RESEARCH

GUIDE

For

INCA & AZTEC

NAME:______

DATE:______

PERIOD:_____

DBQANALYSIS: How were the Inca and Aztec

civilizations both similar and different?

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DBQ Analysis: A COMPARATIVE STUDY: How were the Inca and Aztec civilizations both similar and different?

GOAL: The goal of your research is a COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS of the Inca and Aztec civilizations - focused around the central thesis question: How were the civilizations of the Inca and Aztec similar and different?

DBQ ESSAY: You will be writing a document based essay that supports the

Thesis (i.e., Similarities & differences between the Inca and Aztec civilizations)

(more about the essay to come)

STEPS in the RESEARCH PROCESS

  1. You are REQUIRED to research the Agriculture of the Incas and Aztecs.
  1. You will also need to choose 2 additionalTopics from the list that follows in which to focus your research:

These topics will be the basis for your comparative essay . Remember, the Topic

of Agriculture is a required topic – so you will have 3 areas in all to research

♦ Agriculture (this topic is required)
Choose two additional topics to research from the list
♦ Religious beliefs
♦ War/Warfare
♦ Technological achievements
♦ Daily Life/ Customs
♦ Art/Architecture
♦ Education
  1. Once you have your topics selected - you will start your research.
  1. You will need to find 2 sources ( secondary sources or primary sources) for each of the three topics, and you must use at least ONE primary source document for any of the 3 topics. REMEMBER – you are looking for similarities & differences between the Incas and Aztecs – so the sources you select should reveal similarities and/or differences. A few Primary Sources are attached at the end of this Guide

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Selecting Sources that support your Thesis

  1. Skim / Read through the information FIRST – without copying anything. This way you’ll be able to judge whether or not the information is useful and understandable to you. You’ll also be starting to understand your topic better. You’ll be able to narrow

the exact sources you think are the best for helping you with your investigation, and

NOT use sources which aren’t helpful or that you don’t understand !

NOTETAKING

NOTETAKING: Taking NOTES is an important step in researching (investigating a topic). It begins with you (the investigator) trying to find sources that support the Thesis of your research (i.e., Similarities and Differences between the Inca & Aztec). Secondary sources could come from - books, pamphlets, magazines, and web-site articles. Secondary sources can also be information you acquire from videos, discussions with your teachers and parents, or from guest speakers. Remember, secondary sources differ from primary sources, because they represent information put together after the time of the actual event or time period.

  1. After you have selected at least 2 sources for each of the 3 topics – of your research - REREAD the information from your sources and begin to jot down facts & details (or quotes) that support your thesis. (similarities / differences between the Inca and Aztec). This is the NOTETAKING part of your research.
  1. NOTES – are NOT copies of pages from books and magazines or

web-site printouts . NOTES are your thoughts and ideas about

the information you’ve read. NOTES can be in outline format or

in “bullet” format. Again, your teacher will NOT accept as

NOTES – copies of pages with highlighted information. A

Lay-out of how your NOTES must be set up is on the

next page of this guide. (Also, A sample outline is provided at

the end of the guide)

  1. CITING SOURCES - Once you have selected either a Primary or Secondary source that you will be citing in your essay - (Remember to record the Title of the source). In your essay – you will need to cite sources, so don’t forget to record the title – since in most cases this is what your Document will be called…

Sources such as textbook chapters have titles which you can use.

EXAMPLES: (Doc. “The Aztecs”) ( Doc. “The Incas” )

Website articles almost always have titles that you could use

Example ~ (Doc. “Aztec Life”)

NOTE: You may NOT use video notes as sources, but the background information you obtained from the videos seen in class will be helpful in writing your essay

♦ If you’re stuck as to what to call your Document – ask your teacher for help

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REQUIRED RESEARCH ITEMS

 DBQ ESSAY You will be required to write a 5 paragraph essay about your group. The essay will be structured and you will be required to follow the GUIDELINES of a writing prompt & rubric (to be forthcoming) 20 points (Due Date______)

 NOTES (Due with essay ______) 15 points

______

WEBSITES: A complete list of suggested WEBSITES for this project can be found at

or you can go to the “Westland Home Page/Media Center/Projects

06-07/Inca & Aztec Study”

The following documents will be helpful in conducting your Research. These documents will be available as individual handouts from your teacher…

  1. Notetaking Guide Document (page 4 & 5) of this guide
  1. A list of all the subscription services with the usernames and passwords that are needed to get into the services at school and at home. ( can be found on the Westland website (Media section) (passwords for the on-line resources are in Edline (under “News”)

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NOTETAKING GUIDE

You will need 4 pages of Notes to help you in writing your essay

Your NOTES should be set up as follows…

Page 1: Background information about

  1. Origins (where they built their empires)
  2. Approximate time periods of empires
  3. The 3 topics about which your research will be focused

Page 2: Notes about the similarities & differences between Inca and

Aztec agriculture

Page 3: Your Choice: Notes about the similarities & differences

between the Inca and Aztec

Page 4: Your Choice: Notes about the similarities & differences

between the Inca and Aztec

NOTE SHEET 1

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

NOTES - Background information on both the Incas and Aztecs – focused on
A. the origin of the groups (location of their empires)
  1. the time periods of their existence.
  2. Also – state the 3 topics about which your research will be focused (remember – Agriculture is a required topic)
This will provide information for your first paragraph
No Sources need to be cited

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NOTE SHEET 2

TOPIC of Your Choice

Similarities Differences

NOTES…
Source 1______
Source 2______ / NOTES………………..

NOTE SHEET 3

TOPIC of Your Choice

Similarities Differences

NOTES…….
Source 1______
Source 2 ______ / NOTES

NOTE SHEET 4 – same as Note sheets 2 and 3 above