Milestone 2

HIS 117 Milestone O ne Guidelines and Rubric Introduction and Thesis Statement

Overview: In Module One, you identified your topic and research focus for the final project. In this assignment, you will build upon that foundation to craft the introduction and thesis statement for your final historical analysis paper. When formulating your thesis statement, you should draw upon at least three scholarly primary or secondary resources. These resources need to be presented in a bibliography using Turabian format. Each element of this milestone will help you in the development of your rough draft. As you work on this milestone, you may want to review this resource on how to develop an introduction.

Prompt: For this assignment, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Introduction: Submit your introduction to your final historical analysis paper. It should include the following:

A. Introduce your topic related to why humans created societies, states, and empires in the premodern world. In your first journal assignment, you provided a rough idea of your topic, which addressed the statement: “Humans created societies, states, and empires from the late Neolithic period to 1500 CE in order to...” In your introduction, briefly describe your topic and provide reasons for this choice.

B. Create a thesis statement that sets up the argument you will try to prove in your essay. Your argument should provide an answer to the question of why humans created societies, states, and empires. Some possible answers include: to maintain a common defense, to allow for the growth of individuals, to guarantee admission to heaven, and so on. Your thesis statement should be formulated after rereading the primary and secondary sources that you selected from the vetted links in the Research Guide document. You should rely on these sources to support your argument in the Research and Analysis section of your final paper. Your thesis statement can be one or two sentences long.

C. Describe the three specific empires, states, or societies that you will analyze in your paper. Identify the three states or empires you selected from the following world regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, or the Americas. Briefly describe them and the reasons you choose them.

II. Bibliography: Your bibliography for Milestone One must contain at least three scholarly resources [two primary and one secondary from the collections listed in the Shapiro Library’s Research Guide for HIS 117 (http://libguides.snhu.edu/worldcivilizations)] tha t you will use to support your thesis statement. Make sure each resource is formatted correctly using Turabian style. For information on Turabian style, review the following resources: Shapiro Library and OWL.

Guidelines for Submission: Milestone One should be submitted as a 1.5- to 2-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Your sources should be cited in Turabian format.

Rubric Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (70%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Introduction: Topic

Introduces the topic related to why humans created societies, states, and empires, including an introduction to the examples that will be used

Introduces the topic related to why humans created societies, states, and empires, including an introduction to the examples that will be used, but introduction is too wordy or contains inaccuracies

Does not introduce the topic related to why humans created societies, states, and empires

20

Introduction: Thesis

Statement

Creates a thesis statement that clearly states the argument that addresses the question and provides an answer to that question; draws on research from primary and secondary sources for support

Creates a thesis statement but it is too wordy or does not clearly state the argument; does not adequately present an answer to the question and/or does not adequately draw on research from primary and secondary sources for support

Does not create a thesis statement that addresses the question and does not provide an answer to that question or draw on research

40

Introduction: States, Societies,

and Empires

Includes a brief description of the three civilizations selected as examples and reasons they were chosen

Includes a description of the three civilizations selected but it is too wordy or contains inaccuracies; does not include reasons they were chosen

Does not include the three states, societies, or empires or reasons why they were chosen

20

Bibliography Utilizes scholarly resources to substantiate claims and includes a bibliography page formatted using Turabian format

Resources utilized are not scholarly or there are major errors in the formatting of the bibliography page

Does not include a bibliography page 10

Writing Mechanics

Submission has no major errors related to grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization

Submission contains significant errors related to grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that do not impact readability or articulation of ideas

Submission has critical errors related to grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that impact readability or articulation of ideas

10

Total 100%