Read the Canterbury Tales, paying special attention to the Prologue
The third exercise in this course will be a three-page research paper based on reading Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Use either the abridged edition for sale in the bookstore or you can find the Prologue here: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/ct-prolog-para.html
What should the content be?
- Read the Canterbury Tales, paying special attention to the Prologue. You need to look for some sort of physical object in the book that you might find intriguing or puzzling. This object could be anything such as clothing, weapons, hats, modes of transportation, locations, job descriptions, landmarks, animals, eating utensils, books, musical instruments, and so forth. It should be something a character in the book would touch, smell, hear, taste, or see. If you need help in finding an object, please ask me.
- Find two articles about this object. You may look online, but one of the articles must be from the research databases available through the NVCC library system https://learn.vccs.edu/bbcswebdav/library
- After finding and reading the articles, write a paper that addresses the object and characterizes the two articles. I recommend the following format:
Paragraph 1: (Introduction) Identify the object and how it fits in the book.
Paragraph 2: Describe the first article and where you found it. Does it give helpful information on the object? Report on the characteristics of the article such as who wrote it, if the authors have any affiliations or experience that make them experts on the subject, what sources did the authors use to write the article, and in what sort of publication does the article appear? After looking at these details, determine if this article is peer reviewed and therefore may qualify as a scholarly article or not, and if the information is trustworthy or not.
Paragraph 3: Repeat the above process for the second article
Paragraph 4: (Conclusion) Explain how the articles help you better understand the object and the book. Was one article more helpful than the other, and why do you think that?
Citation: Please use MLA style footnotes for this paper, especially when you use direct quotes or specific paraphrasing from the books or articles.
Sources for more information on how to create citations:
NVCC Loudoun Writing Center: http://www.nvcc.edu/loudoun/english/writingCenter/
How to turn it in: Please follow the manuscript submission style sheet on Blackboard. Submit the paper through Blackboard.
In addition, bring a PAPER COPY to class on November 30, but DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ANYWHERE ON THE PAPER. Instead, submit it with your choice of a four-character personal identification number. You must email your number to me by November 26 so I can later identify your paper. Do not make the number anything that could readily identify you, such as a birthday or phone number. Also, print out TWO COPIES of the REVIEW SCORE SHEET and staple them to the back of your paper.
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