1. Prepare a research paper on a topic relating to the material covered in this course. You must find and use a minimum of three primary sources and you must consult and use a minimum of three secondary sources. The body of your paper must be between 1500 and 2000 words in length. It must be free of spelling and grammatical errors. You are required to use the documentation system set forth in The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010).This website is helpful for the Chicago style http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.
Step 1 is to choose a topic. The topic of your paper should address a topic relating to the material covered in this course. (American history until the end of Reconstruction) The topic must deal with a specific issue, and should prove a specific thesis. Your paper should take an analytic (or critical) approach that asks and answers questions, makes comparisons, and presents and defends a thesis or argument. Rather than just stating the facts, this approach explains and interprets them. Why did events take place, what were their consequences, How did they relate to other developments? Why did the authors you read take differing stands? What is your own interpretation of the issues? You must provide evidence and examples to buttress your analysis and arguments.
Step 2 You must develop a research question. A good research question defines the investigation, sets the boundaries and provides direction for the paper. When you select your topic make sure you consider the following questions:Can the sources be collected in an attempt to answer the question?Will I be able to get it all done within my time constraints?
Step 3 You must also find at least three primary and secondary sources. The textbook cannot be used as a source. Primary or original sources are materials produced by participants in (or at least direct observers of) historical events or movements; i.e., people who were there on the scene. Most common forms are letters, diaries, official reports, memoirs, journals, autobiographies, and eyewitness reports by newspaper reporters.Secondary Sources are historical materials (usually books and articles in periodicals) written by historians who were not participants in or observers of the events or movements about which they write.
Step 4
Your paper needs an introduction, a middle section, and a conclusion. These sections do not need to be set off with individual headings.The introduction lays out your topic, states what your particular thesis or argument will be, and tells your reader how the paper will be structured and what points you will consider. You may also need to provide some background or context in the introduction.
The middle(body)section presents your information and develops your analysis and argument.
The conclusion pulls together the main points, reasserts the thesis, and may relate the topic back to wider historical issues.
You must acknowledge the sources of all your information and any ideas or interpretations you have taken from other works. These references are usually placed into notes. You may use footnotes (at the bottom of the page) or endnotes (at the back of the paper.
You must also provide a bibliography at the end of the paper that lists all works used.
The body of your paper must be between 1500 and 2000 words in length. Word count does not include footnotes and bibliography.
It must be free of spelling and grammatical errors.
After reading the directions my teacher gave me, here is my topic i picked and some primary and secondary sources
The topic I picked was civil war.
Some examples of primary sources i picked were
“Memorable Days: The Emilie Davis Diaries.” Experience the U.S. Civil War in real time. Accessed April 29, 2022. https://davisdiaries.villanova.edu/
“Civil War Photographs.” National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed April 29, 2022. https://www.archives.gov/research/still-pictures/civil-war
“Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints – about This Collection.” Library of Congress, January 1, 1861. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/
Some secondary sources i picked were
Dykstra, Robert. Civil War History. Iowa: State University of Iowa, 1963.
Catton, Bruce, James M. McPherson, Noah Andre Trudeau, and Bruce Catton. The Civil War. New York, NY: Tess Press, 2009.
Confederate States of America. Los Angeles, CA: Dawson’s, 1967.
Heres the rubric as well