there's research, and then there's research
As I mentioned on the main Graphic Fiction Project page, part of your research involves you familiarizing yourself with some general information on the history of Graphic Fiction, and, more specifically, on how specific sensitive subjects, or real-world issues, or conditions (physical challenges, psychological conditions, etc.) are treated in graphic fiction..
Ideally, some of this early general research will give you some ideas about approaches you can take with your comic/story. For example, if you find a series of interesting articles or sectoins in books on graphic fiction that discuss changing perceptions of multiple personality disorder in comics, that might give you an idea about making Dr. Eleven in the Station Eleven comic also a sufferer from multiple personality disorder. It could largely shape what he does in your story, and it allows you to discuss your comic (as though it were already published) alongside other existing works such as The Incredible Hulk, Crazy Jane in Doom Patrol, and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight series.
This works both ways beacause as your research is giving you lots of possible ideas for your comic book; you are also narrowing your focus and should eventually arrive at what area you will write about in your actual Research Paper.
so what's the research paper about?
The research paper will be due prior to the Final Project (due date is on the Class Schedule). It is absolutely required and is worth up to 100 points.
If you did not read the lecture on How (and Why) to do a Research Paper very carefully, please do so now.
Reminder: if you did not yet get your Graphic Fiction Project Proposal APPROVED, then you need to do that now. I will not read or grade your Research Paper until both of those have been checked off. And late papers are penalized 10%.
Your main Research Paper will be on a focused/narrow topic discussing __________ in graphic fiction. Filling in the blank involves settling on a specific idea, situation, condition, issue, hot-button topic that will be a feature of your Dr. Eleven story as well.
Here are a couple of specific examples:
Shifting images of psychological disorder in a handful of key comics. You might pick half a dozen key comics (including your issue of the Station Eleven comic) that show a transition from such disorders always being associated with stereotypical villain characters (early appearances of the Joker, for example) to a more progressive look at understanding psychological problems in books such as Daryl Cunningham's Psychiatric Tales.
You could explore politics and justice in graphic fiction (if your comic has that as its core conflict) in works such as Persepolis, V for Vendetta, and a whole lot of X-Men books.
Fortunately, you actually selected a narrow focus for your research paper, when you turned in your Proposal, and as long as it was APPROVED, it should work fine :)
The paper must be in current (8th edition) MLA format and will be about four-to-eight pages (with an additional page being he Works Cited page).
Papers that are less than four FULL pages will not be accepted
papers that are less than five FULL pages are trying for a "C"
five FULL pages or more are required for your paper to be considered for a higher grade
You should have at least five sources, but you will probably have more, and at least one source must be a book. Remember, also, that one of the sources will be your issue of the comic book Station Eleven (so you will make up a mock Works Cited entry for that as well).
You are required to have direct quotations from all of those sources, and those direct quotations must be followed by parenthetical citations. Overall, about 1/3 of your paper should be documented quotations from the sources.
If appropriate, do include pictures if possible, but remember that pictures do not count as pages of text.
You will e-mail the Research Paper as an attached Word (.doc, .docx, .pdf or .rtf) file.
you are not alone
Be sure (before you submit a proposal) that you look at the Graphic Fiction Resaerch Paper on Etudes (in the Resources > Essays > Station Eleven section.