Report on one of the following architectural theorists:
Étienne-Louis Boullée
John Ruskin
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc
Report on one of the buildings, landscape designs or utopian communities below:
Altes Museum, K. F. Schinkel, Berlin, 1824-28
Athenaeum Club, Decimus Burton, London, 1830
Biltmore House, Richard Morris Hunt (with Olmstead), Asheville, NC, 1888-95
Boston Public Library, McKim, Mead & White Boston, MA, 1887-92.
Central Park, Olmstead and Vaux, New York, NY, 1858-76
Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel, Paris, 1887-89
Marshall Field Wholesale Store, H. H. Richardson, Chicago, IL, 1885-87
Parliament House, Imre Steindl, Budapest, 1904
Pentonville Prison, Joshua Jebb, London, 1842
Monticello, Thomas Jefferson, Charlottesville, VA, 1770-1809
Selfridge’s Department Store, Daniel Burnham, London, 1909
The Shaker’s utopian communities
Stowe Gardens, Buckinghamshire, England, 1730-51
THESIS, OUTLINE AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT
This assignment requires the following steps:
1. Research your paper
2. Identity at least four solid sources and describe why they are helpful
3. Formulate a viable thesis
4. Create an outline
Researching your paper:
Look at a wide variety of sources when researching, beginning with general sources and then concentrating on specific sources. Encyclopedias and survey textbooks are good for introductory or background material and for discovering specific sources, but they should not be the most important sources for your paper. Books and academic articles on your topic are the best sources for research papers, since they provide specific information and because they are more reliable than other sources of information. Electronic databases such as Google Scholar, JSTOR and Project Muse, which provide access to online academic journals, will be crucial for researching your topic. Internet sources can vary in quality, from reputable academic websites with reliable information to completely unhelpful websites that plagiarize other people’s works or ideas. When using Internet sites, pay attention to the last few letters of the website; websites ending in .edu or .gov tend to be the most reputable, followed by .org websites. Be wary of .com websites, and try to verify any information from those websites before including them in your research paper, if at all. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source but can provide information on acceptable sources.
When researching, make sure to write down the bibliographic information of every source you consult. Writing down the complete bibliographic information of each source as you research makes it easier to format your bibliography and footnotes as you write your paper. This technique also helps prevent plagiarism. When taking notes from books or other print media, note page numbers as well. For internet sites, note not only the url address, but also the title of the site, the author or editor of the site (if there is one), the sponsoring organization, the date you visited the site, and any other information that would help a reader find your original source.
Finally, when taking notes, make sure you make note of whether what you have written down is a direct quote or a paraphrasing of material (summary of a source in your own unique words). This is important in order to avoid accidentally plagiarizing a source. Also, when taking notes, it is also helpful to write why you feel the evidence you are noting is important or relevant to your thesis—this will help you in writing both your annotated bibliography and your paper later on.
Questions to keep in mind while researching:
· Is the source relevant to my thesis?
· Is this a general or specific source? Does this source provide footnotes that can lead me to more specific sources?
· How reliable is the source? Is it too old or does it come from a questionable authority?
· For Internet sites: is this a reliable source? Who wrote it? When? Can I verify the information?
· Did I write down the source’s bibliographic information? Have I correctly noted the source of all my notes?
· Have I made a distinction between different types of notes (quotes, paraphrases, summaries, etc.) and my own thoughts?
Annotated Bibliography
You must have a minimum of four sources for your annotated bibliography.
An annotated bibliography is a list of the sources you plan to use in your quarter research paper and a brief discussion of the usefulness of each. The purpose is both to help you organize your resources in terms of their relevance to various aspects of your paper and to let me know that you have chosen sources that will allow you to complete the assignment successfully.
Under each source you list, you should write a brief summary (no more than 150 words) of why this source is valuable for your research. Your discussion should include the specific contribution the source will make to your paper. If you happen to find sources with different conclusions on the same topic, you should mention both this difference in opinion and the manner in which this divergence will inform your work.
I will allow internet sources in your paper (see the Research section above), but you are limited to one and you must present valid reasons for the reliability of this source (again, Wikipedia is not acceptable). Because it is a general survey, your textbook is not considered an acceptable source for this assignment but remember to comb through the endnotes and bibliography for possible sources.
Remember that this paper is your opportunity to learn about an aspect of the built environment of the time frame we focus on that we have not covered in class.
The style I ask you to choose for your bibliographic and footnote (or endnote) citations is the Chicago-Turabian style. Please see the pdf guide to Chicago-Turabian on Blackboard.
Developing a Thesis
The thesis statement is the single most important sentence in your research paper. A good thesis statement presents an argument in favor of a specific position and also gives the reader an idea of the organization of your research paper. This distinguishes a research paper from a report, which is a basic summary or presentation of fact without an overarching argument or analysis. Thesis statements are important because they allow you to not only present information but also to analyze information in support of a position on an issue.
How do you develop an effective thesis? An effective thesis serves to answer a question about an issue or topic. For example, the question could be “Are the Houses of Parliament a pure example of Gothic Revival Architecture?” This could be answered either “Yes, it is” or “No it is not.” However, this is not sufficient as a thesis: a thesis should provide supporting reasons for the stated position. These reasons form the main elements of the paper and illustrate the organization of the paper. For example, a better thesis would be “The Houses of Parliament are not a pure example of Gothic Revival Architecture because Charles Berry incorporated neoclassical elements into the design such as symmetry, hierarchy, and axial organization.” This thesis presents a clear argument against pure Gothic Revival and presents three main points or evidence in support of the argument. The three points in support of the argument can then be developed into major topics within the paper, providing a logical and coherent organization to the paper. By providing an argument and major points in support of the argument, the thesis gives your paper a strong focus and makes writing the paper much easier.
Therefore, when developing a thesis, it is important to have several questions in mind:
· What question does my thesis try to answer?
· Does my thesis present a clear argument?
· Does my thesis present specific points that support my argument?
· Can I determine the organization of my paper from my thesis?