RESEARCH COMPONENT
The
research component will consist of 15% of the
overall semester grade.
Students will choose their writing assignments from the choices listed
below. Your choice should be
clearly indicated in the title of the paper. All work must be clearly written and
well thought out. Deductions will
be taken for papers that are unclear, or are improperly written. (This is not an English course, however
it is a college level course and college students should be able to write
properly.) Grammar, spelling and
proper sentence structure should be used.
Proper citations (MLA or parenthetical citations including page numbers)
should be used in these assignments.
A proper bibliography page should be included. Plagiarism is NOT tolerated. Research Components are to be turned in
on the date and time listed in the tentative syllabus. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED!! Research Components may be handed in
BEFORE the due date for those students that wish to do so.
FOR COLLEGE LEVEL PAPERS, GENERAL TEXTBOOKS (LIKE THE ONE YOU HAVE FOR
THIS CLASS), ENCYCLOPEDIAS, DICTIONARIES, AND OTHER
A. Primary Source Analysis: Historical analysis of 3 primary source
documents from American History during the timeframe of this class, concerning
the same topic. These primary
source documents can include but are not limited to: political cartoons, drawings,
engravings, photographs, newspaper articles or broadsides. These documents can come from the
library or an internet source. All
documents must be approved by the instructor and a copy of them must be
included with the paper. The first
part of your analysis should be a general overview of the event your primary
sources cover with specific attention to the significance of this event/topic
in American History. The research
for this section should be based on at least 2 sources (only 1 of which can
be an internet site, and the site must not be the same site as the document
source). The next section of your analysis will be an evaluation of the impact
of these primary source documents on the people of the time. Who are they written/drawn by? What was the intent of the creator? Are they propaganda? If so, who are they geared toward? How are they biased? Why are they important? What themes are represented in these
primary sources? The final section
of your analysis will discuss your impression of these primary sources. What was their impact on you? Are you affected as the creator
intended? Do these items represent
a recurring theme of American history?
B. Research paper on an historical event or
person: Students must use at
least 5 sources (only 2 of which can be internet sources) in their writing
of a research paper on an historical person or event from American History in
the time frame covered by this class.
In writing this research paper, one must have a clear thesis. What are you trying to prove in regard
to your subject? What affect did
it/they have on their time? As in
writing any paper, you must clearly identify your thesis, and have an
introduction, body and conclusion that supports your
thesis.
C. Family History Option: Identify a person from your family tree
and the time frame of this class then research the event. The first part of your paper should be a
general overview of the event your ancestor experienced with specific attention
to the significance of this event in American History. The research for this section should be
based on at least 2 sources (only 1 of which can be an internet site, and the
site). Next, explain the impact
this event had both on history and your family. Give the name of the ancestor and how
you are related to this person.
Describe how you found out about this person. Interview this person or another family
member with information about this person.
This interview must be taped or a
transcript must be typed and turned in with the paper. Explain whether your ancestor
participated in or just lived through the event. If a participant, describe what role
he/she played in this event. If
your ancestor only lived through this event, explain how it would have affected
him/her. Detail their
experience. What did he/she think
of the world at the time this event was taking place? Was he/she on the winning side or the
losing side? Was he/she forced to
move? Did it cause a major
lifestyle change? Was there no
change at all? Did the event
influence how this person lived after the event? The final section of your
analysis should discuss your impression of this ancestor. Would he/she have been someone you would
have liked to have known/served with during the event? Why? How did their experience of this event
affect you? What themes are
represented by their experiences?
Plagiarism is NOT tolerated. Any information the student gets from
other sources should be cited.
Paraphrased information should be cited and directly quoted information
should be cited. Any information
obtained from another source should be cited in your paper using either MLA
method or parenthetical reference.
The instructor should be able to tell where you got your
information. Direct quotes should
only be used 1) if you cannot say the information any better; 2) if the direct
quote’s wording proves you point or 3) for color – if the direct
wording is so vivid it paints a picture.
In all other times, paraphrasing should be done.