For the Literary Lens Paper you ...
START: with a desire to read works of fiction on a theme or author or genre etc.
READ: Works of Fiction, Poetry, Drama, etc. Either on a theme or from a chosen author or creator. Generally 2-4 works depending on how substantial they are and how you are structuring your argument. These are Literary Primary Sources, and they are the main focus of your paper.
RESEARCH: works of Literary Criticism or works of Scholarly Analysis that are about your Primary Sources. These are literary Secondary Sources.
WRITE: a paper that asks and answers a question about your literary Primary Source books, or uses your Primary Source books as evidence to support a claim about literature.
For the Topic Paper you ...
START: with a Topic, tied in some way to the American experience, that you are interested in and want to investigate in an argumentative essay.
READ: at least one book, usually Non-Fiction, that will educate and inform you at the beginning of your research. This book is your Central Text or "Seed" Text. Your paper will not necessarily be about this book, but it will be the starting point for your research and understanding of your topic, and will likely factor into your paper.
RESEARCH: and evaluate additional perspectives and information on your topic through articles, other books, other media, etc. The research is meant to both broaden your understanding of the topic and narrow your focus towards supporting the answer to your essential question. These are Supplemental/Supporting Sources. You will likely have more supplemental sources using the Topic Lens than you would with the Literary Lens, and they will be more essential in
WRITE: a paper that asks a question about an aspect of your topic and then answers that question with a claim (Thesis Statement) that you prove with arguments supported by evidence from your research.