Paper Topic Assignment

Paper Topic Assignment

History 467

Due Friday, April 20

This assignment is the first step toward writing a research paper on a topic of particular interest to you.

In order to write a good paper, you'll need the following:

An interesting topic
A good historical question to ask and answer in your paper
A set of primary sources in which to look for an answer.

Your assignment is to come to class on Friday, April 20 with a one-page list of topics, questions, and primary sources ready to discuss with other students. Your ideas should be as well-developed as you can make them on your own because we'll use your ideas to help you refine your topic so that you'll be ready to hand your formal paper proposal in to me on Monday, April 30th.

Here's how to get started:

Topics: My hope is that you'll use this paper assignment to explore one of the many topics in 20th-century U.S. western history that I don't have time to cover in detail in class lectures. If you have an idea already in mind, start with that. If not, try looking through the list of lecture titles for the course. Click on each title for a lecture outline; within each outline, click on "suggested readings" for lists of sources, books, video, and web sites that might help you think of topics.

Questions: Once you've got a general topic in mind, pose a specific question about it that you can ask and answer in your paper. A good historical question should meet all of the following requirements (click on each requirement for examples):

A good historical question is broad enough to interest you--and, hopefully, your classmates. Click for examples

A good question is narrow enough so that you can find a persuasive answer to in time to meet the due date for this class paper. Click for examples

A good historical question demands an answer that is not just yes or no. Click for examples.

A good historical question must be phrased in such a way that the question does not predetermine the answer. Click for examples

Primary Sources: A Primary Source is a document that was created at the time of the event or subject you've chosen to study or by people who were observers of or participants in that event or topic. Primary sources take many forms. Some are unpublished manuscripts and others are published books. You can find them in the library stacks, in special collections or archives, or on the web. One place to start looking is in the list of "suggested readings" included in each lecture outline on the course web page. The first section, "Resources for Papers," is your best bet, but don't overlook the websites listed below, either.

Grades: This assignment is worth 10 points. Before you hand it in in class, be sure to put your email address on the first page so that I can respond to you with comments.