Italian American Movie Makers

Italian American Movie Makers

The first phase in your research paper process is to create a list of historical topics in the Western tradition that interest you. The time frame for your topics is limited from the first implementation of the Gutenberg Press (1439 AD) onward.

Limitations

The topic you ultimately choose for your research paper is subjective, but it will need to be framed as a historical question with substantive primary sources. As long as you can substantively tie your topic to the broad thematic constraint of “Western Civilization,” it will be considered for inclusion. The primary sources that you will use must be readily available in a language in which you can demonstrate reading proficiency. All final topics are subject to review, revision, and replacement.

Directions

Below, provide at least five (5) historical topics that interest you and fit the above criteria. Underneath each topic, ask a historical question that you believe can be answered in a subjective format. Your question should demand an interpretation, rather than a recitation of data.

Topic:

Question:

Topic:

Question:

Topic:

Question:

Topic:

Question:

Topic:

Question:

Topic:

Question:

Topic:

Question:

Writing the Research Paper

Phase 2: Primary Sources and Abstract

Points: 100

Dr. Jonathan Trutor

Due on January 22nd

Background

You now have a historical topic and question to consider. While your question may be revised, the time has come to search for primary source materials to support your argument. Primary sources can be found anywhere. In order to qualify as a primary source, a document must have been created during the time under study.

A historical abstract is a broad overview of your paper. In it, you should respond to the historical question you asked in Phase 1, and supply rationales based on the evidence you have collected in Phase 2. The Abstract is a brief summary of what you intend to accomplish in your paper. It should contain:

An explanation of the historical topic under study.

A thesis statement that directly answers your historical question.

An overview of the evidence that you will use to complete your argument.

Directions

Locate at least three primary sources connected to your historical topic, and use them to craft an abstract for the paper you will write over the next few weeks.

Writing the Research Paper

Phase 3: Secondary Source Identification

Points: 100

Dr. Jonathan Trutor

Due on February 5

Background

Secondary Sources provide the insight of other historians and their own primary source research. Consequently, they are valuable resources for history students who lack historical context on the topic they are researching. When you write your paper, Secondary Sources will help you to shape your argument and provide it with greater historical context than is possible from using your textbook alone. You will see a diversity of opinion among historians writing subjectively about objective data. You will add your voice to theirs as you complete this project.

Directions

Using resources pulled from Wean Library, reputable online services such as J-Stor and Google Scholar, or your local library, identify at least 5 secondary sources related to your topic. While you do not have to have them in your possession (interlibrary loans can take some time), you must know what they are, and be able to produce complete Chicago/Turabian citations for them according to the guide.

Writing the Research Paper

Phase 4: Primary Source Analysis

Points: 100/100/100

Dr. Jonathan Trutor

Due on February 19, 26 and March 4

Background

The best way to make timely progress on your research paper is to break it up into manageable chunks. For a 10 page paper, it is reasonable that two and a half pages of text would be appropriate for each document under analysis. The remaining pages will be used to introduce your thesis, provide historical context, and summarize your findings.

Directions

Using the thesis statement from your abstract as a guide, produce three short primary source analyses that fit together to form the main body of your paper. Each source that you analyze should directly relate to the objective of your paper. In lieu of a general thesis statement, the first paragraph of your essay should explain why the evidence is appropriate to your overall argument. What does it contribute to your overall response to the prompt you crafted for yourself in Phase 1? How can you use secondary sources to provide context to your analysis?

These are “checkpoint” assignments—they should provide you with a writing base for your final paper. Therefore, they will be Pass or Fail assignments. Passing means turning the paper in on time and in a complete fashion. Failing means that any of the previous sentence’s conditions were not satisfactorily met. Failing grades can be turned into passing grades through consultation with Dr. Trutor and subsequent appropriate action.

Writing the Research Paper

Phase 5: The Rough Draft

Points: 200

Dr. Jonathan Trutor

Due: (Hard Copy ONLY) April 8, Returned: April 17

A rough draft is a complete version of your paper, submitted to a reviewer for commentary and subsequent revision. The rough draft that you submit should be, in many ways, a compilation of the various phases of the assignment. Your abstract will likely provide you with the framework for your introduction and conclusion. Your primary source research assignments will likely provide you with necessary evidence for your argument. Your secondary source compilation will provide you with contextual information about the historical topic under examination. Together, all of the work you have put into this assignment since January will be sewn together to make a complete statement. This week (3/9/15-3/13/15), our class sessions will be used to provide you with time to create those connections in advance of Spring Break.

The purpose of this week is not to redo tasks that have already been accomplished, but to make the disconnected parts of your project fit together as one project. To that end, here is a roadmap to putting together your ideas.

Introduction

The introduction of your paper should look to your abstract and research question framing created in phases 1 and 2 of your research project. Your introduction should be approximately 1 page long, and it should introduce your topic, your thesis statement, and what evidence you intend to use to prove your thesis. It should not ask questions in a rhetorical fashion, or contain any quotes, dictionary definitions, or first-person statements.

Historical Context

This section provides historical background and information on your topic, drawing upon resources put together during phase 3 of the research project. Your secondary sources should help you to situate your primary source analysis in the historical moment you are studying. It is permissible here to cite work indirectly—to restate in your own words what you have read in other people’s work. This means that when you use an idea that you did not personally discover, you should add a footnote at the end of the sentence, to the right of the period. In that footnote, you should use the Chicago/Turabian style to generate a footnote that allows me to see where you acquired your information. It should be at least two pages, and may not contain any direct quotes.

III. Primary Source Analysis 1

Primary Source Analysis 2
Primary Source Analysis 3

If you successfully concluded phase 4, you should have three segments of text between 1.5-2.5 pages here that need minimal revision at this time. Ensure that your research question flows directly through each of the primary source analyses that you have produced. In addition, to make your paper flow correctly, you should look to find natural links between your topics as you organize them. They do not need to appear in the paper in the order they were produced.

Conclusion

This section should be at least 1 page in length, and should evaluate how the evidence you have presented demonstrates your thesis. Contrary to what you may have heard in the past, this is not merely a re-statement of your original thesis, or a wrapping up statement. You should use the conclusion as a way to demonstrate that your interpretation of the evidence you have presented is correct.

As this is a complete version of your paper, it will have to comply with the following standards.

-All sections are complete, and do not contain parenthetical statements or explanations of what will “eventually” be written there.

-Proper grammar, mechanics, usage, and spelling.

-Every paragraph has a topic sentence that relates back to the thesis statement.

-Footnotes are used, and they are formatted according to the guide provided via Schoology.

-Minimum length: 10 full pages.

-Maximum length: 15 full pages.

Writing the Research Paper

Phase 6: Research Presentation

Points: 200

Dr. Jonathan Trutor

Due: May 2nd-May 6th

Towards the end of the semester, you will produce an oral defense of your research paper in front of the class. You must summarize your paper’s key points, and explain what evidence you chose to support your ideas. You must also explain how your topic fits into the broader themes of Western Civilization that are essential to this course.

As a result, your presentation should be approximately 10 minutes long, with time left over for questions at the end. Presentations under 7 minutes long will be considered incomplete.

Another expectation of this assignment is audience participation: are you engaged with the speaker? Are you asking good questions? Are you “present” in the moment?

A rubric for this speech will be uploaded to Schoology for you to consider, and a copy is also appended to the packet.

Writing the Research Paper

Phase 7: Final Draft

Points: 500

Dr. Jonathan Trutor

Due: May 9th

Your final draft is due on May 9th. A draft copy of the Rubric and Expectations is appended to this copy, and available on Schoology.
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Posted by Dr. Lynn on May 4, 2016 in academic writing, Uncategorized

Tags: Italian American Movie Makers
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