College History HST104 ( 2 pages only)

WRITING ASSIGNMENT ONE – NARRATIVE/BASIC RESEARCH

HST104 WESTERN CIV. II -- BOGNAR

REVISED JANUARY 27, 2015

Write two to three pages on your experiences learning about history, what subject(s) interest you, and create a sample bibliography…

I. For the first couple paragraphs, write about your experiences learning history throughout your life. Have you enjoyed learning about the past? (I won’t take points off if you haven’t.) Have teachers found a way to apply history to the present and make it real or even make you wonder about your family's past? If so, how? Provide specific examples, if you remember them. If you were in my other Western Civilization class, re-examine and possibly expand upon what you wrote then. Have your impressions of learning history changed since our class? What essentials skills (reading/research/writing) have you improved upon?

II. Following a general "textbook reconnaissance,” focus on Making Europe chapters 18 (Trade and Empire, 1700-1800), 19 (Revolutionary France and Napoleonic Europe, 1775-1815) or 20 (Restoration and Reform: Conservative and Liberal Europe, 1814-1847) and look for a subject you may want to write in detail (a bit later) for your five to six page research paper. (It may be either persuasive or compare/contrast. Sample outlines for each style will be online in Course Content.) Write a sample prospectus proposing a topic and write questions you would like to investigate.

Quality research papers develop when one thinks deeply about an interesting subject, probes for good questions to ask, turns those questions into a solid thesis statement, and answers the questions with the results of sound research. Review Doing History chapter 2 on making a prospectus (p. 23-24) and narrowing topics. (Chapter 5 mentions the prospectus again on 87-88 and discusses persuasive paper writing in great detail.)

III. Finally, following proper APA or Chicago style formatting, create a list of three or more academic sources regarding your potential subject(s). APA or Chicago formatting is easily accomplished using Word’s Reference ribbon tab features. Whether you use APA or Chicago, be consistent throughout. Chicago (also known as Turabian) is covered in depth in chapter 7 of Doing History. Visit the library or ask me if you have any questions. I recommend using the library databases to get started.

Students are required to submit their complete drafts to Kinkel Center in a timely manner. Final papers are due printed in class and emailed to me. They should not be submitted to the Kinkel Center. This paper is worth up to 50 points: 10 points for the draft and 40 for the final draft examined and graded based on the standards outlined in the history rubric posted on Blackboard. The final paper must be two to three pages in length (not including cover pages or bibliographical citations), double-spaced, standard font/margin size (APA specifies Calibri 12), using proper grammar and spelling.

Due dates for this assignment are contained in the official syllabus.