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Posted

My older dd is going to write a paper in literature and has been working on a thesis. What do you think of this one:

 

 

 

The legend of King Arthur and how it influenced the Tudor dynasty and the role the legend played in Renaissance life.

 

 

 

(She's revising this..)

She wrote this herself as we were trying to decide from what angle she wanted to write. She's trying to be careful with the idea that the Arthurian legends are just that...legends....but she doesn't want to disprove them....she wants to show how many really believed the legends (or believed because it suited their purposes) and that possibilities of truth lie within them. I don't think this makes sense. I'm trying to repeat the general idea I was getting from her. She does know a little more about this than me.

This is definitely an area where I feel inadequate as a teacher. This is assigned by me, so any guidelines for length, requirements in structure, etc. that I should consider would be very welcome advice. :)

Posted

The topic is fascinating, but seems rather large. I could see a 12-15 page paper on this as you have described it here. Is that what you had in mind? Also, with the general idea that you have in your OP, I would expect to see lots of historical quotes--is that what she intends? Does she have historical sources? Finally, the thesis as you have written it is a sentence fragment. She should write it as a full sentence, including the ideas that you elucidate in your OP. (Sometimes I find it easier to write the entire opening paragraph to see how the thesis flows.)

Posted

Well, it's not a thesis, but it is a research topic. She needs to research the subject matter, then decide how much (if any) the legends played a role in Renaissance life. After she has done her research, then she can take a position and write her thesis from the position. Her research would then prove her thesis, using specific examples. If she hasn't done research yet, then writing a thesis is premature.

 

She might find the information in this handout from UNC helpful.

 

It sounds like a very interesting subject to research.

 

As far as requirements for length, I think that the length is dependent upon the subject matter of the paper. I shy away from saying "five page" or "three paragraphs." It should be long enough for her to prove her thesis. Content wise, the information included needs to support her thesis and address any anticipated objections to her thesis. There should be no extraneous information included. You need to decide if you're going to require her to use MLA formatting or simply include a "works cited' list at the end, then grade that aspect of the paper accordingly as well.

Posted

This is so very helpful!! Thank you!

 

Yes, you're both right...this is not the finished thesis but just the topic for further research. I agree, she does need to research this further in order to develop this better.

 

I would like her to narrow this down. Writing a 15 page paper would be too much for her right now. I would like her to write less and do it well. I'm thinking 4-6 pages at the most. Does that sound about right?

 

 

She's having problems expressing her ideas and I'm having trouble helping her with this. Does that make sense? She has a very definite idea of what she wants to say, but, as usual, she's having trouble narrowing this idea.

 

Originally, I asked her to write a paper which ties in her reading of Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves. Spenser includes Arthur in this work and refers to Queen Elizabeth's "supposed" tie to him in her family tree as well. It is this angle from which she is working.

 

 

She believes that the Tudors used their "supposed" descent from Arthur as one form of propaganda.

 

Any book recommendations or resource suggestions would be appreciated!

 

Thank you for the link. I've saved it to favorites.

Posted

If you are shooting for a 4 - 5 page paper, I would suggest in the end, she'll need to focus on one or two works not all of Tudor literature. And if she uses one big work (Spenser) she'll have to further focus inside it.

Posted

This is so very helpful!! Thank you!

 

Yes, you're both right...this is not the finished thesis but just the topic for further research. I agree, she does need to research this further in order to develop this better.

 

I would like her to narrow this down. Writing a 15 page paper would be too much for her right now. I would like her to write less and do it well. I'm thinking 4-6 pages at the most. Does that sound about right?

 

 

She's having problems expressing her ideas and I'm having trouble helping her with this. Does that make sense? She has a very definite idea of what she wants to say, but, as usual, she's having trouble narrowing this idea.

 

Originally, I asked her to write a paper which ties in her reading of Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves. Spenser includes Arthur in this work and refers to Queen Elizabeth's "supposed" tie to him in her family tree as well. It is this angle from which she is working.

 

 

She believes that the Tudors used their "supposed" descent from Arthur as one form of propoganda.

 

Any book recommendations or resource suggestions would be appreciated!

 

Thank you for the link. I've saved it to favorites.

 

This is her thesis if I understand you correctly.

 

The Tudors used their "supposed" descent from the legendary King Arthur as a form of propaganda to promote points one, two, and three.

 

Discuss the details of the "supposed" descent, the shape of the propaganda and to what ends that propaganda was used and/or how effective it was. It could still be a rather large paper.

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