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English II - Research Assignment: Home

Researching History and Literary Contexts

Regency and Victorian England

Requirements

Annotated Bib Overview: Five Total Sources

In your annotated bibliography, you will need a total of 5 sources, which will include:

  1. At least four sources on your given “topic” or “motif” as it applies to the Victorian Era

  1. At least one literary criticism about Jane Eyre (this can be connected to your topic/motif, or it can be just a more general article). We will search for these TOGETHER once we complete the novel, so WAIT until you are closer to completing the novel before you search for/read through these, as they will require an understanding of the entire novel. I have a day dedicated to helping you locate and understand what these are: be patient!

For each of your sources, you will write:

1.   One paragraph (5-10 sentences) that summarizes your source.

2.   A second paragraph (3-5 sentences) that explains how/why this source is useful to your research and how it develops/clarifies an understanding of Jane Eyre. NO first person.

The purpose of compiling an annotated bibliography during the research process is to help writers remember what they have discovered from each source and whether this information might be relevant to their argument.  Much like a works cited page at the end of an essay, an annotated bibliography lists sources consulted according to MLA guidelines. However, in addition to this information, researchers also include an “annotation” which briefly summarizes the book or article and considers its potential usefulness. For your Pride and Prejudice annotated bibliography, you will be required to not only write a summary, but also include an analytical connection to your thesis as it pertains to Pride and Prejudice, so the annotation will actually be two paragraphs.

Annotated Bibliography Assignment Overview:

  1. You will compose a thesis statement that answers the research question: Based on your reading of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, what is Austen arguing/critiquing/exposing about (your topic) in the Regency period?

  1. You will need a total of 5 sources on your chosen concept.
    1. I would also like to challenge you to include at least one literary criticism piece about Pride and Prejudice as one of your sources. Literary criticism is writing pertaining to the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature, so you would look for articles/essays discussing Austen’s novel, as opposed to historical research about the Regency era. *It is not “required” but is as an opportunity to expand your research if you so choose. 

  1. For each source, you will:
    1. Complete an MLA citation for the source
    2. Write one paragraph (5-7 sentences) that summarizes the source.
    3. Write a second paragraph (4-6 sentences) that explains how/why this source is useful to your research and how it connects to/develops your understanding of the topic and Jane Austen’s critique in Pride and Prejudice, which includes text evidence from the research source and the novel.  NO first person.

General reminders

1. All library resources used for this assignment are on reserve.

2. There will be a reserve cart located near the circulation desk in the library.

3. All students working on the assignment can and should help to build the reserve collection.

4. Items on reserve may be checked out overnight only (checked out at the end of the school day and returned before classes begin the next day).

5. Items may be placed on Hold using AccessIt:

a. Go to the Beatrice M. Haggerty Library Team. 

b. Click on the Library Collections channel.

c. Click on the link in the post or the Ursuline Library Catalog tab.

d. Click on the login prompt in the upper right corner and log in via SSO.

e. Search the catalog for the title you would like to place on Hold.

f. Click on the title.

g. Click on the "Make a Hold/Booking" button located on the right side of the pop-up.

h. You will be alerted via email when the item is available for check out.

Thematic Concepts/Motifs

Class Distinctions/Social Hierarchy Courtship and/or marriage
Patriarchy Manners, social etiquette
Entailments/Primogeniture Accomplishments, Virtues; Ideal Man, Ideal Woman
Religion Communication/letter writing
Parenting (role of the mother; role of the father  

 

Suggested Search Terms

Victorian

England
Jane Eyre courtship
marriage Great Britain
orphans mental illness
role of women religious practices
education

religion
role of men family life
dementia gothic
government governess
faith inheritance laws
Charlotte Bronte gypsy

Jane Austen                 Social classes          Regency England                Georgian England                 Patriarchy

Primogeniture               Inheritance               Religion                                Parenting                              Children

Courtship                      Marriage                   Manners                               Etiquette                               Virtue

Character development                                Education of men                 Education of women             Satire

Communication             Letter writing            Entailments                           Professions                          Clergy

The Church                Introvert/Extrovert