Homework answers / question archive / Essay 5, The Research Paper INSTRUCTIONS In Margaret Edson’s play Wit, Edson examines the treatment that Vivian Bearing, a patient with stage four ovarian cancer, receives from her doctors and from her nurse

Essay 5, The Research Paper INSTRUCTIONS In Margaret Edson’s play Wit, Edson examines the treatment that Vivian Bearing, a patient with stage four ovarian cancer, receives from her doctors and from her nurse

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Essay 5, The Research Paper INSTRUCTIONS

In Margaret Edson’s play Wit, Edson examines the treatment that Vivian Bearing, a patient with stage four ovarian cancer, receives from her doctors and from her nurse.  The play exposes the callousness and high-handedness of Drs. Kelekian and Posner, who coerce Vivian into a brutal course of chemotherapy that holds no hope of curing her illness. They refuse to moderate the course despite her struggle with its terrible side effects, and they seem largely unsympathetic to her suffering, both physical and emotional. If it weren’t for Vivian’s nurse, Susie Monahan, whose attention to Vivian’s needs makes her last months bearable, Vivian would be alone and at the mercy of the cold hospital machine. But Susie’s efforts to advocate for Vivian go only so far—the doctors do not moderate Vivian’s treatment, despite Susie’s pleas, and Dr. Kelekian ignores Susie’s request for a patient controlled morphine drip as Vivian is dying. Instead, he orders a large dose of morphine that effectively sends Vivian to her “rest” within twelve hours of administration. In other areas, however, Susie has more success—providing company and emotional support, attending to Vivian’s physical needs, communicating Vivian’s needs to her doctors, helping Vivian decide her code status should her heart fail, and defending that status when the hospital initiates resuscitation.

Consider this question for your research paper:  Can effective nursing compensate for deficits in doctor care?

(For the purposes of this paper, we will discuss only nurses,like Susie Monahan,  not nurse practitioners or physician assistants, who have further training and more power than a nurse with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing.)

Your thesis should offer a clear position, stand, or opinion that will be proven with research.   You should analyze and prove your thesis using examples and quotes from a variety of sources.

You need to research and cite from at least five sources. You must use at least three different types of sources.

?             At least one source must be from an ECC library database.

?             At least one source must be a book, anthology, or textbook. Wit itself counts as a book.

?             At least one source must be from a credible website, appropriate for academic use.

?             The paper should not over-rely on one main source for most of the information. Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.

This paper will be approximately 5-6 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  This means at least five full pages of text.  The Works Cited page does NOT count towards length requirement.

You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.

You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.

You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Your paper must be logically organized and focused.

We will break down the research paper into segments, with three small benchmark assignments due over the next few days before the final draft of the paper is due on Thursday, June 29th, the last day of the semester. This will give me an opportunity to look at your work in progress and to help and advise you along the way. If you complete all the benchmark assignments by their due dates, I will add a half grade to your research paper grade. So if you earn a B+ on the research paper, you will receive an A-.

These three Research Paper Benchmarks will be your Works Cited page, your thesis paragraph and outline of the paper with quotes added, and, finally, your first body paragraph.