Bow Valley College Modern Illness Essay

Research Essay
RESEARCH ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS:
After submitting your AB & EO (March 17), you can move on to the third and final stage of the assignment,
which is drafting your Research Essay.
• Formatting: Your essay should be formatted in 12pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced. Your
writing should be in full sentences with paragraphs to distinguish between distinct topics/ideas.
• Citations: Citations must be formatted according to MLA standards. You must include in-text citations,
as well as an entry in your Works Cited list, for any sources you reference (paraphrase and direct quote).
o You may find this guide useful: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/
mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
ESSAY PROMPT:
Select one (1) text from the list of Eligible Primary Texts below and write a short essay (3-5 pages) advancing a
thesis about how the text addresses/explores the limitations and/or consequences of Western biomedicine’s
“pursuit of the biological mechanism of disease” (Kleinman 9) and, in turn, “cure.”
Please Note: In your essay, you must make reference to either Kleinman’s Illness Narratives or Brody’s Stories
of Sickness, as well as find 1-2 Scholarly Secondary Sources of your own, which you will use in support of
your analysis.
Eligible Primary Texts (Select One):
• Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
• Eli Clare, Brilliant Imperfection (if you choose this text, you are welcome to consider additional
chapters to those already assigned for class)
• Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
__________________________________________________________________________________________