<p>I understand that research and publishing are important to grad school admissions, but I’m not even sure what kind of research would be involved in the field of Literature. Are we talking about short (2000-5000 words) literary analyses, or a 100 page thesis on the sociology of life in Oceania in <em>1984</em>?</p>
<p>If any of you are graduate students in English, would you please provide examples of some of your work? A title and really brief explanation would be great.</p>
<p>Depending on what type of lit you’re studying (British, American, American Contemp., Greek, Chinese, Eastern, etc.), sometimes short stories and even novels can count as research.</p>
<p>Let’s say you’re studying British Lit, Victorian Era. Writing a novel about Edgar Allen Poe (an example), with all facts in place and a clear underlining of his work could count as a published paper.</p>
<p>I stress could, because not all universities work like that, and it really depends on your major. My major, Ancient Meditterian Religion, would obviously not work.</p>
<p>Where do students publish their work? In college newspapers? Scholarly journals? The internet? Is there some universal test to determine the value or validity of a paper?</p>
<p>I guess what I really want to know is how I should go about building a (and I’m not sure if this is the proper word) portfolio.</p>