Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: Research Essay in MLA Format
Write a research essay that develops an argument on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. You must have a total of 4 sources used in your essay (one source is the play as produced in your textbook). (That means you are citing quotes and using ideas from 4 sources within your essay and using MLA format correctly.) Your essay must be an argument, using research to support your thesis. Make sure you use quotes from the play in addition to criticism and/or biography you research.
Use the play and your sources to develop an interpretation of Henrik Ibsen and “A Doll’s House.” Look up biographical information on Ibsen (and perhaps on how the play was received when it first was performed). Do you interpret the play differently today? Look up several academic interpretations of the play and agree or disagree with these critiques. Don’t use Wikepedia or student notes like Spark Notes–they are not college level sources! (Use BCC search engines on library website: “Literature Source.”) You may use the sources I posted: They are from the Library Search Engines.
Write 4-5.5 pages of text. Use 4 sources, including the play in your textbook (That’s 3 outside sources plus the play.) Use BCC search engines to find your sources.
Use MLA 8 format, quotes from each source, and clearly state your thesis in the first paragraph.
Do not plagiarize! Introduce each source clearly and completely, citing page numbers and the author’s name. Include a Works Cited page.
Discuss alternate viewpoints–yet explain how your view is best. You might, for example, disagree with a criticism claiming Nora is impulsive in her decision to leave her children, but rather agree that she is honest and true to herself in making this final decision. You might say that the play is more about selfhood than feminism (or prove the reverse).
See MLA format in your textbook, Appendix B, p. 1407-21, pp. 311-13 (notes, drafting, plagiarism), and sample essays in MLA format, pp.585-6, pp.698-700.