You will write a brief 1000-1250 word (4- to 5-page) research essay for this course, employing outside secondary sources. It is due by 11:59 p.m. on the due date specified in the syllabus.
You must submit your paper as an attachment. Please note that I cannot open files OTHER than doc, docx, or pdf.
Topics
For your research paper, select one of the following topics as a starting point:
What were the chief features of the French and Dutch empires in North America?
How did patterns of class and gender roles change in eighteenth-century North America?
What were the achievements and failures of Thomas Jeffersons presidency?
You will do research on the topic and develop a thesis, which you will prove with the use of secondary sources (you may use primary sources as well). A really good paper will not simply be descriptive; you should pose an analytical question and use your sources to answer it.
You will lose points if you fail to write on one of these topics.
Formatting
All of your papers should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins and in ten- or twelve-point type. Your papers should be carefully composed, well-organized, and proofread. You will lose points for excessive grammar and spelling errors.
You must include endnotes or footnotes and a bibliography, both in the Chicago style. I realize that many of you are not familiar with this citation style. However, it is standard in history and I require that you use ityou will lose points from your essay if you do not. You should also refer to the Chicago Manual of Styles online guide, which you can find at:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
And you can type Chicago Style Footnotes and/or Chicago Style Bibliography into YouTube and find a variety of videos explaining the mechanics of Chicago footnotes. I like:
Chicago Style Citation Formats: Chicago Citations for Footnotes & Endnotes (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
Chicago Style Citation Formats: Chicago Citations for Footnotes & EndnotesIt is just one of manylook around and find the one that helps you the most.
Sources
You must use at least THREE reputable, peer-reviewed outside sources that are not assigned as part of the class reading. To learn about peer-reviewed sources, look at:
http://library.sdsu.edu/reference/research/peer-reviewed-articles (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
You should use books from the library, or articles from scholarly journals, both of which you can access through the librarys article databases. To access those databases, go to:
https://www.deltacollege.edu/academics/library/library-catalog/electronic-databases (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
There are a number of types of sources I do not want to see. You MAY NOT USE module material, the textbook, any general encyclopedias (online or otherwise), or non-academic websites.
You will lose points if you do not use enough sources or you use improper sources.
Stylistic Tips
Do not include the phrase, “According to the dictionary, x is”
Do not use the first person (I, me, etc.) or the second person (you). This is a formal essay. If you need to use a pronoun, it should be the indefinite one.
Do not refer to any historical person, male or female, by his or her first name.
Do not use contractions.
Do not use lengthy quotesthese are brief papers.
