Semester Historical Essay Assignment History and writing are inseparable! You cannot have one without the other and we cannot know history well unless we write about it. Writing allows us to arrange events and our thoughts, study our work, weed out contradictions, get names and places right, and question interpretations, our own and those of other historians.1 History is a story and stories are told in two distinct forms, oral (the spoken word) and written. While these two formats are very different they are both important to history, they both help shape and inform the other when it comes to historical arguments. For this project you will be focusing on history as told in the written word. The purpose of this project is to help you gain a better understanding of how history is recorded, written and interpreted. You will be the historian and I want to hear your voice on the topic you choose, I want it to come through the written page loud and clear. Writing is a step by step process and because of this we will be spending a good deal of the semester examining the steps a good historian takes when writing about history. We will be looking at what I call the basic five of good historical writing, they are: 1. Good historical essays are sharply focused on a limited topic 2. Historical essays should have a clearly stated argument 3. Historical essays are built, step by step, on carefully acknowledged evidence 4. Historical essays reflect the dispassionate thoughts of the author 5. Historical essays are clearly written with an intended audience in mind2 We will take an in-depth look at each of these elements as the semester progresses and take each part of the historical essay and break it into step by step instructions to build a solid structure as the end product. I want this project to be a spring board to greater, higher, broader, and deeper thinking. Too often we only scratch the surface of history and by only seeing the surface we fail to grasp the importance of history for today. This project asks for you to go beyond the surface and discover the deep places in history. I want for you to ask deeper questions, strike deeper into the heart of history, I want for you to go beyond the multiple choice answers; I want history to come alive as you seek the answers to your historical questions. Together I know that this will be a fascinating journey of historical discovery that will help inform, sharpen and focus your mind not only for history but for other areas in your life. So with that being said let's get to work, below you will find the general guidelines and requirements for the semester long historical essay project. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SOME WONDERFUL HISTORICAL WORK! Note: I have used some Chicago style footnotes below; this is what you will be using for your essay. 1 Marius, Richard and Page Melvin. A Short Guide to Writing About History (New York: Person Education, Inc. 2012) p. 5. 2 Marius, Richard and Page Melvin. A Short Guide to Writing About History (New York: Person Education, Inc. 2012). These five principles I have adapted from the above book. This is an excellent book and it is available for reference from Mr. Johnson. Required Elements of the Paper Remember, we will be going over each of the various aspects and requirements of the essay in various class meetings during the semester. I will also be booking the library for work days throughout the semester. Formatting 1. Length of the paper needs to be at a the minimum 5 pages double spaced 2. The formatting for this essay will be Chicago style format which is the preferred format for historical writing. I have included a small example at the beginning of this paper but will be spending some class time on this format. 3. 12 point Times New Roman font used throughout the paper 4. Chicago style bibliography 5. Page numbers Citations 1. You will be required to include at a minimum two primary sources and four secondary sources for the essay, for a total of six sources 2. Include, at a minimum, two direct quotations from each of your primary sources and at least two from your secondary sources 3. Include all of your examined sources in the bibliography for your paper 4. See Chicago style for proper formatting of these quotations Topic 1. You will be required to pick a topic for your essay. Your choice of a topic is limited to the historical periods covered in class, roughly 1900-present and needs to have a world historical theme. I will be checking topics and signing off on topics. Will we have a specific lesson on how to pick your topic so do not worry! Structure - You will need to have the following elements present in your essay, again do not worry we will spend some time on each of these elements. 1. Cover page 2. Introduction 3. Thesis statement 4. Main argument 5. Body paragraphs 6. Conclusion 7. Bibliography Aaron Johnson, 1/22/2014 Due Dates 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Topic: Due Monday, 2/3/2014 Partial Bibliography: Due Monday, 2/24/2014 Topic Paragraph/Thesis Statement: Due Monday, 3/17/2014 Outline for Paper: Due Monday, 3/31/2014 Rough Draft: Due Monday, 4/28/2014 Final Paper: Due Monday, 6/2/2014 I will be working on a grading rubric for the project and will have it posted to the website and distributed to you no later than February 2. If you have any questions concerning the project please ask. I am always available to look over your work and provide feedback, you can either ask for time at lunch to meet or you can send me and e-mail and I will respond within 24hrs. I am here to help! I count it a great privilege and honor to help you reach your full potential! NOTE: I also reserve the right to change the requirements and or structure of this guideline as you the students bring to light any problems or issues concerning the project. Aaron Johnson, 1/22/2014