History due in 5 hours, 4 pages , use attachment to know the topic

After choosing your topic, write one paragraph describing how you would approach discussion of your topic and provide your sources as well.  The period of your paper is open from the time of Hominid to 1500 CE.  Your topic should be very specific and narrowed down. For example: political events, economic systems, or social issues are very specifics.  Avoid biography!!

Term paper topic proposals are due on Monday, February 22nd (10 points). No points will be awarded after February 22nd.

1.         It should be between 4-5 pages (typed and double spaced) in length.

2.         Use at least three sources; they should be a combination of academic journal articles and

books or books alone, other than your textbooks.  In addition to your three proper sources, you may useInternet sources with the sites that are edu or org domain.

The following site has excellent academic articles that may be useful to you. Scholarly Journal Archive(http://www.jstor.org)

3.         Your paper should have an Introduction, Theme/Body, and a Conclusion.

4.         Your paper should contain a Chicago style bibliography of your sources (seehttp://history.hanover.edu/courses/handouts/footnotes.htm )

5.         Use Chicago style footnotes or endnotes when quoting or citing data (seehttp://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/chicago_bib.pdf )

6.         Do a spelling and grammar check on your final paper.

7.         Turn your report in by the deadline if you do not wish to be penalized

for an overdue paper. 

Key points often missed in term papers:

• Formatting, both footnotes, bibliographies, and text. If you do not know how, ask your professor, google it, in your syllabus you have helpful links provided, or use the writing center in the library.
• Proofread, revise, edit, try to turn in a polished copy of your work. No need to throw away easy points on grammar and things like that.
• Do NOT use  the first person. Don’t tell us what you are going to say, just say it! (e.g. “In this paper I am going to…”, “in my opinion…”, “I think…”, etc.)
• Fact check, don’t put in fluff, we need papers that are coherent. Here is where proper sources come into play.
• Do not write the way you speak. On papers you have for a while before you turn them in, you need to do professional writing.
• Use words you are familiar with, if you want to get fancy, use a dictionary and thesaurus first.
• Do not put in questions, again just say it and commit.
• Finally, and most importantly, stay on topic. Tangents will hurt your grade. Your thesis statement is what needs to be supported so introducing a new part to the paper half way through will disjoint the paper and cost you points.

Grading rubric:

10 pts for following syllabus and professor’s instructions

10 pts for grammer, flow, and overall style of essay

10 pts for including all required docs (e.g. bibliography, footnotes, original approved proposal)

20 pts for a clear intro and thesis statement 

50 pts for supporting the intro/thesis with sources and body of text you wrote. 

Good luck and enjoy the rest of your spring break.