Research paper: Bob Dylan's influences?

Question

I'm writing-retarded; it's not my thing. I have to write a research paper on an American poet. Bob Dylan is one of the most influential American poets of all time, so I chose him. To make it different from everyone else's paper I am writing about his influences. But I don't even know how to start. I know how to cite things and put pages numbers..etc, but I need help on the actually writing part of it. Thanks.

Things that influenced him.

Also, what if your sources are his poems? Is it okay to do that? From some you can tell what influenced him at the time...

Answer 1

Dylan's influences? DRUGS.

Answer 2

When you say influences, do you mean WHO influence HIM or WHOM HE influenced?

Start with checking out some of his biographies from the library. This will at least give you a good knowledge base from which to pull your info. You can post more questions here on Yahoo to poll everyone's favorite Dylan songs and so forth. Be creative. Think outside the box. Listen to Dylan's music, read his lyrics, take a look at WHEN he wrote most of his stuff and what political or social events shaped his words.

As far as writing the paper itself, use the 5 rule. Every good paragraph has at least 5 sentences: one topic sentence, 3 supporting statments, and 1 closing or transition statement. As for format, using MLA standards is always safe. You can check out an MLA Handbook from the Library also, or look it up online.

Good luck! Give yourself plenty of time to think out everything.

Answer 3

Bob Dylan influenced the peace movement with his songs about the destruction of war and his poetic writing. He made people think about things they had never really thought of before. A good example of that is his song "blowing in the wind." It really Made people aware of civil rights and the pointlessness of war. he is a true genius with words.

Answer 4

First off, don't quote wiki for your paper, but often its a great start and jumping off point. Check it out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan

Also, google bob dylan and woody guthrie, bob dylan and jack elliot. These are two main influences (although there's more--you have to talk about his name and where he got it) to start with.