US History Dual Enrollment

The MLA Research Paper

1. The MLA Research Paper project is designed to develop the students’ research, organizational, and writing skills. The MLA writing format is one that the student will invariably come face-to-face with in college, so it is essential that students master its use as early as possible.

2. The Research Paper will cover any topic in United States history from pre-colonial to 2000. All topics must be approved by the instructor.

3. The project will consist of two graded parts: research and writing. The research will be due the first Monday in December. The paper itself will be due the Monday in May.

First Semester - Research (Part I) – Students will prepare a minimum of thirty (30) research cards in the required format (see example). The dimensions of these cards must be either 4x6 or 5x8 inches. Students must also prepare a minimum of 6 bibliography cards for the sources used. Bibliography cards must be 3x5 in size. The sources can be varied but must comply with the following requirements of number and type:

  • Book (3 min)
  • Encyclopedia
  • Newspaper, Periodical, Video
  • Internet(2 max)

Additionally, the student must turn in a first-draft outline with thesis statement in MLA format. All of the above must be turned in inside a manila envelope with the student’s name on the flap.

Second Semester - Writing (Part II) – Students will use their research cards to write a five to seven page research paper. The paper must conform to the following:

  • 1-1.25 inch margins on all sides
  • 12 point conservative font (Arial,Times-Roman, etc)
  • All double spaced
  • A cover page (not a heading)
  • MLA citation
  • Works Cited page
  • Numbered pages (bottom center or upper right)

The completed paper will be turned in without a manila envelope.

4. The project (both Parts I and II) will count as two summative gradesas they can no longer be heavily weighted due to Ellison policy.Projects will be accepted after the due-date based on the 10-20-50 rule. Technological failures such as non-working printers, computer crashes, or EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) will not be accepted as an excuse for late papers. Cut and paste from any source will be treated as plagiarism and will result in a failing grade and being dropped form the course.