THINKING THROUGH HISTORY
Ever thought about chariot racing during the ancient Rome? What about the historical significance of the explosion of Mount Vesuvius? What would it be like to be aboard a pirate ship? It’s amazing what big historical questions can be explored through seemingly insignificant details from the past.
This paper offers an opportunity to let you explore World history and see what you can make of it. It is intended to introduce you to the historian’s craft. In other words, you get to be the historian here. It is worth a major grade due at the beginning of the fifth six-week grading period and is the substitute assignment if you choose NOT to take the AP World History Exam.
One of the toughest things about getting started on a research paper is settling on a time-frame and, within that time-frame, on a topic. The entire range of world history is available to you. When selecting a topic consider the following:
1. Select a topic that is appropriate for a research paper of this magnitude. Topics that are too broad (i.e. World War II) or too narrow (i.e. A day in the life of some Medieval vassal) may not be appropriate subject matter.
2. Select a topic on which you can be reasonably sure that there exists a body of research. If the topic is too new or too old, it may be difficult to find scholarly sources.
3. Most importantly, select a topic about which you are very interested. We cover a huge amount of material during the course of a school year and your favorite subject may receive short shrift. Selecting a topic you really like will make this whole process much more enjoyable.
Read on for specifics. . . .
Objectives:
1. To get you thinking like a historian by giving you the opportunity to craft an original historical argument and support it with primary and secondary sources.
2. To improve your writing and revising skills.
3. To give you the opportunity to explore a question of your choice (within the parameters of the assignment) in modern U. S. history.
Milestones:
Topic Proposal: (10 points overall grade) Due March 24. (If late – 3points each day)
Research OUTLINE (20 points overall grade) Due May 1 (If late – 5 points each day)
Final Paper : (70 points MAX) Due May 16 (-15 points each day late)
Requirements:
Topic Proposal:
This one-page, typed paper will have a description of the topic that you have selected. The topic proposal should incorporate a guiding question and the guiding question should resemble an AP World History essay prompt. For example: “I’m researching anti-German sentiment during World War One” does not get the job done. “In what ways and to what extent did anti-German sentiment manifest itself in the United States during the World War One era?”
The proposal should also include a specific date range for the research. As in the above example, you would need to specify a date range like “1914 to 1920”. This could be easily incorporated into the guiding question. It is very important to incorporate a specific date range to confine your research but not so limiting to prevent any effective research at all (i.e. a single day).
The topic proposal should also include an overview of proposed source material. Refer to the Source Requirements section and provide a description of sources that you intend to use in your research.
Research Outline and Resource List:
The research outline will consist of a rough draft of your introductory paragraph and an outline for your suggested body paragraphs. The introductory paragraph should present your chosen question or topic and include your thesis, the answer to the question.
The outline of the body paragraphs should consist of a draft topic sentence(s) and one or two general statements that will eventually be supported by your research in your full paper.
Example:
I. Anti-German sentiment in the United States reflected the growing political
tensions between Germany and the United States at the beginning of World
War I.
a. Germany’s use of unrestricted submarine warfare created a sense that Germans and German-Americans were untrustworthy.
b. Germany’s political and militaristic belligerence towards her European neighbors created a perception of German antagonism in the United States.
“FINAL” Draft:
The “best” draft is a fully realized paper incorporating your research in full-paragraph form. The “best” draft will have a fully developed introductory paragraph which will do the following:
1. Contextualize your question or topic to establish the issue you wish to examine
2. Clearly present your thesis
3. Provide a “road map” for the paper
4. Catch the readers attention
5. Set the tone for your paper
The body paragraphs will be the bulk of your paper and will defend your thesis. Each body paragraph will begin with a topic sentence that sets out the general line of reasoning for the paragraph. Body paragraphs will typically flow from general to specific statements that ultimately defend and support your thesis. As illustrated by the sample outline, the two sample generalizations will need additional, specific evidence to fully support the argument and defend the thesis.
There will be two kinds of support in your body paragraphs: source evidence or quotations and analysis of that evidence. Source evidence or quotations CANNOT stand alone in defense of your thesis; it MUST be accompanied by analysis of the evidence which is your demonstration of how the evidence defends your thesis.
Use effective transitions to move from one topic to another. This can be achieved in either the last sentence of a paragraph or in the topic sentences of the next.
Remember, a good historian always recognizes that there is more than one side to the story. Concessions, not only in your thesis or in topic sentences but throughout body paragraphs will anticipate counter-arguments and prove your thesis. Even more sophisticated is the concession that accepts the truth of the statement but clearly illustrates how it does not harm your thesis.
Your paper will have a conclusion. The conclusion is one paragraph that briefly reiterates your thesis, pulling all the arguments together. The first sentence is a clear, specific restatement of your thesis. The conclusion should do more than simply restate the argument, but also suggest why the argument is important in the greater scheme of things or suggest avenues for further research or raise even bigger questions.
Your final draft of the research paper should be free of errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Format:
1. Cover Page: The cover page for your FINAL PAPER ONLY will be the rubric. This must be in place and will serve as the grading guideline for the project. All other milestones DO NOT need a cover page.
2. Title: Your paper must have a title. A good title gets the reader’s attention, at least hints at the argument, and clearly frames place and time.
3. No illuminated manuscripts: No need for fancy graphics or a separate title page. Charts and/or graphs as apply to your research are acceptable. Overall, you should focus on the writing!
4. Page Length: 4 - 5 pages. The page count DOES NOT include your cover page (final only) and bibliography.
5. Formatting: double-spaced, typed, 12-point type, Times New Roman font, standard margins (SIMPLY USE THE DEFAULT SETTINGS FOR MS WORD NO MATTER WHAT VERSION YOU USE!). Do not put huge amounts of white space between your title and first paragraph! The rule of thumb is two “enters” between the title and first paragraph.
6. Citing your sources: Throughout your paper a reader should be able to tell where you are getting your information. Do this with endnotes using the standard formatting provided by Microsoft Word. Parenthetical citations are not acceptable. And, remember, it is better to have too many than too few citations.
7. Works Cited page(s): The works cited page(s) will be at the end of the paper. This is IN ADDITION TO your endnotes. Pay close attention to the correct formatting of your sources. Use the resources available to you (our librarians, American Pagent Book, American Spirit, etc) to ensure accuracy.
8. Plagiarism: You will receive a ZERO for plagiarism. You will NOT be able to make this zero up. If you do not understand what plagiarism means, discuss this with Mrs. Skinner.
Internal Citations:
The evidence used to support your thesis in a research paper will come from the various resources that you study. As this is not your own, original thought you must give credit where credit is due. For the purposes of internal citations, you will use endnotes. As you cited or reference a specific piece of evidence (an idea, piece of data, statement or quotation) you must indicate the original source of that evidence.
Microsoft Word has a good endnote tool and the instructions follow:
Insert an endnote
1. In print layout view (Print Layout view: A view of a document or other object as it will appear when you print it. For example, items such as headers, footnotes, columns, and text boxes appear in their actual positions.), click where you want to insert the note reference mark.
2. On the Insert menu, point to Reference, and then click Footnote.
3. Click Endnotes.
4. By default, Word places endnotes at the end of the document.
5. In the Number format box, click the format you want. (OMIT THIS STEP, USE THE DEFAULTS)
6. Click Insert.
7. Word inserts the note number and places the insertion point next to the note number.
8. Type the note text.
9. Scroll to your place in the document and continue typing.
10. As you insert additional endnotes in the document, Word automatically applies the correct number format.
11. When you add, delete, or move notes that are automatically numbered, Word renumbers the endnote reference marks (note reference mark: A number, character, or combination of characters that indicates that additional information is contained in an endnote.).
Source Requirements:
As this is a research paper, you will be required to use a minimum of five (5) resources. Among the resources you must have a minimum of two (2) primary sources and a minimum of one (1) article from a scholarly journal. Additional resources can be primary or secondary, print or electronic. A variety of sources is strongly recommended.
A primary source is a document, speech, or other sort of evidence written, created or otherwise produced during the time under study. Primary sources offer an inside view of a particular event. Examples include: Autobiographies, diaries, e-mail, interviews, letters, minutes, news film footage, official records, photographs, raw research data, speeches. A good place to start with a primary source is to analyze the document using a tool like SOAPS as this will help determine the usefulness of the source. Then use the research techniques discussed to extract the useful information.
Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources. Generally, they are accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. They are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. Secondary sources are not evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence.
Scholarly journals are also called academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed journals. Scholarly journal articles often have an abstract, a descriptive summary of the article contents, before the main text of the article. Scholarly journals always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies. These bibliographies are generally lengthy and cite other scholarly writings. Articles are written by a scholar in the field or by someone who has done research in the field. The affiliations of the authors are listed, usually at the bottom of the first page or at the end of the article--universities, research institutions, think tanks, and the like. The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world. Many scholarly journals, though by no means all, are published by a specific professional organization. Some scholarly journals include:
American Historical Review, Journal of American History, Journal of Southern History, Journal of Negro History, Law and History Review, Signs, Business History Review, Journal of Economic History, Public Policy History, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Journal of American Ethnic History, Journal of Labor History, Radical History Review, Journal of Women’s History, American Indian Quarterly, Law & Social Inquiry, Technology and Culture.
The ECHS library has a substantial collection of scholarly journals and access to PROQUEST and Elibrary.
1
Adapted from
Professor Barbara Welke, University of Minnesota
and Dr. Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College