AMERICAN HISTORY TERM PAPER

                                                  SPRING 2003

 

SELECT A TOPIC RELATING TO THE UNITED STATES DURING THE PERIOD FROM 1900 TO TODAY.  THE TOPIC MAY BE A BIOGRAPHY, AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  OR HISTORICAL NOVEL (WITH APPROPRIATE RESEARCH TO BACK UP THESIS). YOU MUST DO A REPORT OPPOSITE FROM THE REPORT YOU DID FIRST TERM, I.E. IF YOU DID A BIOGRAPHY LAST TIME, YOU MUST PICK A GENERAL TOPIC TO DO THIS TIME.  DO RESEARCH ON YOUR TOPIC, DEVELOP NOTES, A BIBLIOGRAPHY, DEVELOP FOOTNOTES, INCLUDE MAPS, DIAGRAMS,  PICTURES, ETC. WHEN APPROPRIATE.  GO TO A COLLEGE OR CITY LIBRARY FOR YOUR RESEARCH.  INTRODUCE YOUR REPORT WITH A GOOD, WELL THOUGHT OUT THESIS STATEMENT AND INTRODUCTION.  YOUR PAPER MUST BE A MINIMUM OF SEVEN FULL (7) TYPEWRITTEN OR FOURTEEN FULL (14) HANDWRITTEN PAGES, FOR THE  BODY OF THE REPORT, WRITTEN IN YOUR OWN STYLE.  DO NOT COPY FROM YOUR SOURCE MATERIAL, EXCEPT FOR MATERIAL THAT WILL BE FOOTNOTED, I.E. QUOTES.  TITLE PAGE, BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX, FOOTNOTE PAGE, MAPS, CHARTS, ETC. ARE ALL ADDITIONAL PAGES THAT ENHANCE THE REPORT - PLEASE REFER TO THEM IN YOUR REPORT, HAVE A DYNAMIC INTRODUCTION (MAKE THE BEGINNING SO IT IS INTERESTING TO THE READER), DEVELOP A THESIS AND PRESENT IT AT THE START OF YOUR PAPER, SUM UP YOUR TERM PAPER WITH A CONCLUSION THAT WRAPS UP THE REPORT (WHAT IS IT THAT HAS BEEN LEARNED, OR IS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT, THIS PERSON OR EVENT, THAT MAKES IT (HIM/HER) IMPORTANT TO HISTORY) AND HAVE IT RELATE TO YOUR THESIS.  (INCLUDE A BLANK PAGE FOR TEACHER COMMENTS).  REPORT MAY BE PRESENTED ORALLY (NOT READ) TO THE CLASS FOR EXTRA CREDIT.  (UP TO 4 POINTS ADDED TO QUARTER GRADE).

      

CRITERIA:

 

1. TURN IN TOPIC BY MARCH 9, 2003 (FIRST COME FIRST SERVED AS THERE ARE VERY FEW DUPLICATES ALLOWED).

2. COMPLETE AN OUTLINE OF THE TOPIC AND  REPORT, LISTING YOUR MAJOR SOURCE MATERIALS BY  APRIL 27  (THIS IS A GRADED REQUIREMENT).  YOU NEED AT LEAST THREE (3) BOOKS (PRIME SOURCE MATERIAL) ON THE SUBJECT.

3. USE ENCYCLOPEDIAS SPARINGLY AS A REFERENCE (OR                                                NOT AT ALL, INCLUDING COMPUTER SOURCES)

4. INTERNET SOURCES MUST BE DOCUMENTED WITH COMPLETE INTERNET ADDRESSES.  THEY ARE NOT TO BE THE MAIN SOURCE OF YOUR MATERIAL, THEY ARE SUPPLEMENTAL.

BE SURE THEY ARE LEGITIMATE SOURCES.

5. COMPLETED TERM PAPER IS DUE MAY 14, 2003,

            BY 2:17 PM THAT MONDAY.

 

6. EXTRA CREDIT FOR THOSE TERM PAPERS TURNED                                                                 IN BY MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2001 (4 POINTS)

            7. EXTRA CREDIT FOR REPORTS GIVEN ORALLY IN CLASS.

            8. GRADING:  (APPROXIMATELY)

A. TERM PAPER -                                                     20%

B. QUIZZES    -                                                          25%

C. TESTS      -                                                             20%

D. HOMEWORK AND CLASS ASSIGNMENTS - 25%

E. CLASS PARTICIPATION-PROMPTNESS -        10%

F. LATENESS WILL HAVE  MANDATORY POINT                                                                       DEDUCTION (10 POINTS FIRST DAY LATE).

G. THE REGENTS EXAM IS YOUR FINAL EXAM, COUNTS                                                  20% OF YOUR GRADE FOR THE YEAR.

9. TOPIC MAY BE CHANGED BY PERMISSION ONLY FROM MR. GABEL,  AFTER INITIAL APPROVAL.

10. IF YOU DID A BIOGRAPHY LAST TIME, THIS TIME YOU                                       MUST DO A REPORT ON A TOPIC, AND VICE VERSA

11. TYPING/WORD PROCESSING: USE 12 POINT FONT, DOUBLE SPACE, EXCEPT LONG QUOTES OR EXCERPTS, THEN SINGLE SPACE AND INDENT, AND FOOTNOTE.  USE ONE INCH MARGINS ALL AROUND ONLY.  SPACE EVENLY, DON=T LEAVE RANDOM BLANK SPACES.  REPORT SHOULD LOOK PROFESSIONAL.  USE SPELL CHECK (AND GRAMMAR CHECK) IF AVAILABLE.  PROOF READ!!!!!

12. NEATNESS COUNTS - POINT DEDUCTION OTHERWISE.    COMPUTER/WORD PROCESSING IS HIGHLY     RECOMMENDED.  HAND WRITTEN SHOULD BE EXTREMELY NEAT (PRINTED LEGIBLY), WITH NO SCRATCH OUTS, ETC. NO SPIRAL EDGED PAPER. PLEASE! WRITE ON ONE SIDE OF PAPER ONLY.  PROOF READ!!  COVER PAGE WITH TITLE, NAME (MR. GABEL), DATE, YOUR NAME, IS MANDATORY.

13. GRAMMATICAL ERRORS WILL RESULT IN POINT LOSS,   ALSO.  THIS IS GRADED TOUGHER THAN LAST TIME.  HINT: PROOF READ, PROOF READ, HAVE MOM/DAD PROOF READ - THEN MAKE SURE IT MAKES SENSE.

14. PAPERS MAY BE REVIEWED BY YOUR ENGLISH TEACHER                                             FOR A GRADE. (CHECK WITH MRS. K. OR MR. C.)

15. GOOD LUCK! HAVE FUN!