Research Papers must: Focus on one of the following texts: A Small Place; Prisoner of Tehran, or Palestine. The paper must use, in an appropriate fashion, at least 3 secondary sources, two of which are peer-reviewed; Must follow MLA Handbook guidelines; Must be 6 pages in length and double-spaced; Must be handed in before 11pm on April 19th. 
Suggested Topics:It is helpful to remember as we’ve been discussing all semester that non-fiction narratives shape and are shaped by social, cultural, and historical contexts. Writers employ literary techniques to convey and disclose conflicting perspectives and sometimes controversial points- of-view that either uphold or undercut dominant narratives. As students of non-fiction narrative, we have to be alert to not only what is happening in a text, but also to the ways in which the narrative unfolds, how the narrative is told, and the effects it has on readers. Good questions to ask of a text include: What is the text doing? How does the author achieve particular effects or solicit particular emotional responses from readers? What is the author trying to accomplish? How does it try and persuade its readers? Remember, also, how close readings can enhance your writing by identifying information, and by providing analysis and interpretations of that data.
Possible topics for papers:1) Write a paper that provides an argument about how one or more of the following things shape how truth is constructed in the works we have been reading: perspective and voice (tone and diction); audience; purpose and message.
2) Write a paper that provides an argument about how larger cultural narratives (for eg: classed, gendered,orracializedprivilegeandmobility) shape the way non-fiction narratives are told. 
3) Write a paper that makes an argument about how a work relates to the conventions  of a genre (or genres) and/or how it relates to other works in the same genre (memoir, captivity narrative, travel narrative, comics).