History 343, Writing Instructions


GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SHORT TERM PAPER

Choose a good, narrow topic.  Use at least ten sources.  At least two sources must be historical articles from academic journals, and at least three of the documents must be primary sources of some kind. 

The topic MUST be narrow enough to do intensive research.  Please just avoid any vague attempt to discuss general "causes."  Find a specific topic and do research on it.  This should not be a historical essay, but a research paper.

You must use a system to write the term paper.  If your paper consists only of summary of three or four main sources in big summary chunks, your paper will receive a low grade.  Integrate your sources by means.

In writing the paper, you must use proper English and complete sentences.   DO NOT USE INTERNAL CITATION SUCH AS MLA STYLE.  All references, if you use any for this assignment, should be in the footnote/endnote style.  Please see the following site for a complete description of footnote style:

http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChicago.html
     
(NOTE ON PLAGIARISM:  Plagiarism is so easy with electronic sources, that I want to make clear my stance on it. If you simply rewrite slightly some source you found on the internet (or in print for that matter), that constitutes plagiarism.  If I discover this, you will receive an F for this course, and I will report the case to the Dean and the appropriate conduct organs.   I may not catch all cases of plagiarism, but I promise to give immediate and full attention to those I do.  Give full credit for an idea, for any information that goes beyond common knowledge, for someone's words, for someone's brainchild, etc.  Otherwise you are being dishonest. )
 
Other Important Issues:
    ALWAYS number your pages.  Don't turn in anything to anybody that looks half-baked.
    In quoting, YOU MUST TAG or attribute your quotations in the text:  don't just rely on the footnote to give that information to the reader.
    You can make your writing strongly immediately by revising out all the verbs in the passive voice and most of the uses of the verb to be. 

For some detailed ideas about what sort of level I am looking at for your writing, please take a look at my
Exam and Term Paper Evaluation Sheet


First part of research project:  Have a conversation with ME about the topic!


Second part of research project: Annotated Bibliography

Gather primary and secondary sources for your Research paper. Compile these sources divided into primary and secondary sources. For each source, write a short annotation telling how that source supports your thesis.

Write an introduction to the paper. This should be between 300 and 350 words. You should introduce the topic, propose an exact title for the final paper, and give some context to the sources to come. So the paper looks like this:

Title page
Introduction
Annotated bibliography

The number of sources needed for this paper depends on your topic. A dozen might be sufficient. But you might require more.  The final paper will not be based on primary sources alone, but your  primary sources should be such as to play a significant role in your paper, in your formation of a thesis, and so forth.

Turn it in via Turnitin.com


Third part of research project: The Research Paper Itself


The paper is to be 3,000 words minimum, as counted by MS Word or other word processing counter.  This is exclusive of the front matter and back matter (title page, bibliography, etc.).

The paper should have title page and bibliography. The bibliography must be works you actually used in the footnotes of your paper.  Please note that the actual form of the bibliography entries is different from footnote references. 

So the paper looks like this: 

Title Page
Text of the paper (with footnotes or endnotes)
Bibliography

Don't Forget to Number Your Pages. The first page of your paper is the first page of text, NOT the title page.

Check your spelling carefully  And you should proofread several times.  Mechanical and writing matters will be factored into the grade, for good and bad. 

Turn it in via Turnitin.com


Fourth part of research project: Revised the paper as my marks on it indicate the need, and as you see fit according your fresh reading. This final version, turned in Turnitin, will count the same as the first go-round, but the quality of your editing will play a role in the grade.