more than any other “in this world”
(236).
Also
given highly emotional characteristics, Cecilia greets Tiburce with eager
affection, obviously thrilled that he has become enlightened. Chaucer writes:
“And she gan kisse his brest, that herde this, / And was ful glad he koude
trouth espye. / “This day I take thee for myn alle…” (290-292). These are not the words of a heartless
automaton – these are the words of someone who sincerely feels affection for
another human being. The imagery of
Cecilia being so friendly and familiar with Tiburce shows the Saint in a
delightfully comfortable and comforting moment, and serves to make her even
more distinctive because of her genuine human sentiments.
Other critics agree;
in response to the accusations of the tale being unfeeling and insensitive to
religion, Jankowski again stands by the messages within the tale:
Pearsall flatly states there
is “little or no human feeling in the Second Nun’s Tale, and no sense of pain
or fear.” Yet Pope Urban, Maximus, and
Almachius’ ministers weep, Tiburce expresses great fear of being burned with
Urban, Cecilia welcomes Tiburce into the fold with a kiss, and at the end she
lives in torment for three days before dying. (143)
In short, Chaucer’s version of the tale is anything but heartless. The characters are people
who experience genuine emotions, reacting appropriately and understandably to
various circumstances and environments.
The
Second Nun’s Tale is obviously a display of Chaucer’s respect and awe for the
spiritual; it also serves to seal his political statement against the Catholic
Church. In The Unhidden Piety of Chaucer’s “Seint Cecilie,” Joseph Grossi
explains:
More than a
mere artifact, the purified religious devotion shown by Pope Urban, Cecilie,
and her converts is meant to remind readers of papal Rome’s true spiritual
mission beneath the layers of secular acculturation that had obscured it all
but totally in Chaucer’s own day. If
this interpretation be granted, then the “conventional form of sentimental
piety” that Aers detects in the tale may have been intended to make late
medieval readers ponder not only transcendence but also the papacy’s signal
failure to practice it. (299)
The spirituality displayed by the characters in the
tale is purposefully used to remind the reader of what “true faith practiced
well” looks like; Chaucer has already spent considerable time reminding the
reader of the deep corruption within the Church. Bernard Huppé writes of the Second Nun’s Tale:
In itself it is a
beautifully told tale, full of Chaucer’s highest melody. It illuminates the symbolism of St. Cecelia,
who was wife, virgin, and martyr, and thus illustrates the perfection of the
apostolic life with its combination of active and contemplative perfections.
(230)
Within the tale is lovingly written a message of
hope, an example that just because everyone else seems to be acting purely for
selfish or evil purposes, there are still a few shining angels of virtue who
refuse to allow the corruption to seep into every corner and crack.
Chaucer does not write any
of the tales to undermine Catholicism or spirituality, but he does make a
political statement disagreeing with the governing within the Church. With far too much control, it freely gave
power to people who were using it in exceedingly incongruous ways; there seemed
to be no end to the corruption or to the foul people they would bestow this
authority upon. While Chaucer displays
many offensive religious characters, this one saintly soul and her tale gives
the reader enough reason to interpret the Canterbury
Tales in a completely different light.
Chaucer is an extremely proficient writer, able to not only give
staggering social commentary but also unafraid to show his true religious
convictions. The religious figures
described in the tales are extremely flawed people, albeit for different
reasons, but they clearly display his discrepancies with a Church gone
mad. The Second Nun is his shining
light, revealing a deep love for his religious convictions, and a great respect
for those who practice their faith well; Chaucer, while very much against the
Catholic Church as a secular entity,
remains entirely supportive of spirituality. The pious Second Nun and her Tale of Saint
Cecilia represent Chaucer’s true religious beliefs and his reverence of true
belief.
Grossi, Jr., Joseph L. "The Unhidden Piety of Chaucer's
'Seint Cecilie'." The Chaucer Review 36.3 (2002): 298-309.
Huppé, Bernard F. A Reading of the Canterbury
Tales. Baltimore:
Garamond/Pridemark P, 1964.
Jankowski, Eileen
S. "Chaucer's Second Nun's Tale and the Apocalyptic
Imagination." The
Chaucer Review 36.2 (2001): 128-148.
Martin, Fredrick. Increase
and Multipy in the Speech Acts of Chaucer's Nun's Priest, Second Nun, and
Canon's Yeoman. 30 Mar. 2002
<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/9976/chaucer8.html>.
Reames, Sherry L. "The
Cecilia Legend as Chaucer Inherited It and Retold It: The Disappearance of an
Augustinian Ideal." Speculum 55.1 (1980): 38-57.
Taise, Brother Anthony of. Chaucer
and Religion. Ewha University, Seoul. 30 Mar. 2002
<http://www.sogang.ac.kr/~anthony/Religion.htm>.
Weise, Judith A. "Chaucer's Tell-Tale Lexicon: Romancing Seinte Cecyle." Style 31.3 (1997): 440-479.