History 111-602 The World: Antiquity to 1500 CE
Topic Analysis Paper: Phase III – Writing Your Paper
Now that you have decided on a topic and compiled a collection of relevant sources, you are ready to develop your argument and write it out. You began this assignment by honing in on a specific research question that you wanted to explore. Ask yourself now: do the sources you collected directly address your research question? If so, do they agree or disagree over how best to answer that question? If not, you may need to adapt your research topic to fit the sources you have at hand. If you find that you need to alter your focus for this reason, make sure you do so in a way that retains the same degree of specificity as we were looking for in your initial question. The first phase of this assignment also required you to make a prediction about what you expected your sources to reveal. How does your prediction stack up now that you have read numerous books and articles? If you were way off, you will need to adjust your understanding and proceed from there.
The specific structure of each of your papers will vary depending on the topic and the type of argument you choose to advance, but there are several important elements that all of your papers must include. First and most important, you will need to develop a clear and concise thesis that will explain your overall strategy. In other words, you will condense the overarching argument for your entire paper into a single sentence that can stand alone as a description of your work. The thesis should be prominently featured early in your paper and should be followed by another several sentences that further explain how you will attempt to prove your thesis in the pages that follow. When developing your argument, you will also have to demonstrate each of the points you want to make by citing examples and passages from your sources. Sometimes you will use direct quotes from other writers; other times you will find it more useful to paraphrase their ideas. In either case, you will need to explicitly give these authors credit for their work. To cite a source, you will use the Chicago Manual of Style footnote formats from the example sheet I gave you earlier. (You can also find examples of proper footnote citations online at HYPERLINK "http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html" www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html) Finally, you will attach a comprehensive bibliography at the end of your paper. This must be on a separate piece of paper and will not count towards your total of ten pages. You may only list sources that are cited at least once in the body of your paper, and you must use at least six sources. (You may use more if you want.)
Your papers will be ten pages in length, double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides. You must use either Calibri or Times New Roman font, size 12. The first page should be a cover page containing a descriptive title, your name, the date, the course, and my name. (This also does not count towards your ten-page requirement.) Your final drafts should be polished and free of spelling and grammatical errors. If you need help along the way, including reading a rough draft and helping with editing, I will be available to give any assistance I can. This paper will be handed in, printed and stapled, in class on Thursday, November 21, 2013. It is worth 150 points towards your final grade. Late papers will be accepted only up to Tuesday, December 3, and will be subject to significant reductions in points. Good luck, and remember to have fun with this assignment!
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC CLICK HERE
Topic Analysis Paper: Phase III – Writing Your Paper
Now that you have decided on a topic and compiled a collection of relevant sources, you are ready to develop your argument and write it out. You began this assignment by honing in on a specific research question that you wanted to explore. Ask yourself now: do the sources you collected directly address your research question? If so, do they agree or disagree over how best to answer that question? If not, you may need to adapt your research topic to fit the sources you have at hand. If you find that you need to alter your focus for this reason, make sure you do so in a way that retains the same degree of specificity as we were looking for in your initial question. The first phase of this assignment also required you to make a prediction about what you expected your sources to reveal. How does your prediction stack up now that you have read numerous books and articles? If you were way off, you will need to adjust your understanding and proceed from there.
The specific structure of each of your papers will vary depending on the topic and the type of argument you choose to advance, but there are several important elements that all of your papers must include. First and most important, you will need to develop a clear and concise thesis that will explain your overall strategy. In other words, you will condense the overarching argument for your entire paper into a single sentence that can stand alone as a description of your work. The thesis should be prominently featured early in your paper and should be followed by another several sentences that further explain how you will attempt to prove your thesis in the pages that follow. When developing your argument, you will also have to demonstrate each of the points you want to make by citing examples and passages from your sources. Sometimes you will use direct quotes from other writers; other times you will find it more useful to paraphrase their ideas. In either case, you will need to explicitly give these authors credit for their work. To cite a source, you will use the Chicago Manual of Style footnote formats from the example sheet I gave you earlier. (You can also find examples of proper footnote citations online at HYPERLINK "http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html" www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html) Finally, you will attach a comprehensive bibliography at the end of your paper. This must be on a separate piece of paper and will not count towards your total of ten pages. You may only list sources that are cited at least once in the body of your paper, and you must use at least six sources. (You may use more if you want.)
Your papers will be ten pages in length, double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides. You must use either Calibri or Times New Roman font, size 12. The first page should be a cover page containing a descriptive title, your name, the date, the course, and my name. (This also does not count towards your ten-page requirement.) Your final drafts should be polished and free of spelling and grammatical errors. If you need help along the way, including reading a rough draft and helping with editing, I will be available to give any assistance I can. This paper will be handed in, printed and stapled, in class on Thursday, November 21, 2013. It is worth 150 points towards your final grade. Late papers will be accepted only up to Tuesday, December 3, and will be subject to significant reductions in points. Good luck, and remember to have fun with this assignment!
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC CLICK HERE
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