Research Paper Assignment

HIS 104
LTCC
Spring 2010

Purpose: To deepen knowledge and understanding of the history of California history and to
build skills in the following areas: synthesis of readings, assessment and verification of
evidence, and expression of a reasoned point-of-view on a topic.

Assignment:

1. Choose a general topic or person that interests you, and choose one of the types of
essays (listed below). Make sure your topic falls within the time period of this course (to
1848).
2. Send a private message to the instructor with your chosen topic and type of essay (e.g.
a role play essay with a soldier in the Mexican War.
3. After receiving approval from the instructor, conduct more research on the topic. You
must use and cite at least five additional sources, three of which must be books from the
LTCC Library (or another college/university library) and/or peer-reviewed electronic
resources from EBSCO Academic Search Elite (accessible through the LTCC library
site).
α. Contacting the LTCC librarian, or any other librarian about getting the best
resources for your topic, is encouraged. LTCC Librarian Lisa Foley (530) 541-
4660 ext. 232, is already familiar with your assignment and can access
specialized history resources from other libraries as well as LTCC's. Her email is:
foley@ltcc.edu It is recommended that you put "HIS 104" in the subject heading
of your email.
β . Encyclopedias are useful for basic background, but they do not count as a
research source.
χ . Be wary of internet sources. Use this guide to find quality sources:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
δ . Wikipedia is prohibited! Although it may be useful in 10 years or so,
Wikipedia’s history entries are riddled with error and odd interpretation.
4. Submit the essay to the Etudes drop box before the deadline.

Details: This essay must be 5-10 pages in length, and it must be typed, double-spaced with a
12pt font and one-inch margins. Use MLA, APA, or Chicago style. The paper must be submitted
in Microsoft Word (or .rtf file) through the Etudes drop box. Late papers will be penalized at the
rate of a 10% point deduction for each 24-hour period late. The essay must be completed in
order to receive a passing grade in the course.

Tips:

Be sure to review the UNC handout on history

(http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/history.html). You may want to skim the handouts
on thesis statements, introductions, argument, paragraphs, and transitions
(http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/index.html)

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 Avoid Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined as using someone else’s ideas or words as your own.
Some examples of plagiarism are: 1) copying a phrase or sentence from a source without giving
credit to the author; 2) summarizing or paraphrasing someone else’s ideas without giving credit
to the author; and 3) handing a paper written by someone else or containing sections written by
someone else. Citations will be checked randomly for accuracy. Plagiarism is a form of cheating
and will result in an automatic grade of F for the class. The instructor will use www.turnitin.com
to uncover plagiarism.

Essay Option # 1 – Explore a counterfactual hypothesis

Lies. Counterfactual hypotheses are not true. In this essay option, you are being asked to write
about a lie. But there are rules that you must follow and objectives to keep in mind in dealing
with this “game” of counterfactual hypothesis. One purpose is to enhance your understanding of
the historical material that your are examining. Another is to increase our ability to write skillfully.
We will take history as it really happened, or at least as we think it really happened, and
make just one change contrary to fact. All else up to that point must be considered to have been
as it really was – except for changes that the counterfactual hypothesis makes possible.
Take an illustration from outside the scope of this course. Suppose that in 1588 the
Spanish Armada had conducted a successful invasion of England. Your objective would be to
write an essay on the history of what might have happened subsequently. The success of the
invasion is the counterfactual element. To write of everything that might have changed is
impossible. You need to select one, two, or three elements around which to build your essay.
For example, would England have become Spanish-speaking? Mexico did, when conquered by
Spain. But the French-speaking Normans had invaded England five centuries earlier without
that result. Would England have become Roman Catholic? Around these questions an answer
can be built, an answer that requires a careful reading of this history of the time and thoughtful
consideration of what might have been the result of a change in one major element. What other
changes would necessarily have had to take place? What might have taken place?
The process, then, is to establish the counterfactual hypothesis and to develop a good
idea of the size of the change. Read widely on the subject and focus on a few threads or
historical themes that you wish to develop. Write an essay about the history of what follows after
the counterfactual element, emphasizing the historical themes you have chosen. Reread your
essay with a particular eye for anachronism or historical impossibility and, of course, proofread.
At the end of your essay, provide a bibliography.
Below are a few examples of counterfactual hypotheses (again, outside of the scope of
this course). Some are broad, some are narrow – different kinds of challenges would be
encountered in developing each essay.
• The Europeans were unable to stop Muslim expansion, and Muslim forces captured
Western Europe but not England (yet).
• The Pope granted Henry VIII a legal divorce from his first wife.

Essay Option # 2 – Role playing: If I were . . .

The life circumstances of individual men and women are as much the ingredients of
history as are constitutions and treaties. What was it like to be a Native American in California at
the moment the Spanish arrived? Or a soldier in California during the Mexican War?

Your assignment is to write an autobiographical account of yourself, in the role and

occupation designated, at the end of the year indicated. The essential elements are to describe
the nature and character of the occupation and role assigned to you and to place it as carefully
and fully as possible in historical context. If, for example, you are an Aztec nobleman in
1519, you would describe the nature and character of the life of an Aztec noble and, most likely,

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your (invented) role in the invasion by the Spanish.

You are invited to create a name for yourself and an age, a family, a religion, an ethnicity
(where these are not implicit in the given role). What you must do is describe adequately the
person and that person’s relationship with the events and circumstances of the day. In addition
to consulting the best available historical sources, you may also consider novels and short
stories that will help you better understand the nature of your character’s life. At the end of your
essay, provide a bibliography of works consulted.

Essay Option # 3 – Looking Back: If I could speak to . . .

Here is your opportunity to make your opinion heard. You are going to give advice based on
common sense and historical hindsight. Your advice, you must assume, will be taken
seriously. Your preparation for giving the advice will be developed from a study of materials
dealing with the issues, from your course readings and from your additional research. At the end
of your statement of advice, provide a bibliography of the works you have consulted.

Your advice can be in the form of a personal letter, a letter to the editor, a magazine
article, or any other appropriate format that is used to convey advice. The quality of your paper
will depend on the degree to which it reasons logically and demonstrates an understanding of
the historical circumstances.

General Research Paper Guidelines1

First Steps

1. Select a topic. Investigate to make sure that the topic is researchable (i.e. that sources
are available). Then limit your topic. For example, the complete history of Reno would
require 100 pages or more, so try one aspect of the history of Reno

2. Find information and build a bibliography. Search the library catalog to find sources.
When you have found a usable source, note call number, author(s), Title and subtitle,
place of publication, Publisher’s name, date of publication, and edition, volume number
or internet address (if applicable). Create a bibliography in the MLA or CMS format.

Researching

1. Take notes using summary, paraphrase, and direct quotation. To summarize,

condense a long passage (several pages) into a paragraph. To paraphrase, keep
the content of a source but put it in your own words. If the words are particularly
important, write them down, but make sure to note that this is a direct quote.

2. Find a way to keep your notes organized. The most common technique is to use
cards that are divided into various areas of your research. On a computer, use
separate files.

1 These guidelines come from H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, The Little, Brown
Handbook (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995), 504-87. However, most English language
handbooks contain similar information.

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Writing

3. Synthesize the sources. The research paper requires you to notice the similarities and
differences in your sources, to sort these out, and to create a new synthesis that results
in new knowledge. In other words, your paper must not simply rephrase one source --
you must combine several sources to create a new and unique paper.

1. Avoid Plagiarism by citing sources: Plagiarism is defined as using someone

else’s ideas or words as your own. Some examples of plagiarism are: 1) copying
a phrase or sentence from a source without giving credit to the author; 2)
summarizing or paraphrasing someone else’s ideas without giving credit to the
author; and 3) handing a paper written by someone else. Citations will be
checked randomly. Plagiarism is a form of cheating.

4. Structure

1. The introduction should introduce the reader to the subject in an interesting way.
It should also contain your thesis statement. This usually appears at the end of
the first paragraph. The thesis is the central idea of your paper.

2. The body of the essay should contain paragraphs that support your thesis. Each
paragraph should have a topic sentence, and all material in the paragraph should
relate to that topic sentence.

3. The conclusion should contain a restatement of the thesis and one last appeal to
readers. Some tips for good conclusions: strike a note of hope or despair; use a
quotation; give a symbolic or powerful fact or detail; and/or restate the thesis in a
fresh way.

5. Draft and Revise

1. After completing a first draft of the paper, let it sit for a few days. Then read it
critically. Note and correct any flaws. Rewrite parts or the whole paper if
necessary. Professional writers write several drafts.

6. Proofread the final copy. Correct any grammar or spelling errors. You’re finished!