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HIST 310 (Kehew)

HIST 310 (Kehew)

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Your Research Project

At the conclusion of this assignment, students will be able to:

  • Conduct independent primary and secondary source research by defining and narrowing a research topic, then researching, and analyzing academic history sources.
  • Synthesize information to draw conclusions about the research topic.
  • Produce a 1000 word (minimum) essay using formal academic writing skills and MLA citations.

Approach:

Think about and choose a topic related to U.S. history, 1600-1877.  

  1. Using the skills you learned in the Library Research Tutorial training to assess web sources for their appropriateness for academic research, go to the SCC Library Research Databases and do some searches to find peer-reviewed, academic history sources on your topic.
  2. Once you have narrowed your topic and found a minimum of 3 secondary academic history journal articles or scholarly books, you are ready to start writing. See tips for How to Write a History Paper.
  3. Once your paper is written, proofread carefully and run a spelling and grammar checker. Make sure your paper meets the class writing guidelines. Save in .doc or PDF format, and upload by the deadline.

Paper Requirements:

  • Write a 1000 word (minimum) paper on your topic using formal academic language, making an argument, or stating a thesis in the introductory paragraph to show the importance or significance of your topic.
  • Discuss your topic chronologically (pay attention to dates and talk about the time periods in order, earliest to latest) and show change over time.
  • Include and cite information from at least 3 secondary academic history articles or scholarly books, using MLA format in-text and full citations at the end.
  • Save your document as a PDF, .doc or .docx file, and upload to the assignment page by the stated deadline.