The term-paper for this course is to be done on a topic of your choice from the subject matter and time period this class covers, meaning:\u00a0<\/p>\n
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World Civilizations,<\/p>\n
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3500BC-1600AD<\/p>\n
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It is to be between 5 and 7 pages (NO MORE & NO LESS).\u00a0Do not use: large\/small fonts, abnormal spacing, massive chapter subdivisions, outlines\/numbered sequence points etc.)\u00a0Do not use extended quotes (meaning more than a few lines).\u00a0Double spacing, 12 point fonts and 1 inch margins are the maximum.<\/p>\n
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You must turn in 1 hard copy in class\u00a0AND\u00a01 electronic copy through Safe Assignment.<\/p>\n
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For the paper you must use\u00a04\u00a0sources:<\/p>\n
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2 secondary sources\u00a0meaning scholarly books written by a university professor.\u00a0Any book in the campus library will fulfill this requirement.\u00a0If you find books elsewhere and are unsure, look inside the book since many provide a biography of the author.\u00a0Also you can check the publisher; if the publisher is a university press it is fine.\u00a0Journal articles are also acceptable to fulfill this requirement and the campus library is full of scholarly journals.\u00a0Another good place to find the journal articles is online on JSTOR which is accessible through the campus library website.\u00a0Remember, these articles must come from scholarly journals such as the\u00a0Journal of Roman Studies\u00a0or the\u00a0Journal of Asian Studies. \u00a0Articles from magazines such as National Geographic or Newsweek do not count.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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With the exception of JSTOR internet sources such as sites like Wikipedia are\u00a0NOT\u00a0acceptable and will not fulfill this requirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The main textbook and other modern books assigned for this class\u00a0DO\u00a0NOT\u00a0count towards fulfilling this requirement.<\/p>\n
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Lecture notes\u00a0DO\u00a0NOT\u00a0count as secondary sources.\u00a0They represent my research and should not be cited in your paper.<\/p>\n
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You CANNOT use a paper from another class-this must be a new and original paper.<\/p>\n
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2 primary sources\u00a0written by someone who was roughly contemporaneous with the topic you are describing.\u00a0You always want to find eyewitness accounts (if they exist) or accounts written by someone who was alive during the period of your topic.\u00a0If these do not exist, then you want to find sources written by someone who lived shortly after the period of your topic.\u00a0This could mean as much as a few centuries afterwards since these people would have access to sources that no longer exist today.\u00a0For example, if you are writing a paper on Julius Caesar you would first use Caesar\u2019s own accounts of his military campaigns.\u00a0Then you could also find accounts written by his contemporaries such as Cicero before moving on to later authors who wrote biographies of Caesar or histories of his time.\u00a0Some of these authors lived a few centuries later but are still acceptable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The campus library has a huge selection of primary sources translated into English for all periods of history no matter what your topic.\u00a0Also, many primary sources are now online.\u00a0It is acceptable to use the internet to fulfill the primary source requirement.<\/p>\n
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Primary sources assigned for this class\u00a0CAN\u00a0be used\u00a0towards fulfilling this requirement.<\/p>\n
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The first step in finding sources is choosing a topic.\u00a0Once you have a topic go to the campus library and search the library computer catalogue.\u00a0For example, if your topic is the Chinese voyages of Yung-lo look up China and Yung-lo.\u00a0Sometimes you get lucky and there is a specific book about your topic.\u00a0In other cases you may find general histories of your period such as, in this case, a history of China that covers the late 1300\u2019s and early 1400\u2019sAD.\u00a0Once you find the book or books on the library shelves, you can then find information about your topic. \u00a0More importantly, these books can lead you to other secondary and primary sources.\u00a0Check the bibliographies of the books you found since they will list dozens of secondary sources (books and articles) the author used which you can then find in the library.\u00a0Also, the author will discuss in detail the various primary sources for your topic which you can then find in the library or online.<\/p>\n
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Your paper must have a proper bibliography page at the end (the bibliography page does not count towards the page total).\u00a0The bibliography must contain all the information about each source you used.\u00a0It must include the author\u2019s name (last name first), the year the book was published, the title of the book (in\u00a0italics), and the publisher.\u00a0For a journal article, you must include the author\u2019s name, year published, title (in quotation marks), the name of the journal (in\u00a0italics), and page numbers.\u00a0For primary sources either include the above information from the book along with the name of the translator or the information from the website where you found the source.<\/p>\n
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In your paper all references and quotes must have proper footnotes.\u00a0Since there will be a full citation in the bibliography you do not need a full citation in each footnote.\u00a0Instead in the footnotes only include the author\u2019s name and the page number where you found your information.\u00a0If the footnote is from a primary source include the author\u2019s name and page or chapter number.\u00a0When trying to decide when to quote the sources, a few \u201crules of thumb\u201d are useful. You should always cite the sources if you are using information from them that you did not already know (again don\u2019t cite the lectures). Additionally, cite the sources or offer quotations when you think they enrich or support your point. For instance, if you are describing the cruelty of Caligula, offer a quote from a source that would make your point. Imagine that you were reading your paper in a presentation and think of the quotes as if they were pictures: whenever you would want to show the audience a picture to make your point or give them a better idea of what you mean, then add a quote. If you are making claims that may be controversial, then quotes\/citations are more important.\u00a0Chicago, APA or MLA are all OK.<\/p>\n
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These are the requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Do not turn in papers which ignore these requirements or your paper will be marked down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Late papers will marked down as well: 1 letter grade for\u00a0each\u00a0day it is late.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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These papers must be your own work: PLAGIARISM IS ILLEGAL.\u00a0Plagiarized papers will be given a zero and you will receive an F for the course.\u00a0In addition the matter will be referred to university administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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You may NOT turn in a paper you wrote in a previous term.<\/p>\n
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Last but not least: proofread your papers!\u00a0Do not ruin an \u201cA\u201d paper with shoddy grammar\/spelling etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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If you are having problems fulfilling these guidelines please see me.<\/p>\n
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Suggestions<\/p>\n
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1. Your paper should have a clear thesis or argument within the introduction. The introduction itself is one of the most important parts of the paper. As a rough suggestion, the introductory paragraph (or few paragraphs) should introduce the subject of your paper, state your thesis, and offer some information on how the paper will be organized or how your argument will proceed. \u00a0 For instance, if the topic of your paper was on the role\/importance of the Praetorian Guard in the early Roman Empire, you could offer a thesis such as: \u201cThe Praetorian Guard exerted noticeable influence on the political system of the early Roman Empire, at least during key moments of crisis.\u201d When commenting on the structure of your argument (or organization of the paper), you could write: \u201cThe terror carried out by Sejanus, the role of Macro in Gaius Caligula\u2019s rise to the position of emperor, the conspiracy of Cassius Chaerea, and the insertion of Claudius by the Praetorian Guard all indicate that this elite body of troops was able to threaten, remove, and even install emperors during this period of the Empire.\u201d In this example, your reader would know that you were going to discuss (1) Sejanus, (2) Macro\/Caligula, (3) Cassius Chaerea\u2019s conspiracy, and (4) Claudius in separate sections or paragraphs of your paper. That format could provide the general outline of your whole paper. \u00a0 One way of evaluating your introduction is to ask yourself: \u201cIf all of my paper blew away in the wind on the way to class and the professor could read only my introduction, would he know what my paper is about?\u201d If not, then you may want to rework your introduction. I stress this because the best papers have the best introductions. \u00a0 2. If you are having trouble deciding what will be the topic of your paper, a good place to start would be to choose a topic that interests you personally. If you are interested in food or dress, write on Roman sumptuary laws (laws governing consumption: what can people eat, who can wear what, etc.) and if you are interested in boxing, then write on Roman gladiatorial fights. As long as you are\u00a0scholarly\u00a0in your approach, even unconventional subjects may be appropriate. If you are interested in your topic, your paper will generally be more enjoyable to read. Of course, for controversial topics, you should ask the professor first.\u00a0In any event it is usually a good idea to run ideas by your professor before you begin since you do not wish to choose a subject that is so big it will not fit into a 5-7 page paper.\u00a0For example, a biography on the whole life of Alexander or Cleopatra will simply not work since there is far too much information for a short paper of this type.\u00a0It is possible though to pick 1 specific event or aspect of their careers to write about.\u00a0Also, you do not want to pick a topic that is so obscure you cannot find enough information or enough sources to fill a 5-7 page paper. \u00a0 3. When trying to decide on the thesis of your paper, a few considerations are helpful. Ask yourself what drew you to the topic. If you had a specific question in mind, then providing the answer to that question could be a valid thesis. If you had no specific questions in mind, then you can look at the secondary literature you are reading for the paper (i.e. things written by modern scholars\/historians) and see what their thesis is. Their thesis might give you ideas. An important consideration when deciding on a thesis is that you should only present a specific thesis when you have enough sources\/evidence to argue for that conclusion. For instance, if you have a large number of sources (primary and secondary) that claim that Tiberius encouraged Sejanus in his reign of terror, then you are warranted in positing that as your thesis. If not, then you probably can\u2019t argue that thesis effectively.<\/p>\n
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4.\u00a0Likewise, when trying to decide on how to focus your paper, a major consideration should be the amount of material you have on each subject. For instance, if you are writing on Ovid\u2019s banishment by Augustus and can\u2019t decide whether you should focus more on the actual conditions of living in Tomis or on the significance of the banishment, determine what amount of evidence you have from the sources. If the vast majority of your sources describe the significance, then focusing on the living conditions will prove very difficult. In other words, write what the sources enable you to write. Another consideration is the \u201cSo what?\u201d question: decide which elements are most important and interesting. Of course, I can give suggestions on this matter.<\/p>\n
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5.\u00a0 When trying to decide what you need to explain or include in your paper, assume that your audience is a fellow classmate with fairly respectable attendance in our class. You may exclude things from your paper that they could be expected to know, except if it is essential to your subject. For instance, you don\u2019t have to state that Augustus was effectively the first emperor and then cite your source. Still, anything that you feel is necessary to convince your reader of the truth of your thesis should be included. Likewise, facts that are completely irrelevant to your argument can probably be removed.<\/p>\n
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6.\u00a0Think of your paper as a combination of narrative and argumentation. You are telling a story in your paper, but you want the reader to draw very specific conclusions from what you have said. Have enough narration (story-telling) to make sure your reader can follow the arguments, and enough argumentation that your reader understands the significance or meaning of the story you are telling.<\/p>\n
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If you have any questions, ask your professor or your TA.<\/p>\n
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Good Luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The term-paper for this course is to be done on a topic of your choice from the subject matter and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n