Sample Research Essays and Considerations

1. Here is a literary analysis essay that is similar to ours in form.

• This one introduces criticism (secondary sources) in the introduction. Though not a 100% necessity, doing so can help you frame your own research arguments going forward. 

• The danger, of course, is going into too much depth with too many sources. Nonetheless, consider doing this if you have a "thin" introduction.

2. Here is a second paper from that same instructor, one in which the actual subject text being analyzed is not much part of the introduction paragraph.

• This essay assumes the reader knows the play; therefore, the thesis is the only time they mention Shakespeare and the play. 

• In my experience, teachers are 50/50 on whether or not you can assume information--so clarify that with them. I tend to ask you, my students, to outline your subtopics in your introductions, unlike this one. I find writing cautiously with context more effective than "leaving ideas off the page." 

3. Here is a literary analysis research essay of a story. 

• They summarize the beginning and end of the plot because their GRQ and thesis is to analyze with research the cause of the character change. 

• This analysis does not have any source material within the intro, and that can work. Notice, however, that the writer tends to use signal phrases in topic sentences to frame their own answers in context of research sources.

• With a collection of poems, you will want to list a few poems that represent the collection--poems which you explicate in the essay in order to support your research argument! 

4. Here is another example of a research paper in which the integration of secondary sources comes in the body paragraphs, through signal phrases. 

• This writer organizes sources as support for their own claims! Rather than framing the argument using sources, the researcher transitions to sources once they have outlined their own claims. This organizational method (writing behavior) connotes a lot of authority in the researcher.

5. This essay is organized a bit differently than the above, too. This one posits an argument, shifts to an example, and then uses that example in the following paragraphs to answer questions about the GRQ.