David Lauderback Professor of History

The Research Project is required for those students who desire a grade of B or better.  If you do NOT complete the Research Project the highest grade that you can receive is a C.  Additionally, completion of the Research Project does NOT automatically guarantee a grade of B or better.  The final effort will receive a point value that will be factored into the final course grade. The Research Project is comprised of a: Respondent Choice, Topic Page (10 pts), Annotated Bibliography (15 pts), Outline (25 pts), and Final Draft (50 pts). Combined, the Research Project will equal the value of one exam grade (100 pts).

The purpose of the Outline is to give students an opportunity to organize their research in a useful manner and to provide the blueprint for the Final Draft.  The Outline must conform to the Format and Documentation Requirements specified below.  Students must submit an Outline by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule.

• ONLY students who submit an "Acceptable" Outline by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will be permitted to submit a Final Draft.

Submitting an Outline (25 pts)

Students are expected to accomplish five (5) tasks in the Final Draft:

• draw on the Topic Page to state your thesis
• use the Annotated Bibliography set the historical context;
• analyze the primary evidence in three paragraphs;
• compare the information you provide in your analysis of the primary sources with the secondary sources; and
• offer a thoughtful conclusion.

Purpose:  Here students will rely on the Oral History to frame the research paper.  Students will draw on the words of the Respondent to illustrate the important themes that they will explore in the research paper.  Students will conclude the introduction with a dynamic thesis that explains the argument of the paper.

Directions:  Use your Topic Page to frame the introduction.  Clean up and revise your Topic Page as necessary in light of what you have learned conducting primary research.  Be sure that you make three main points in your introduction that you will explore in later evidence paragraphs.  Conclude your paragraph with a dynamic thesis statement where you tell the reader what you think and why.

A. Historical Context

Purpose:  Here students will use the secondary sources from the Annotated Bibliography to place the research in historical context.  Students will focus on the themes stated in the introduction and show how the secondary sources treat the same themes.  The purpose of this paragraph is to give the reader a sense of what was happening and what other historians have said about the topic.

Directions:  Focus on your Topic and explain how the sources from Annotated Bibliography treat the same themes.  You should be able to prune your discussion of the secondary sources in the Annotated Bibliography to write the historical context.

[Outline format]

1. Topic sentence

[Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.']


2. Sentence with quote from secondary source with end note.
3. Sentence with quote from secondary source with end note.
4. Sentence with quote from secondary source with end note.
5. Sentence with quote from secondary source with end note.
6. Sentence with quote from secondary source with end note.
7. Concluding thought

Use at least five (5) quotes from at least four (4) different secondary sources in points 2-6 above.  You may include more quotes and add the number of points you intend to make in your Final Draft.  See the Documentation requirements below for the proper format for citing your sources.

 

B. Evidence -- Pre Case(s)

Purpose: In this paragraph, students will draw on primary sources to examine the themes discussed in the introduction in the period before the case(s) reached the Supreme court.

Directions:  Collect selected quotes from the primary sources that illustrate the key points about the topic made in the introduction and which support the thesis statement.  Organize your evidence as follows:

[Outline format]

1. Topic sentence

[Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.']

2. Quote from primary source with end note.
3. Quote from primary source with end note.
4. Quote from primary source with end note.
5. Quote from primary source with end note.
6. Quote from primary source with end note.
7. Concluding thought

Use at least five (5) quotes from at least four (4) different primary sources in points 2-6 above.  You may include more quotes and add the number of points you intend to make in your Final Draft.  See the Documentation requirements below for the proper format for citing your sources.

C. Evidence -- The Case

Purpose: In this paragraph, students will use primary sources to examine the case they have selected.

Directions:  Collect selected quotes from the primary sources that illustrate the key points about the topic made in the introduction and which support the thesis statement.  Organize your evidence as follows:

[Outline format]

1. Topic sentence

[Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.']

2. Quote from primary source with end note.
3. Quote from primary source with end note.
4. Quote from primary source with end note.
5. Quote from primary source with end note.
6. Quote from primary source with end note.
7. Concluding thought

Use at least five (5) quotes from at least four (4) different primary sources in points 2-6 above.  You may include more quotes and add the number of points you intend to make in your Final Draft.  See the Documentation requirements below for the proper format for citing your sources.

D. Evidence -- Legacy

Purpose: In this paragraph students will examine how life in the United States changed because of the case(s) they selected.

Directions:  Collect selected quotes from the primary sources that illustrate the key points about the topic made in the introduction and which support the thesis statement.  Organize your evidence as follows:

[Outline format]

1. Topic sentence

[Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.']

2. Quote from primary source with end note.
3. Quote from primary source with end note.
4. Quote from primary source with end note.
5. Quote from primary source with end note.
6. Quote from primary source with end note.
7. Concluding thought

Use at least five (5) quotes from at least four (4) different primary sources in each point 2-6 above.  You may include more quotes and add the number of points you intend to make in your Final Draft.  See the Documentation requirements below for the proper format for citing your sources.

E. Reaction

This is most important paragraph in the Final Draft.  Here, you will evaluate your evidence and compare that to the analysis provided by the secondary sources.  Does your research support, contradict, and/or modify the existing literature?  Your research might do some of all three.  Show how and why with specific examples from the secondary and primary sources.

[Outline format]

1. Topic sentence

[Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.']

2. Quote from primary/secondary source with end note.
3. Quote from primary/secondary source with end note.
4. Quote from primary/secondary source with end note.
5. Quote from primary/secondary source with end note.
6. Quote from primary/secondary source with end note.
7. Concluding thought

Use at least five (5) quotes from at least two (2) different primary sources and two (2) different secondary sources in points 2-6 above.  You may include more quotes and add the number of points you intend to make in your Final Draft.  See the Documentation requirements below for the proper format for citing your sources.

In this paragraph you must summarize your paper.  Briefly restate your purpose, summarize your main points, and offer some final thoughts.

[Outline format]

1. Topic sentence

[Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.']

2. Restate topic sentence to II. A.
3. Restate topic sentence to II. B.
4. Restate topic sentence to II. C.
5. Restate topic sentence to II. D.
6. Restate topic sentence to II. E.
7. Concluding thought

Format Requirements

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- TOPIC PAGE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, OUTLINE, AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY TOPIC PAGE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, OUTLINE, OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The format requirements for the completed Topic Page, Annotated Bibliography, Outline, and Final Draft are:

• Staple -- upper left corner;
• Page numbers -- top right;
• Title -- Top, center, page 1;
• Name -- Center; below title with appropriate spacing (see below);
• Text -- Begins right below the name on page 1, with appropriate spacing (see below):
• Spacing -- TRIPLE spaced, typed or from a printer;
• Margins -- one (1) inch from the edge of the page on the:  top, left, right, and bottom;
• Pitch -- 12;
• Font --  Times Roman preferred;
• Length -- 7 pp;  [There is no length requirement for the TOPIC PAGE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, or Outline; the FINAL DRAFT must be 7 pp., no more and no less.]
• End notes -- place at the end of your document;  [Not counted in the length.  See Documentation below.]
• Bibliography -- on a separate page.  [Not counted in the length.  See Documentation below.]

Please:

DO NOT BOLDFACE; or
DO NOT ITALICIZE; or
DO    NOT         JUSTIFY

your text.

The above particulars are designed to ensure that all students complete works of similar length.

Please:

Do NOT use folders or other such binders; and
You do NOT need a cover sheet.

Documentation

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- TOPIC PAGE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, OUTLINE, AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY TOPIC PAGE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, OUTLINE, OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The documentation requirements for the completed Topic Page, Annotated Bibliography, Outline, and Final Draft are:

• endnotes; and
• bibliography

To ensure that you give credit where credit is due, please refer to the source from which you extracted information.  Please use end notes to document your sources using the appropriate formatting (see above).  For the correct style, see John Grossman, ed., The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005). You can also use an abbreviated version by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). The ACC Library has a link to Turabian.  The ACC link is useful but at times limited. Both guides can be found at the ACC Library.  Include a Bibliography on a separate page (with no page number), at the end of your Topic Page, Outline, and Final Draft.  Here you provide a complete citation for each work cited.  Please use the appropriate formatting (see above).  And, please, do NOT ask if you can use MLA.  Use the Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian.

Grading Policy

The Outline will receive a maximum 25 points. Recognize that an Outline rife with misspellings and grammatical errors will NOT be considered acceptable. Any Outline that does NOT conform to the Format and Documentation specifications above will NOT be accepted. If you submit your Outline before the deadline date in the Course Schedule and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED" you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date. Any Outline that is NOT submitted by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will NOT be accepted.

• If the Outline receives a final grade of "NOT ACCEPTED" then the student will NOT be permitted to submit the Final Draft.

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SUBMIT AN OUTLINE BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT.

REMEMBER:  THE OUTLINE IS DUE NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE.

and

YOU MAY SUBMIT ANY OR ALL OF THE PARTS OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT ELECTRONICALLY VIA EMAIL AS A WORD OR PDF FILE.

but

ALL ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS MUST MEET THE FORMAT REQUIREMENTS ABOVE SANS STAPLE.

and

IF THE ATTACHED FILE CANNOT BE VIEWED BY THE INSTRUCTOR THEN THE ASSIGNEMENT WILL BE MARKED “NOT ACCEPTED.”

The Research Project has several components.   Please see the Course Schedule for the dates by which you must submit your:  Respondent, Recorded Interview, Topic Page, Annotated Bibliography, Outline, and Final Draft.

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© David Marcus Lauderback, 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED