Since I knew that Chaucer was a minor English courtier, I found myself intrigued by the subversive, comic depictions of The Wife of Bath, a strong female character. By exposing a vein of repeated red imagery that isn't evident in his other depictions of Canterbury pilgrims, I used detailed close reading to build a case for an interpretation of Chaucer's "Wife" as a story of feminist subversion and liberation.
My research process for this paper involved:
- collecting and categorizing all instances of the colour red (usually "reed" or "rede") that appear in the 24-page Middle English text;
- locating relevant peer-reviewed literature on feminist readings of Chaucer and of medieval illuminated manuscripts; and,
- engaging with contemporary medievalist specialists via Twitter and Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog (by B.L. Bryant, Sonoma State University).
You can read my full research paper here. Completing this project has helped me to develop a thorough understanding of the political nuances that can be embedded in the written word.
This work drew on my critical analysis and writing skill set, and—because of the extensive rounds of edits this paper required—helped me to develop strong organizational, time-management, and editing skills.
If you're including a research paper or other writing-heavy course assignment in your portfolio, begin by describing in detail the context in which you produced this work. Then, you might answer questions such as:
- Why were you interested in this topic? How did you choose it?
- What surprised your about what you learning? Or, how was what you already knew nuanced by this work?
- How did you do the research? How did you assess the credibility of your sources?
- What skills did you learn or practice in doing this work?
- What are you proud of in this paper?
- Why is your work important?
- What if someone doesn't care about the specifics of your topic--what broader, important topics might you tie your specific project to?
- What kinds of conversations does your work participate in?
Unless your paper has been published, you will probably be talking about the impact that this work had on you, rather than the impact of your work on other people. Ensure that you state clearly what you learned and why this learning is important.