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Research Paper (40%): You will be required to write an 8-10-page research paper, excluding the title page and bibliography, on the choice of your topic, analyzing a specific question related to Islamic art, or a work of art produced in Islamic cultures that interests you. This paper is worth 40% of your final grade. Topics should be approved by me during office hours. If the regular office hours do not fit your schedule, please email me to set an appointment. Going under or over the page range is not recommended, as the purpose is to learn how to make an argument in a specified amount of space. You should support your argument with evidence that you gather from primary and secondary sources, whether works of art or texts, always with critical distance. Papers must be typed or word-processed, standard font, spacing, and margins. Papers should have the standard format required of a university paper, including title page, proper and consistent citation (with suggested MLA or Chicago Manual of Style format), style, bibliography, and page numbers. The research paper should be based on scholarly sources, which means peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and academic reports from well-known research institutes. Dictionaries, lecture notes, encyclopedias (including Wikipedia), and most websites are not acceptable. Your paper will be graded according to: 1) how clearly and thoroughly you define the issue based on your research question, 2) the extent and clarity of your factual understanding of the issue and its context, 3) your analysis and answering the research question you present, and 4) Proper citation, grammar, and style. If you have any questions regarding research or writing, you are always welcome to meet with me during office hours or by appointment.