Name ____________________________ Date_________ Days _____ Block _____

RESEARCH ESSAY (revised): Connecting Words to ExperiencesThink of your favorite author, musician, or artist. When you read this person’s novels or listen to his/her songs or admire his/her works of art, can you see or hear aspects of his/her personal life in his work? For instance, if you have ever listened to one of Taylor Swift’s albums, it is quite evident she has had her heart broken by some guy at some point in her life. She used personal life experiences to write her song lyrics; her personal life experiences are connected to her songs.

With this said, your assignment is -As part of a five paragraph thesis essay, you must choose one author, musician, or artist and make three connections between his/her life and his/her work(s). You may select three separate works, songs, or pieces of art that makes the same life connection to this person’s life (ex. a broken heart and 3 different songs that are about a broken heart - Suzy Peps writes the songs “ I Gave You My Heart and You Smashed it Up,” “Why Did You Have To Hurt Me So?” and “You Lying, Cheatin’ No Good Nobody” and in each song, Suzy addresses how her man broke her heart), OR you may select one work, song, or piece of art that makes three different connections to this person’s life (ex. one song that includes abandonment, alcoholism, and child abuse - Joe Snap writes the song “My Daddy Was No Good” and in this song, Joe addresses being abandoned by his daddy as a boy, how alcohol was a big part in his childhood household, and how his daddy used to beat him up when he was drunk.)*** BOTTOM LINE - connections must be made between the selected person and his/her work, whether or not the connections come from one work or three separate works. Each paragraph will discuss a different connection/song/novel/artwork.

1. Because this is a research essay, you are required to do research concerning your author, musician, or artist and his/her works, songs, or art creations. You are required to have a minimum of two sources. Websites are acceptable, but you may not use Wikipedia as a source of information.

2. You are required to use one direct quote as your support for each connection made between your researched person and his/her works; the rest of the information must be paraphrased and all must be cited to avoid plagiarism.

3. You will be required to create a Works Cited page and use internal parenthetical documentation (citing within the paper and putting the information in (parentheses) with proper punctuation). It is recommended you use EasyBib.com to create your Works Cited page. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01 etc. Mrs. Burns will be discussing this with you in the library. Pay attention!!!

4. Your research essay must be in proper MLA format (refer to your page set up from your 5 paragraph previous essays OR research MLA online).

5. Refer to your Five Paragraph Thesis handout for specific guidelines to construct your research essay. 5-8-8-8-5 sentences (minimum) is required - TS,PS,SS,SS, PS,SS,SS,CS

6. You are required to attach (staple) the Rubric to the FRONT of your paper. Put your name on the rubric. Points will be deducted if you do not attach your rubric to your essay.

DUE DATE - _____________________________________