AP US History Research Paper Guidelines

Yea – the research paper!  You can do a research paper for either third or fourth quarter credit.  This information is divided into several sections:

• Format of the Paper
• Suggestions for Developing a Topic and Thesis
• Structure of the Paper
• Timetable information on the order you need to do the various aspects of the paper
• Formatting/Technical Points
• a list of due dates for the various steps of the paper
• some Special Instructions Concerning Internet Sources
• a list of Common Errors that you need to avoid in papers

Format of the Paper

You will pick a topic and analyze and interpret it.  To do this effectively, you will need to develop a thesis, or argument which you make about your subject.  Some examples of a thesis would be:

     Homer’s Iliad reflects the political structure and values of early Greek society.
     The Crusades failed politically but promoted cultural diffusion with the Islamic world.

Remember: the emphasis in a thesis paper is on proving your thesis to the reader, rather than just providing information as a report does. Of course, you will need factual evidence in order to prove your points. It also must go beyond what we have covered in class.
 

Developing a Topic

Before you develop a thesis, you must have a topic.  You have a wide range of topics available to you for this paper.  Any topic from US History is open to you.  You may also compare two US History subjects.   However, you must choose a topic that you can make a thesis out of and prove with sound historical evidence.

The purpose of a term paper is for you to do some in-depth research.  We may have covered your topic in class, but there is always more to say about any topic.  Thus, you must go beyond materials we have used in class and prove to me that you have done some further investigation.  A textbook is not a legitimate source for this paper.  However, you might want to browse through it to find an idea for your paper. 

Developing a Thesis

Once you have a topic, do some background reading on the subject, such as you would find in an encyclopedia.  Try narrowing down your topic. “Civil War” for example can be narrowed down to a particular aspect of the war (such as a particular battle, effect on a specific state, effect on government), or a person.  Then you can look for sources that will provide information about your specific topic.

Next, you need to develop questions about the significance of your topic such as: “Why is this important?” and “What does this topic say about its society?”  Essentially, you want your thesis to show why something is significant.  (From the sample thesis above, Homer’s Iliad is significant because it reflects the values of its culture.)  Ultimately, you should be able to sum up your argument in a single sentence known as a thesis statement.

Structure of the Paper The paper must include these parts:

Introduction Introduce the topic and give the reader a sense of why the topic is important. Perhaps tell a short story that gives the flavor of the topic. Traditionally, the introduction ends with the thesis statement, as well as an indication of what subtopics you will cover in order to prove your thesis. A common "trick" used in introductions is to discuss an idea opposed to your thesis ("It is commonly believed that the Iliad is more myth than true history.") Then, along comes your thesis to WHAM! tell the real story ("The Iliad actually provides great insight into the structure and values of early Greek society.")

Main Body Here you will go point-by-point, paragraph-by-paragraph, and show how your subtopics contribute to prove your thesis. Using MLA format, cite the sources of your information.  Do not copy a passage word-for-word from a book and claim it as your own; that is called plagiarism, and the Student Handbook provides a harsh penalty for it: "grade of 0 and possible exclusion from all leadership activities and organizations" (Student Handbook 6)

Conclusion Summarize your overall points and remind the reader again both what is important about your subject and how your paper demonstrates that importance.

Sources/Works Cited

You will need at least four distinct sources for this paper.  Two of these cannot be an Internet source. Two of your sources must be primary sources.  A primary source may be found within a secondary source; a biography of Lincoln, for example, may include letters Lincoln wrote.  Try to find primary sources of substantial length; a mere quote of Lincoln will not suffice.  By "distinct" sources, that means you cannot use three articles from the same encyclopedia, three pages from the same web site, and so forth.  The textbook is not an acceptable source.  Wikipedia is a forbidden source as well!  List the sources by creating a Works Cited page using the MLA format. If you use a CD-ROM or on-line sources, you must pass in a printed copy of the articles you used. If you turn in these late, you will lose 3 points per day late.

 

Formatting/Technical Points

Suggested Length:  6-10 pages.  Staple your paper before you come to class. 

Passing in Sources:  For sources you need to provide me a copy of (see above), label the name of the source at the top of the first page.

Common Errors/Internet Sources:  see below

All other technical points: consult “MLA Report format The Basics.”  

 

Timetable The various steps for completing the paper will be done in three parts.  Each part will be due on a different day.

 

 

Step in the Research Paper Process	Option 1	Option 2	Option 3	Option 4
Written Statement of Topic and first Works Cited due.  The Works Cited list must be in proper MLA format.  After each entry, give a description of the source and what sort of information it provides.  See the attached special instructions for Internet sources, as you will need to provide justifications about the credibility of any web site you use. This will count for 20 points.	Wed Dec 12	Tue Jan 15	Tue Feb 12	Tue Mar 18
Written statement of thesis.  You should also give a sense of your sub-topics and samples of historical evidence that will help you prove your thesis. This will count for 30 points.	Mon Jan 7	Thu Feb 7	Tue Mar 11	Wed Apr 9
Final Draft due (stapled!) when class begins.  You will hand in your paper (including a final Works Cited list and web site justifications), as well as any printouts or photocopies required.  Put everything in a folder to keep it all together	Tue Jan 22 Rolling deadline: Fri Jan 25	Tue Feb 26 Rolling deadline: Fri Feb 29	Tue Mar 25 Rolling deadline Fri Mar 28	Tue Apr 29 Rolling deadline: Fri May 2

 

What’s a “rolling deadline”?????  The paper is due on the first date listed (e.g. Fri Jan 12).  However, I will continue to accept papers for full credit up until the day of the rolling deadline.  On that day, as I leave school, I will collect any papers in my office, under my door etc.  Anything handed in after I leave school on that day will be considered late.  The purpose of the rolling deadline is so that you have a few days to fix any last minute glitches, such as running out of printer ink, or other computer problems. 

Special Instructions Concerning Internet Sources

The Internet has emerged as a tremendous resource for research.  Unfortunately, it is not always a reliable one.  Anyone can put up a web page, and as a result there are many sites out there that contain questionable information.  In an academic environment, we must watch carefully for such dubious sources.

If you wish to employ a web page or other Internet source, you must investigate it for accuracy and credibility.  In your Works Cited list, your annotation for a such a source must include an explanation as to why the source is valid and reliable.  You can establish a site’s validity by determining the authorship of the site and searching for evidence of the author’s credentials.  Keep in mind that the “author” may be a company or organization.  Even then, you should hunt around the site to establish its credibility.  It does not suffice to simply note that there is an author or that there is a copyright.  As a chilling example, there is an organization called the Institute for Historical Review.  Given their name, they sound pretty qualified to discuss history, don’t they?  They have statements of copyright and the look of a credible research site.  It turns out this group is devoted to causes like denying the Holocaust ever happened.  All it takes is a little poking around to find out their real agenda.  Of course, they hope you won’t do this.

Domain names can be misleading as well.  It may seem that a site that is .edu or .org is automatically credible.  Not so!  An “education” site could be a 4th grade class, or a professor’s personal (as opposed to professional) page.  Heck, my web site has a list of links about music; how many of you would trust my taste in music just because it’s on a .org page?  As a more troubling example, there is a web site called martinlutherking.org which turns out to be a racist site done by a “white power” group.  The name and .org part seems innocent, but the contents prove otherwise.

If you cannot establish the authorship and credibility of a site, you may NOT use it for your paper.  Take some time.  Be patient.  Of course, you could always go look for a book instead…
 
 

Common Errors in Papers
You will lose a three points for committing any of these errors

 

 

 
 

Please mail any comments or suggestions to me

 

Last Page Update: January 2008
Patrick Connor
Social Studies Department
Canton High School, Canton MA