This requirement is designed to allow the student to explore an individually-chosen topic in detail, and to gain experience with a variety of source materials. Each student will select a topic appropriate to this course and consult at least three sources other than the textbook on that topic; students may use the textbook, but it does not count toward the minimum number of sources. Only one source may be an encyclopedia entry. At least one source should be from the internet. Students should include at the end of the paper a complete bibliographic entry for each source consulted; examples of proper citations are below. Do not use footnotes or endnotes. If space allows, include the bibliography on the same page of the papers final paragraph.
A satisfactory paper will have an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should present the topic and issue of the paper. The issue is a question asked about the topic; see the example below. The body of the paper should present evidence in support of your answer to the issue. Each paragraph in the body of the paper should have a topic sentence that presents the central idea of the paragraph, information and analysis that supports the topic sentence, and a concluding sentence that summarizes the point of the paragraph. Avoid quoting your sources; put what you have learned in your own words. The paper’s conclusion should restate the main points of the essay, especially the answer to the issue.
The paper should be four to five pages in length, exclusive of the bibliography, typed double-spaced in Times New Roman size 12 font, with one-inch margins all around. Do not use a title page. The student’s name, the course title, and the date should be typed, single-spaced, at the upper right of the first page only (but not in a header), and a title for the paper should be centered above the first paragraph. For the bibliography, follow the Chicago Manual of Style. Below are examples of proper citations of an encyclopedia entry, a book, a website, and an article. Websites must include the full url, but should not be formatted as a blue hyperlink.
Sample topic: Labor unions in the twentieth century
Sample issue: What has been the relationship between labor unions and women workers since 1935?
Examples of proper citations of an encyclopedia entry, a book, a website, and an article:
Columbia Encyclopedia, 4th ed., s.v. “cold war.”
French, William E. A Peaceful Working People: Manners, Morals, and Class Formation
in Northern Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996.
“Long Walk to Freedom. The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Part One. A Country
Childhood.” http://archives.obs-us.com/obs/english/books/Mandela/achap02.html
Ortega, Luis. “The First Four Decades of the Chilean Coal Mining Industry, 1840-1879.”
Journal of Latin American Studies, 14:1 (1982), 1-32.
