US/World History II
Mr. Kurtis D. Werner
Semester II Research Paper
History’s
Turning Points
Name: ______
Period: ______
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGETOPIC
3Assignment
4Calendar of Due Dates
6Potential Topics
8Step #1 Topic Selection
10Step #2 Working Bibliography
12, 13Examples of Footnotes
12, 17Examples of Bibliography
21, 22Step #3 Notes
23-25Step #4 Outline
26Sample Page with Text
27Sample Title Page
28Sample Bibliography
32Grade Rubric
34Scoring Guide
Semester Two Research Paper Assignment
The theme for this paper is…
HISTORY’S TURNING POINTS
What does that mean? You are to choose one…
Event, Idea, Invention
from the…
20th Century (1901-2000)(you can go as far back as 1877 and include 2012)
…and write a paper stating why that event, idea or invention was a turning point of the 20th century. Consider that after that event, invention, or idea, America or the world should have forever changed. That change is what you will be writing about.
Note: You may argue that it was a turning point for AmericaOR for the world.
This paper will have two basic components. The first will be an explanation of the event, idea, or invention. This might require an extended introduction, potentially more than one paragraph, to provide basic background information. However, the thesis and main ideas of your paper will be dealing with the proof of the significance of that event, idea, or invention. In this paper, you will prove why the topic you have selected was a turning point of the 20th century; therefore, your paper will have to focus on the effects of your topic. For example, instead of the history of the Model T Ford, you would explain how the Model T changed American culture. Rather than a report on the theory of relativity, your paper would prove that this theory had a lasting impact on the world.
Logistical Issues:
1. 4-6 pages in length
2. Typed, double-spaced, 12-point font size, Times, Helvetica, or Cambria (new Microsoft standard)
3. 5 sources (this includes at least one primary source and one print source)
4. Footnotes, and Bibliography included with the final paper
5. 110 total points; 35 for preliminary due dates, 75 pointsfor final paper
6. Assigned: Monday, March 12, 2012
7. Due Dates: Step #1 Topic SelectionWednesday, March 14 (5 points)
Step #2 Working Bibliography Monday, March 26 (5 points)
Step #3 NotesTues, Wed, Th, March 27 – March 29 (15 points)
Step #4 Detailed outlineFriday, March 30 (10points)
Step #5 Final draftThursday, April 5 (75 points)
Calendar of Due Dates
#1 Topic Form Due: 3/14/12 Points: 5This form is used to help you identify your topic, your three potential main ideas, and a possible thesis statement.
#2 Working Bibliography Form Due: 3/26/12 Points: 5
This form is designed to let your teacher see what types of sources you have collected so far, and whether or not you may need extra help in gathering information to help you write your paper. For this step, you must have three sources that will directly support the explanation of your topic or one of your three main arguments. For the final draft of your paper, you must have five sources (one of which is a primary source).
#3A Note check 1 Due: 3/27/12
These note checks are designed to ensure that you are actively reading your material and summarizing that source in your own words. Each note card should contain some kind of classification system; that would include the following information: name of source, author, main idea, and page numbers. A minimum of 5 note cards will be collected for each note check. Each note card should contain 2-4 “chunks” of information. If you choose to do your notes in an outline form, each day you must make progress on five pieces of information per each day.
#3B Note check 2 Due: 3/28/12
#3C Note check 3 Due: 3/29/12 Points: 15
#4Detailed outline Due: 3/30/12 Points: 10
The outline should be typed and follow the model provided in this packet. You should include thesis, intro ideas, topic sentences, supporting information and conclusion.
#5 Final Draft Due: 4/05/12 Points: 75
The final draft will be graded according to the rubric / grading scale provided. There will be no late papers accepted. If you know you are going to be absent on this day (in school field trip), you must turn your paper in early.
The Research Process
- Select your topic. There are two primary criteria when choosing your topic. First, choose something you are interested in! Second, choose something that will be easy to demonstrate its significance in history (the effects of the event, idea, or invention are clear and important). Do some background research, and complete the attached form to help narrow down your choices. Look in a textbook or encyclopedia to gain a working knowledge of your event, idea, or invention before you commit to it. See attached Topic and Thesis Worksheet.
- Begin collecting sources. Keep track of them with the attached cards or in a notebook. This will make it easier to compile them all into your bibliography. As you find sources, you will need to check to make sure that they can help you with the paper.
- Begin taking notes. Divide the notes into categories (Background, Main Idea 1, etc.). However you take notes (note cards, double column, outline), make sure you summarize the information into your own words, unless taking a direct quote, and include the source from where you got your information. When it’s time to write the paper, all the information you need to properly cite your information will be on your notes.
- Revise your thesis. You always want to consider your topic and your arguments for why your topic is important. As you do more research, your thesis should evolve with more and more evidence.
- Create a detailed outline. For the 4th step in this process, you will submit a detailed outline. This should include your thesis, main arguments and evidence per each argument. You may or may not have the intro and conclusion complete, but you should have most of your information. The outline should easily convert into a first draft.
- Write the first draft. This can be turned into Mr. Werner if you want and should be reviewed by a peer or family member. I need this well in advance of due date. You should have some citations so that someone can check to see if you are doing them in the correct format.
- Include citations. You need to have a bibliography and endnotes.
- Read the grading rubric. Proofread your paper and make sure that you have included everything and met all of the criteria for the assignment. Please use the spell check feature!!!
Potential Topics
EVENTIDEAINVENTION
1904 World’s FairSocial DarwinismLight Bulb
WWIPsychoanalysisRadio
Russian Revolution(Sigmund Freud)Air Conditioning
Treaty of VersaillesNew DealAutomobile
Influenza Epidemic (1919)Theory of RelativityTelevision
Stock Market CrashSpace TravelTalkies
Pearl HarborNonviolent ResistanceTransistor Radio
WWIIGenocide/Ethnic CleansingComputer
Holocaust/NuremburgTrialsAtomic EnergyInternet
Communist Revolution in ChinaCold WarFast Food
Cultural Revolution in ChinaProhibitionLasers
Cuban Missile CrisisZionismRockets
Kennedy’s AssassinationIntegrationSatellites
Israel’s 1967 WarAir TravelBirth Control Pill
Fall of the U.S.S.R.Rock and RollPolio Vaccine
Man on the MoonIslamic FundamentalismFiber Optics
19th AmendmentGlobalization Skyscrapers
Korean WarGenetic EngineeringElevator
Vietnam WarArtificial IntelligencePlastic
AIDS EpidemicAssembly LineOptics
Montgomery Bus BoycottCloning
Brown v. Board of Ed.Day Care
MLK AssassinationPan-Africanism
End of ApartheidPan-Arabism
Fall of the Berlin WallHealthcare
Roe v. Wade
United Nations
Iran-Iraq War
GI Bill
Gulf War
Title IX
I.D.E.A./A.D.A.
Scopes Trial
Launching of Sputnik
Conferenced Research Form
To schedule your appointment: Fill out this sheet and come to the Media Center to schedule an appointment, or call Ms. DeRigne (314) 854-6648, or email Ms. DeRigne () with the requested information.
Please complete the following information to help me prepare for our conference.
Name: ______Grade: ______
Phone numbers: ______(home) ______(cell)
Email address: ______Teacher: ______
Assignment: ______Date Due: ______
What have you done so far?
______
______
Have you checked CHS’s HIP (computer card catalog)?YESNO
Please circle the CHS online databases that you have searched:
African-American Experience, Annals of American History, Access Science, Encyclopedia Britannica, Business Searching, EBSCO Host, Discovering Collection, Literature Resource Collection, Opposing Viewpoints, History Study Center, Student Research Center, or CQ Researcher
What keywords or search terms have you used?
______
When are you available? Circle all that apply: Before school 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 After School
What other libraries do you have access to? Circle each that applies
St. Louis City
St. Louis County
Washington University
Maplewood-Richmond Heights
University City Public Library
Step #1Topic FormDue: Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Name: ______
Final Topic: ______
Event______Idea______Invention______
Why do you want to write about this topic?
______
______
______
______
Look up the topic in your textbook. Write the page number(s) it is discussed on here:
______
What does your book say about this topic (factual info)?
______
______
______
______
Look up the topic in an encyclopedia. Which one did you use?
______
What does your encyclopedia say was the significance (effects) of this topic?
______
______
______
______
Step #1Topic Form continuedDue: Wednesday, March 14th
Create a list of effects (statements of significance) below.
______changed history because
1. ______
2. ______
3. ______
Choose three effects that you think would be best to use as main ideas and incorporate those into a working thesis statement. Note: These can, and may, change as you do your research!
Working Thesis Statement:
______
______
______
______
Examples of thesis statements:
The Civil War was a turning point in American history because it forever changed American politics, society, and the military.
The idea of the germ theory of disease was significant because it transformed urban planning, hospital practices, and disease prevention.
Without the invention of the steam engine, our world would be different because significant changes in transportation, production, and recreation would not have occurred.
Mr. Werner is a great teacher because he is knowledgeable, funny, and thinks that we do not read silly examples like this (gotcha).
Step #2Working Bibliography Form Due: Monday, March 26th
Name: ____________
***NO WIKIPEDIA or other encyclopedias
Source #1 (Book) (Article/Database) (Academic Website)______
______
This source supports Main Idea/Effect # 1 2 3 define topic
Why? What might you learn from it?
______
______
Source #2 (Book) (Article/Database) (Academic Website)
______
______
This source supports Main Idea/Effect # 1 2 3 define topic
Why? What might you learn from it?
______
______
Source #3 (Book) (Article/Database) (Academic Website)
______
______
This source supports Main Idea/Effect # 1 2 3 define topic
Why? What might you learn from it?
______
______
Using Source Material (Documentation in Your Research Project)
Why use Source Material?
A research paper is a combination of common knowledge, primary and secondary source material, and the author’s own analysis that ties the research together. Source material can provide facts and support for the author’s arguments and can provide examples for or help illustrate the author’s ideas.
What are Footnotes?
Footnotes are markers within a research paper that let the reader know exactly where a piece of information came from. (Note: Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page that contains the information you are citing. Endnotes, another form of citing sources, occur at the end of a paper on a separate sheet of paper. Ask your teacher whether he or she wants you to use footnotes or endnotes).
Do provide a footnote for:
- Direct quotes
- Another person’s unique or original idea, analysis, or opinion (even if you have paraphrased that information and put it in your own words).
- Charts, maps, graphs, and pictures
- Statistics and figures, exact dates or times, or facts so specific or controversial they may need to be looked up for verification (in other words, any information not considered “common knowledge”).
Do not provide a footnote for:
- Information considered “common knowledge,” defined as information that is known by an educated person, information that is easily accessible by an educated person, or information easily found in more than one place.
- Information you consider your own unique or original idea, analysis, or opinion.
Footnotes are numbered in order, from one to however many footnotes you have. In other words, number your footnotes in consecutive order, so no footnote has the same number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.).
Footnote Quiz: To Cite or Not to Cite?- Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States.
- Over 600.000 soldiers died in the American Civil War.
- You think Russia was more to blame for the Cold War.
- John Adams was the second president of the United States.
- 85% of methamphetamine users end up in jail at some point during their use.
- You believe Clayton is a better school district than Ladue.
- The first plane hit the WTC on September 11 at 8:46 AM.
- Historian David McCullough thinks Harry Truman is severely underrated as a president.
- You find classical music helps you study more successfully than rock music.
- You think abortion is wrong.
Index for Footnote and Bibliography Samples
*See our CHS Library Online Database for NoodleTools or EasyBib
Footnote Samples / Bibliography SamplesBOOKS
- Book with one author
- Book with multiple authors
- Edited work with an author
- Edited work without an author
- Letter in a published collection
- Book with one author
- Book with multiple authors
- Edited work with an author
- Edited work without an author
- Letter in a published collection
PERIODICALS
- Article in a journal organized by volume
- Article in a journal organized by volume and issue
- Magazine Article
- Newspaper Article
- Book Review
- Article in a journal organized by volume
- Article in a journal organized by volume and issue
- Magazine Article
- Newspaper Article
- Book Review
PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
- Testimony before a Congressional Committee
- Congressional Committee Report
- Treaty
- United States Constitution
- Testimony before a Congressional Committee
- Congressional Committee Report
- Treaty
- United States Constitution
ELECTRONIC SOURCES
- Website with author
- Website without author
- Article accessed through electronic database
- Online newspaper article
- Website with author
- Website without author
- Article accessed through electronic database
- Online newspaper article
OTHER
- Film
- Interview
- Source within a source
- Film
- Interview
Footnote Samples by Source Type
*See our CHS Library Online Database for NoodleTools or EasyBib
1
Books
The basic pieces of information a book citation should include are:
- Author’s full name
- Full title, italicized
- Publication city
- Publisher
- Year
- Page numbers cited
Book with one author
1. Oscar Meyers, A History of the Hot Dog in the American Culture (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1999), 136.
Book with multiple authors
2. Samuel H. Mookie and Yosemite Sam, The American West (San Antonio: University of San Antonio Press, 2001), 79-80.
Edited work with an author
3. Deborah Whines, Slave Women, ed. Tonia Harding (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974), 266.
Edited work without an author
4. Richard Horus, ed. Technology in the Classroom (New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1990), 14.
Letter in a published collection
5. A Dust Bowl Survivor to Franklin Roosevelt, 4 March 1936, Voices of the Great Depression, ed. Davy Crockett Aiello (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1960), 122-124.
Periodicals
The basic pieces of information a periodical citation should include are:
- Author’s full name
- Title of the article in quotes
- Name of the journal, italicized
- The journal volume and/or issue number
- Date
- Page numbers cited
Article in a journal organized by volume
6. Billy Mendel, “The Political Economy of the American South,” The Journal of Southern History 68 (1999): 321.
Article in a journal organized by vol. & issue
7. Billy Mendel, “The Political Economy of the American South,” The Journal of Southern History 68, no. 5 (1999): 321.
Magazine Article
8. Margie Wenzloff, “The Future of Education in Missouri,” Newsweek, January 8, 2008, 12-17.
Newspaper Article
9. Harry Bayles, “The American Economy is Strong?,” The Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2007, 2c.
Book Review
10. Paul H. Werner, review of Famous Couples in American History, by Bruce Weber, American Historical Review 12 (2006): 142.
Public Documents
The basic pieces of information public document citations should include are:
- Location (country, state, city, county, etc.) of where the document was created or issued
- Body that produced the document (House of Representatives, U.S. Court of Appeals, Department of Agriculture, Board of Alderman, etc.)
- Title of document or collection
- Name of author or editor
- Report number if applicable
- Publisher if applicable
- Date
- Page numbers cited
Testimony before a Congressional Committee
11. House Un-American Activities Committee, Testimony Regarding Communist Infiltration in the State Department, 84th Cong., 2nd sess., 1947, 112.
Congressional Committee Report
12. U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Western Responses to International Terrorism, 106th Cong., 1st sess., 2002, Committee Print, 103-104.
Treaty
13. U.S. Department of State, “Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,” November 14, 1849, TIAS no 27, United States Treaties and other International Agreements, vol. 1, 64.
United States Constitution
14. U.S. Constitution, art. 1, sec. 8
Electronic Sources
The basic pieces of information electron source citations should include are:
- Author’s name, if known.
- Title of the document, website, or selection from website, if applicable
- URL (web address), if applicable (note: abbreviate URL’s that are excessively long)
- Date accessed
- If a journal article, all information previously stated for periodicals should be included, as well as the URL or database where the article was found, and the date accessed.
Website with author