Research Paper Guidelines Name ______
Accelerated World History Mr. Wilson
Overview: What is history? How do we know what really happened? Historians and students of history must constantly ask themselves these questions as they read about the past. The goal of this assignment is to watch a movie that focuses on any area of World History from 1400-present in order to learn more about that time period, and write a paper explaining if the movie accurately or inaccurately portrays the events of the movie and historical circumstances.. To do this, we must think like historians assessing everything we read and see with a critical eye.
Steps to Writing a Research Paper
1. Choose a Topic: You will choose any movie dealing with an aspect of World History from 1400-present. Any idea you have must be approved by your teacher and then your parent or guardian must sign a permission slip allowing you to watch the movie. Remember, you want to choose a movie that deals with factual information!
2. Develop a research question that takes a novel position on a historical topic or event. For this assignment, your research question will be:
Ex: “In what ways did the movie, ______accurately or inaccurately portray the historical events of the era.”
3. Research background information on your topic and research question. You must find an assortment of books, databases and websites. Please see me or a librarian if you need help finding sources or have questions about citations. (MINIMUM FIVE SOURCES)
· 1 Book
· 2 Databases
· Your Movie- Make sure this is properly cited!
· Minimum of one free website (No WIKIPEDIA)
4. Annotate your articles to gather information related to your research question. Refer to annotation guide for help. THESE WILL BE SUBMITTED FOR CREDIT! *Do not pick the shortest articles or you will not have enough information to write your paper!
5. Develop a thesis statement that answers your research question in an argumentative and analytical way. This must be a statement that other historians may disagree with. Your thesis statement should act as an outline for the rest of your paper. A general rule of thumb is to focus on three major reasons within your paper to answer the above question.
7. The outline of your paper will mirror the following format: ( min. 6 paragraphs)
A. Introductory Paragraph- Including a grabber, thesis and essay map
B. Background paragraph- Will give an overview of the events of the movie. Set the scene for the rest of paper
C. Body Paragraphs- Three paragraphs that answer the research question clearly and concisely. Was your movie accurate?
D. Conclusion- Restate thesis and summarize argument. Provide a recommendation as to whether this movie should be watched as a historical narrative on the subject.
Specifications
· Typed (12 point type)/ Times New Roman
· Separate Title Page: Title, name, course, date and teacher name
· Works Cited (MLA Format) list at the end of the paper with all 5 sources.
· At least 2 in-text citations should be included in every body paragraph
· Double Spaced
· 1 inch margins on all sides
· 3-5 pages
o Minimum 3 pages. There will be a 15 point penalty for less than full pages. To be safe, make sure your paper goes onto at least the 4th page.
o Maximum 5 pages. Anything more than 5 pages will not be read.
WARNING: DO NOT PLAY GAMES WITH THE SPECIFICATIONS
Schedule and Due Dates
1. Movie Approval and Parent Permission Form Thursday, Nov. 19th
-Library Day #1
2. Library Day #2 Tuesday, Nov. 24th
- Have watched movie once by this day
- By end of class have 2 solid sources
3. Library Day #3 Wednesday, Dec. 2nd - Have watched the movie and taken Notes
- By end of class have 4 solid sources
4. 5 Annotated Sources Due/MLA Works Cited Thursday, Dec. 3rd
- Library Day #4 – Work on Outline
5. Thesis Paragraph Due/In-Class Work Day (Outline) Thursday, Dec. 10th
6. Library Day # 5 Friday, Dec. 11th
- Work on Outline, In-Text Citation
7. Outline Due Wednesday, Dec. 16th
8. In-Class Work Day (Rough Draft), Library Day #6 Tuesday, Dec. 22nd
9. In-Class Work Day (Rough Draft), Library Day #7 Wednesday, Dec. 23rd
10. Peer Edit Day-Rough Draft Due Tuesday, Jan. 5th
11. Final Draft and Turnitin.com submission* Friday, Jan. 8th
*Automatic 10% per day reduction for every day the final draft is late.
World History Research Paper Movie List
Europe
Chariots of Fire
Hooligans
All Quiet on the Western Front
Gallipoli
Paths of Glory
The Pianist
Triumph of the Will
The White Rose
The Wannsee Conference
Schindler’s List
Battle of Britain
Judgment at Nuremburg
Life is Beautiful
Churchill
Marie Antoinette
Amadeus
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Elizabeth
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Restoration
Barry Lyndon
The Madness of King George
Valkyrie
Enemy at the Gates
Luther
Danton
Amazing Grace
Reds
Michael Collins
The King’s Speech
Master and Commander
Imitation Game
East Asia Middle East
The Last Samuari Kite Runner
Anna and the King – Thailand Munich
The King and I – Thailand Persepolis
Memoirs of a Geisha Lawrence of Arabia
Seven Years in Tibet
The Last Emperor
Iron and Silk
Snow flower and the Secret Fan
South Asia Africa
Gandhi Blood Diamond
A Passage to India Amistad
Hotel Rwanda
Amazing Grace
Breaker Morant
Invictus
South America
1492: Conquest of Paradise
Evita
The Mission Australia
¡Viva Zapata! Rabbit Proof Fence