PAPER 1 (in pairs)

Due in class on Friday, Sept 26th

LENGTH: BETWEEN 1000 AND 1200 WORDS (approx. 3.5/4 pages)

(group of 3: 1300-1500 words)
Double spaced, Times New Roman 12.


For this paper, you will work with one (or two) partner(s). You are free to organize your
work as you prefer: you can do the preliminary research together or divide it into
different tasks that each of you will work on separately. You could also both go through
every preliminary stages and put everything in common.

This is the problem that your paper will address:

Are the novels Robinson Crusoe and Friday, or the Other Island representing solitude as
a way of thinking about society?


1. Conceptualize the problem :
- search your concepts in a dictionary (the Oxford English Dictionary is available online
on the librarys website): solitude/society. You can also search for synonyms, antonyms.
Look at their respective etymologies. Copy and paste what is relevant on a word
document (half a page max).
- write a short summary of what is the most relevant in what you have found in
dictionaries/your etymologic research. (4 sentences max)
- draw a concept map : write down your concepts and articulate them visually one with
another. Integrate words/concepts/events from both novels if needs be. You can draw the
concept map and take a picture of it, as it may be complicated to do that on a computer.

2. Read your primary texts again.
Go over your notes, and look again at passages in the novels that may be relevant to the
discussion. In the chart below (I have put an electronic copy on our website), write down
the page numbers of the passages that would bring proof/counterproof to your future
argument (no more than 2 passages for each of the 4 sections). For each page number,
write one sentence/note explaining what the example brings to the discussion.
Careful: one passage could belong to both argument and counterargument !

Robinson Crusoe Friday, or the Other Island
Solitude society (what type of logical
link ?)
-
-


Solitude Society
-
-

Solitude society (what type of logical
link ?)
-
-


Solitude Society
-
-





3. Write the outline of your paper
This is the plan/sections of your paper. Remember: while you may choose to argue for or
against something, you should include possible objections to your argument.
Example of an outline:
I want to prove that The Hunger Games stages a progressive vision of gender. But then I
realize that some aspects of the novel may go against me. The outline could look like
this:

Argument: Although THG works against many reductive gender stereotypes, the novel
also reduces gender to a binary alternative that leaves little room for LGBT characters.

1. THG efficiently questions male and female markers of heterosexuality
a. Katniss= attributes generally associated to masculinity
b. Peeta= attributes generally associated to femininity
c. Gale= classic version of masculinity, secondary character. Main
character=woman.
2. But are binary oppositions sufficient to debunk gender stereotypes?
a. Problem 1: Do the characters Katniss and Peeta question gender stereotypes,
or do they simply invert them?
b. Problem 2: Representations of LGBT characters= caricatural? (ex: Cinna gay
man= feminine/physically vulnerable?)

Note: if I prefer to insist on the contrary argument, I would revise both my phrasing and
the order of my argument: 2 would become 1 (although LGBT characters are rarely
represented in the book) and 1 would become 2 (the novel nonetheless debunks many
gender stereotypes). Chose carefully the order of your argument!

Write your outline using this format:

Argument (2 sentences max):

1.
a.
b.
(c.)

2.
a.
b.
(c.)

4. Write the introduction and conclusion (half a page each max).

In the intro, you will:
- introduce your reader to the aspects of both novels that are relevant to the question that
you will examine.
- question your concepts (if solitude is x, then its link with society is one of z).
- state your argument (1/2 sentences, you can use what you wrote in your outline)
- announce your structure: first I will show that (1) and then I will nuance this by
showing that (2).



In the conclusion you will:
- remind your reader of your argument: while I showed that (1), I also demonstrated that
(2).
- optional: provide a third alternative (ex: In a novel like Divergent, gender is negotiated
differently. It is not presented as a stable but rather as in process: the female hero
acquires strength and masculine qualities, as opposed to Katniss who displays them
from the start. This suggests a version of gender in which the individual has more agency
than in Hunger Games). Caution: your example needs to be relevant in terms of
genre/plot.
- optional: use an example from your novels that sheds light on a different aspect of the
problem (see your antonyms and synonyms, maybe).
- optional: go back to your initial definitions and describe how the novels can change our
take on those concepts

Important: leave a line break after your introduction, between your two parts, and
before your conclusion. Your outlines titles do not appear in the final paper.

5. Write the paper.
For each section of your argument, you need to use examples. Quotes are a good idea (go
back to your chart in order to identify them). Keep them short no more than 1 sentence
and comment on them after you use them.

6. Revise the paper.
- A day or two after having written your first draft, read your paper again and write a title
for each paragraph (it will not appear in your paper: this is just a way for you to check
that each paragraph is homogeneous).
- Check that your two parts are about the same length.
- Check for spelling mistakes. If you find sentences that are more than 3 lines long, write
them again.
- Check that you have left line breaks where they need to be (see above).
- Check that you have between 1000-1200 words (1300-1500 if you are a group of 3).
Write your names and the number of words of your paper.
- Give a title to your paper that someone who has not read the books a. could understand,
and b. would still be interested in.
- Print and staple the paper along with:
- the short summary of definitions and concept map (see 1)
- the chart (see 2)
- the initial outline (see 3). If it has changed, add the titles that you gave on stage
(6).
Staple all these documents at the end of your paper.