Assignment

Research Paper guidelines

Instructions

For those of you considering the research paper, a couple of items to consider:

1) Paper 2 (and perhaps Paper 1) can build towards your research paper.

2) The final paper is a 10-15 page research paper.

3) Over the course of the semester, those of you on the research paper path should keep these check-points in mind:

Decision Day: By the date of the midterm, let me know if you are planning to write the research paper, via email. The email should include the topic you wish to research, how it relates to your source analysis paper, and any questions you have for me concerning the paper. If I do not here from you by 3/8 about your paper topic, I will assume you are doing the midterm.

Bibliography: Turn in a prospective bibliography for the project with six different sources. This does not have to be a final bibliography. At least two of these must be scholarly/academic books. At least one of these must be a scholarly/academic article. Any internet resources need to be pre-approved by me. Primary sources, for those of you using them, should be clearly identified and listed separately from secondary sources. All bibliographic information should be in Chicago Style. Include a sentence or two of annotation: what is this source, and how are you using it in your paper? Please turn in a paper copy of the bibliography in class on 3/29.

Thesis Statement and Outline: Turn in a brief (1-3 sentence) thesis statement or summary of the argument of your paper. In addition, please include an outline of the rest of the paper. This does not need to be too complex, but it should show how you are thinking about your topic and how you intend to lay out the paper. Hard copy, in class on 4/12

Technical Details:

Final papers should be 10-12 pages, double-spaced, written in a normal (Times New Roman or similar-- no Arial or Lucida, I know the tricks), 12 point font. Normal 1-inch margins all around.

All citations must be in Chicago Style footnotes. Papers should also include a bibliography/works-cited page (which is not part of the 10-12 pages of the paper body).

A simple title page with your name, a title, and the date should be included. This also doesn't count towards the 10-12 pages.