I am writing a 4-6 Research Paper for college English 2... I selected "Hills Like White Elephants" by Hemingway. so i am writing about Hemingway and the story but right i have only got about him down and its only a page and a half. i am so stuck its not funny i know i will get about a page out of symbolism from the story. not sure how to tigh it all together and not sound spaced out and random. plus i don't really have a thesis yet written. plz help me.. here is my paper thus far:
Hills like White Elephants and Hemingway
One of the great writers of all times is Ernest Hemingway. He is best known for stories such as "Old Man and the Sea" and "Farewell to Arms". Hemingway traveled the world and it greatly influenced his writings and life. Tragedy was one of Hemingway's biggest influences. His life full of adventure would guide him to write such works as "Hills like White Elephants".
Ernest Hemingway was born July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois to Dr. Clarence and Grace Hall Hemingway. Hemingway was named after his Grandfather Ernest Hall. He was second born of six children; he had four sisters and one brother. "Grace Hall Hemingway, Ernest mother, was an Accomplished Singer and later piano teacher (film, 1996)". As a child, Hemingway spent his summer in Michigan by Lake Walloon at Windmere, the family lake house. During the summers there his father would teach him to fish and hunt, while is mother would teach him of music and piano. Adventures out at the lake are what inspired Some of Hemingway stories such as "Indian Camp" (1925), "Ten Indians" (1927), "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife" (1924), "The End of Something" (1925), "The Three-Day Blow" (1925), and "Fathers and Sons" (1933), all featuring Nick Adams, a recurrent Hemingway autobiographical protagonist (Unrue, pg. 306-309).
Hemingway first shows his love for writing when he wrote for his high school paper, the Tabula. In high school he also found a love for boxing. He also played football and track field but was never successful at either. "Hemingway graduated in the spring of 1917 and instead of going to college the following fall like his parents expected, he took a job as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star; the job was arranged for by his Uncle Tyler who was a close friend of the chief editorial writer of the paper (Wilson, Web)."
p.s: it has to be in MLA formate and i am not sure if i am doing it right or not. and here is what the instructions are for my paper:
Research Paper Instructions
Audience and purpose: Your readers include adult, college-educated readers who have general knowledge about the topic. You may choose
a. Analyze one work (short story, poem, or play from our textbook) fully, or compare similar themes in different genres (play and short story or poem and play).
b. Analyze one work (short story, poem, or play) using one or more critical strategies. See Appendix for the critical approaches. Remember to use the literary terms appropriately.
c. Write an informative paper related to a career goal or an educational major. The topic should be narrowed down from either. If at all possible, include an example from the anthology. For example, if you are interested in becoming a medical professional skilled in treating depression, you could cite Gillman's "The Yellow Wallpaper."
Length and format: Your final draft will have 4-6 double-spaced pages in 10 or 12 point font (Times, Verdana, etc.) A Works Cited page lists the primary and secondary sources; this page can be the seventh page of the final document. Parenthetical documentation of primary and secondary sources follows MLA format. By the due date, you will turn in the final draft = 25% of the semester average.
Invention Process
ˇ Discussion Forums provide you with prewriting activities.
ˇ Visit the LSCS libraries with the intent of locating the very best resources for your paper. In order to get a variety of sources as well as a balanced look at your topic, it is a good idea to explore several avenues. If you cannot find adequate resources in a particular type of source, go on to a different type. Five different secondary sources are required for this paper. When you find the source, be sure you record all pertinent information about it. Most of the sources used in your final research paper must be available at the Lone Star College System libraries. I should be able to find the source of a quotation and find it in the source if you have been a careful scholar.
One of the greatest writers of all time is Ernest Hemingway.
Hemingway traveled the world and it greatly influenced his writings and life. Tragedy was one of Hemingway's biggest influences. (right here, is an opportunity to elaborate, with some tragic stories, or sections of a particular book; maybe some tragic sources of inspiration that you know of, etc) His life full of adventure...(here again, when you make a statement like this, which is a new subject from the "tragedy topic", you want to provide some feedback to support this sentence. Describe sme of his life's adventures....) would guide him to write such works as "Hills like White Elephants".
It looks good so far. As I said, just be sure not to jump from fact to fact. To have a well rounded, easy to follow, enjoyable and entertaining read, you must be able to judge when it is time to elaborate on a given statement, and which ones are better left alone(i.e, the ones that close a paragraph, usually) This helps the information flow more smoothly...it also takes up pages for those long assignments. :)
Good job so far and good luck!
