Literature, Class 11: Period 3, Thursday, November 20

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Miss Elizabeth Bennet was waiting in the library when her students filed in. She had also left a note on her classroom door this morning, reminding her students of the change in location, should any have forgotten. She would kindly overlook any who were running late.

"Welcome," Eliza said. "This is, as you know, the school library. Many of you are no doubt familiar with it, and for others, it is very possible that this is your first visit. If I accomplish nothing else in this class, at least I may know that each of you have now set foot in it." There was a very playful smile to accompany this. "So then: why are we here? Several reasons, I confess."

"The first is that it seemed odd to spend an entire semester discussing books, and reading books together, without once traveling here, to where so many books are kept. Very neatly ordered, by numbers and in rows, and free for the borrowing. Libraries are quite marvelous that way. Should you ever find yourself seeking new reading material, I highly recommend coming here. There is something to be said for owning a book, to be sure, but one's funds do not always allow for purchase, and there is nothing saying one can't buy a book once one has read it and found it to be a treasure.

"The second reason is that I felt it was time for us to discuss papers. It occurred to me that many of you may not be familiar with how to write basic research papers. Today's class will teach you how. I'm afraid this does mean that I shall be requesting one from you, for our next class.

"One starts by selecting a topic. In more properly academic settings, the topic may be selected for you, or somewhat narrowed down. As we are learning the process, the end result is less important. Therefore, you may choose any topic you like. If you have difficulty selecting a topic, I would be more than happy to assist you in that matter.

"Once one has one's topic, one searches for works which discuss that topic. Useful here is the card catalog," Miss Bennet explained. "One may search it by keyword, author name, or title. There is a physical card catalog in this library, as well as computer terminals which may search for you. If one's search is unsuccessful, try again with a different term; perhaps 'clam' should have been 'mollusk.' If one finds too many results, perhaps narrow your terms. On the terminal, one may search for additional words. 'Clam' could be accompanied by 'cuisine,' if one seeks recipes, or 'habitat' if one wants to know where it is that clams live. The catalog or terminal then tells one where to find the useful materials, and one wanders the stacks to procure them.

"Another useful starting point would be the reference materials. An encyclopedia entry may give one a sufficient overview of the subject, with ideas of further avenues to explore. Encyclopedias list all subjects in alphabetical order, and are issued in volumes; typically each letter is its own book, though more detailed encyclopedias may require multiple volumes just to cover A."

"The information one finds should be jotted on note cards, with precise detail as to where that particular fact was found. Once one has suficient information, one may begin." Miss Bennet then walked her students through the very basics of creating an outline, using that outline to structure one's paper, forming an introduction and a conclusion, and how to properly cite the works one used.

"I do not expect any of you to complete the paper during our time together," she reassured her pupils. "It is to be returned at our next class, which is in two weeks' time, as next week is an American holiday. As we have a class missing, I'm afraid I have another assignment, though it is much smaller and less rigorous, by far.

"Now we reach our third reason for being here, which is somewhat related to our first. You are surrounded by many works of fiction: some classics in their field, some only popular for a time, some unsung gems to which world at large never paid much attention. A wealth of words surrounds you. Choose one title and check it out from the library. It may be any you like; poetry collections, plays, detective novels, historical romances, satire, anything at all. Read it, or at least, read some of it. If you fight your way through just the first chapter, I shall consider that a success. Next class, you will tell me which book, and whether you enjoyed it or not."

"Please do remember that I have office hours on Tuesday, and I shall be here the entire period, should you need any assistance whatsoever. For now," she smiled. "You have papers to start."

Comments

Sign In (LIT-11)

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Writing. Or headdesking about the fact that you have to write a paper.

Re: Sign In (LIT-11)

[not-that-gentle.livejournal.com]

Susan Pevensie

During the Lecture (LIT-11)

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Take notes, ask questions, discuss amongst yourselves if you may do so subtly.

Re: During the Lecture (LIT-11)

[sarcasm-guy.livejournal.com]

Sokka took notes. He'd gotten pretty good at taking notes. He wasn't sure he was going to like this whole "research paper" thing, though.

Re: During the Lecture (LIT-11)

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

Liir looked like death warmed over (not that much, perhaps flash fried?) but he was there.

Re: During the Lecture (LIT-11)

[carsexual]

Sam was kind of amazed by the actual card catalog. People still used those? Really?

Then he heard the part about the paper. Uh-oh.

Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Miss Bennet has a number (http://www.aacc.edu/library/ResearchTopics.cfm) of (http://www.archives.gov/research/topics.html) handouts (http://www.questia.com/library/literature/literature-topics.jsp) on each table (http://www.questia.com/library/history/history-topics.jsp), with a few suggestions, should any be required.

If none of these suit your fancy, raise your hand and ask, and she (and possibly your classmates) will be happy to help you find one.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[raspberryturk]

Reno stared at the handouts blankly for a while.

He was going to bomb this. He was going to bomb this. He was so going to bo-

"Hey. Alternative energy."

This was going to be a breeze. Uh. Provided he could master grammar in the next two weeks.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[spiritandsword]

When Annja saw the list of history topics that she could choose from, she was excited.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[wanna-be-lucas.livejournal.com]

Literature was the natural topic of choice for Lucas and he perused the handout to figure out just which author he should focus on.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[pyroliz.livejournal.com]

Liz had a look over the handouts but when she saw photography listed she knew that was the topic that she was going to do.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

Something about music. Or art. Or maybe combining music and art.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[gameknowsgame.livejournal.com]

Blair looked through the online catalogue and tried to find a topic that would also work well as part of her application to Yale.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[withoutverona]

Romeo read carefully through the handouts. He was tempted by the literature suggestions, but chose to look at the French revolution instead.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[first-guardian.livejournal.com]

Ichigo poked at the lists, not immediately seeing something that jumped out at him.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[death-of-hope.livejournal.com]

Anemone read over the handouts carefully, repeating the topics quietly to herself. War photography might be fun, although she wasn't sure if interviewing Stoner would count as a literary citation.

"'Oceanic Exploration,'" she echoed slowly, scratching Gulliver on the head. "Hey Gulliver, if I do that, does it also count as genealogy research?" she joked. "Coralians were aquatic, originally."

Gulliver just burbled and nosed at the page.

"Yeah, okay. Oceanic exploration it is."

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[noboynextdoor.livejournal.com]

Jess was a little worried at first about writing a report. Then he looked at the handouts, and realized he could write about one of his favorite authors, and he felt a lot better.

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[sarcasm-guy.livejournal.com]

Sokka poked at the lists. "Watergate," he decided. "That sounds appropriately... Water-y."

Re: Choosing a Topic (LIT-11)

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

Liir had a little trouble focusing, but he considered whether she'd let him do something on mythology.

Researching Your Paper (LIT-11)

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Use the card catalog, or the terminals. Seek out the reference materials. Investigate, explore, burn through those note cards Miss Bennet supplied. Converse with your classmates, if you like.

Re: Researching Your Paper (LIT-11)

[wanna-be-lucas.livejournal.com]

Lucas was bent over a card catalog, looking for references. He had no trouble working with this sort of project.

Select a Work for Next Class (LIT-11)

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Choose which book you are going to read. Browse the aisles looking for one which strikes your fancy. Ask for recommendations, from Miss Bennet or one another.

Re: Select a Work for Next Class (LIT-11)

[wanna-be-lucas.livejournal.com]

Lucas decided to branch out and looked for something in the science fiction genre for his required check-out.

Talk to Sam Winchester (LIT-11)

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

He's the library worker for today, and he can help with research-related matters. Please wait for him to ping in.

(My thanks to the mun for letting me throw him into class.)

Re: Talk to Sam Winchester (LIT-11)

[likethegun]

To say that Sam was excited about seeing so many people in the library at once when there wasn't a disaster going on would be an understatement. He was perched at the front desk, if anyone had any questions or issues.

Talk to the TAs (LIT-11)

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

If you would be so kind as to wait for them to ping in, as well.

Re: Talk to the TAs (LIT-11)

[wanna-be-lucas.livejournal.com]

Even while he researched, Lucas was available as ever for questions. Unless they were about his deep love for Sam Winchester. That was not an open topic.

Talk to Miss Bennet (LIT-11)

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Should you need her, for anything, or should you like to be quite upset at her for assigning you homework.

OOC (LIT-11)

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Wooo, papers!

Thank you again to psychic_wonder for letting us crash the joint. :)