US History Research Paper – Spring 2016
Mr. Schneider
Graduates of Marquette High need to be effective writers to prepare themselves for
college and beyond. This assignment is designed to help develop your writing and
research skills and to train you to form your own ideas and conclusions about historical
events. Additionally, you will have an opportunity to learn more about a topic related to
United States history that interests you.
Your job is to choose a topic related to United States history, narrow it to the point that
you can focus on a question that requires analysis, and form a conclusion (your thesis).
The paper must contain significant evidence of scholarly research. You must use your
research extensively in the paper. Your thesis must make an argument. If any one of these
is missing, the best possible grade that you can expect is a B. There will be benchmarks
throughout the semester that will help manage your progression through this project.
You must receive approval of your topic from me. I will not allow duplication of a topic,
so first come, first served. Also, the topic cannot be on something that we have covered
in detail in class. The topic cannot be anything after 2012.
Deadlines:
January 22 – Approval of topic is due (no changes after this date)
January 26 – Sources must be brought into class and filled in on the Research Organizer
February 1 – Hypothesis to be filled out on the Research Organizer
February 8 – One major theme filled out on the Research Organizer (with citations)
February 15 – All major themes and the thesis must be filled out on the Research
Organizer (with citations)
February 29 – The final paper is due
Late work on any of these steps, without obtaining an extension from me, will not be
accepted and result in a zero for that step of the process.
Research Organizer
At the beginning of the process, the Research Organizer form will be available to you on
my website under Class Documents. You will use this to organize your paper. There are
deadlines along the way that will help you manage your work and allow me to assess
your progress. These deadlines are listed above and on the homework page, so please
make note of them. When your deliverables require you to turn in the research
organizer…
1. You must type it.
2. It must include all the information from previous steps
Length:
 The paper should be 3-4 pages in length (no more than four). This page count
does not include your title page or works cited.
Sources:
 Your paper must have a minimum of three scholarly book sources. Only books
are acceptable.
 You can only use non-scholarly books, articles, websites if there is a critical piece
of evidence (maybe like a statistic) that you cannot find anywhere else. You can
only use these types of sources twice in the entire paper and you must cite them.
Also, the information you obtain from this non-scholarly source can only mildly
support your argument, it cannot be the core of one of your arguments. You will
be downgraded severely if I find that you have exceeded this requirement.
 Primary sources are acceptable for one of your three required scholarly sources.
 I encourage you to go to university libraries and/or the Milwaukee Central Public
Library because they have a large selection of books. You may also find what you
need at local libraries or down stairs in the Doerr.
 You must cite from at least three of your scholarly sources.
 Encyclopedias are not scholarly sources and cannot be used.
 Time-Life Books are not scholarly sources and cannot be used.
Title Page:
 Your paper must have a title page.
 It must include
o Your paper’s title
o Your name
o Spring, 2016
o Class Name – US History
o Class Period
o If you'd like to include a picture under this stuff, that's fine
o Feel free to be creative with fonts and colors if you like
 Do not put a page number on the title page and do not include it in your page
count
Paper Headings:
 Include the page number on the top of all pages in the upper right hand corner.
Again do not put a page number on the cover page
 IMPORTANT: The first page of text should have no heading or title information,
only the page number at the top.
Paper (Miscellaneous):
 Create two files: one that contains the title page and bibliography, the other
should contain the paper only.
 Use information from class notes sparingly. The majority of your paper should
be from your research. If the paper begins to read like a class lecture, you will
lose significant points.
 Do not use conversational writing. Make sure your tone is scholarly.
 Do not be dramatic in your writing. Example…
o "A new kind of war surfaced, a type of war so terrible it makes people
shudder in horror. That type of war is called trench warfare"
 Get right to the point.
Quotations:
 Do not use direct quotes in your paper. Instead paraphrase what your source is
saying in his/her book, and then cite it.
 The only time that I will allow you to use a direct quote is if you are commenting
directly on some famous historical quote. Example…
o " Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the
United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval
and air forces of the Empire of Japan." – FDR
o If you needed to make the point about FDR's use of language here then it
is appropriate to quote this.
 However, if Stephan Ambrose makes an insightful comment about FDR, you
must put Ambrose’s idea in your own words.
Works Cited:
 You must use MLA citation styles for your works cited. See me or your book for
assistance. Look on page 129 of the 7th Edition of the MLA Handbook.
 Put your sources in alphabetical order in the works cited.
Final Paper
You will submit a hardcopy of the paper to me. You will also submit the paper to turnitin.com.
Both the hard copy and the turnitin.com submission must be in by the beginning of the period on
the due date or it is considered late. Submit only the paper file, it must not have the cover page or
bibliography. Here are the steps for creating an account on turnitin.com and submitting the paper.
You must register on www.turnitin.com.
1)
2)
3)
4)
On the main screen, click “New User”
Go to “New Students Start Here,” click on “Create a user profile”
Under “Create a New Account,” click “Student”
On the Create New Student Account screen type
a. Class ID = 11455268, Class enrollment Password = “muhs”
b. Add your name and school email
c. Type a password that you’ll remember
d. Answer the secret question
e. Click “I Agree”
To submit a paper…
1) Sign in on the main screen
2) Click on “US History – Spring 2016”
3) Click the “submit” button next to the “Research Paper”
4) Paper Submission Method should remain “single file upload”
5) Enter your name and the title of the paper
6) Click on the Browse button
7) Find your paper in My documents and click “upload”
8) It will take you to the Preview Paper screen…don’t change anything…. Just click
“submit”
Grading:
 You will be graded on the following questions…
1. Does he have a properly formatted cover page?
2. Does he have a title?
3. Is the page length within the defined tolerance?
4. Is the intro a clear, concise overview of the paper (about 5 sentences)
5. Does the thesis statement make an argument?
o Is there a thesis?
o Is it simply a statement of fact or is there a real argument to be made?
o Is it a standalone statement?
6. Do the body paragraphs focus on proving the thesis?
7. How is grammar, spelling?
8. How is the readability, clarity?
9. What is the quality of the research?
o Did he meet the requirement of three scholarly sources?
o Did he use at least three in the paper?
o Did he use non-scholarly sources?
10. Is the works cited formatted properly?
11. Did he fail to cite sources for material that clearly should have been cited?
12. Did he use direct quotes improperly