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Mr. Painter
United States History
U.S. History Term Paper Assignment
This semester you will write a six to seven page (typed, doublespaced, one inch margins on all four sides, 12 point, using New
Times Roman style font which does not include pictures, maps,
charts, title page, works sited page, etc.) term paper on a
controversial person of major significance in the history of the
United States. You will complete and turn in two items: a notes
manuscript and the final draft paper itself. Both are to be turned in
electronically using Word or a PDF file.
Notes Manuscript This will contain all of the research material
(and then some) that you will use to write your paper. To create it
you need to consult a minimum of five different sources, two of
which must be books (these books can come from the internet),
and three of which from other sources. You must draw heavily
from all your sources. Click on the link at the end of these
directions. For each source, you will create a typed set of notes,
starting with a proper bibliographic citation and containing every
quote, paraphrase, fact, or interpretation that you think you might
use in your final draft, along with a page reference. (An
abbreviated example is viewed below.) A six-to-seven page paper
will require about twelve to fourteen pages of notes. Research
your topic thoroughly and prepare your notes manuscript carefully
—it is the “raw material” needed to write the paper, and I will
consult it as I read your final draft paper itself. Use your textbook
as a guide, not a source. Do not use Wikipedia as a source but it
can be used as a guide.
Due Date: 5-11 (make two copies; one for you and one for me)
The Paper Itself Here you take your research material and craft it
into an argument that answers the question you have been given.
The paper should contain parenthetical citations and a “works
cited” page (bibliography) prepared in accordance with MLA
guidelines. This page is not part of the six to seven page
requirement.
Due Date: 5-19
If you need help at any point during your research or writing,
ASK! I will hold you strictly accountable to the instructions you
have been given and expect you to approach this project with a
sense of initiative and responsibility.
Notes Manuscript (Abbreviated Example)
Standage, Tom. The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of
the Telegraph and the Nineteenth-Century’s On-Line Pioneers.
New York: Walker and Co., 1998. (Notice the indentation and
double spacing)
“The fame of the telegraph took a giant leap when it was used to
announce the birth of Queen Victoria’s second son, Alfred Ernest at
Windsor on August 6, 1844.” (49) police arrested a criminal
suspect by using the telegraph to alert Baltimore forces that he
would be arriving on a train from Washington D.C. (53) both
Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie worked as telegraph
messenger boys (64)
Crimean War first to be covered by telegraph, Bucharest line
extended under the sea, meant ship departures/destinations could
no longer be shared with newspapers, commanders unhappy that
leaders second-guessed them, horrible conditions of the common
soldiers could no longer be hidden and were reported by the press
(154-58)
The in text citation in the final draft should be seen as
(Standage 53) If there is no author to an article, the in text
citation should be seen as ( “The Telegraph” ) and it should be
listed in the works cited page as “The Telegraph Through
History” Gale Net http:www. Galenet.org.
The Assignment:
Hero, Villain, or Victim?
Person: Al
Capone
Your assignment is to assess the person you have been given in
light of all three of the categories above. Your paper must make
clear why the person is regarded as controversial and praised by
some (hero) while abhorred by others (villain). How is your
subject a victim? In your paper’s conclusion you should offer your
own assessment; villain, victim, or hero. Choose only one and
back up your statements. Acquire a decent general understanding
of the person’s acts and era before beginning your note-taking—
your textbook (or any general U.S. history text) is a good place to
start. Remember, your text (or any textbook used at Milken) is
to be considered a guide, not a source. Also, do not use
Wikipedia as a source, only a guide.
(Advise: color code in your notes manuscript the hero-villainvictim information using three different colors. That will make
for easier reference)
Check this Milken library web site out for your research
paper.
http://library.milkenschool.org/hero
The Rubric is on the next page.
Rubric for U.S. History Second Semester Term
Paper
Triumphant Competent Wobbly
Introduction
directly
addresses
question,
establishes
context;
provides
succinct
summaries of
each
perspective;
includes
student’s own
perspective
Thesis is
consistently
advanced by
ample,
accurate, and
relevant
historical
evidence; all
evidence used
appears in
notes
manuscript
Pathetic
Introduction
directly
addresses
question;
context,
summaries of
perspectives,
and student’s
own
perspective are
partially
present and/or
partially
developed
Introduction
directly
addresses
question, but
provides little
or no context
Paper has no
or little or no
discernible
information
introduction
about the
multiple
perspectives or
the student’s
own
perspective
Thesis is
generally
supported by
accurate and
relevant
evidence; all
evidence used
appears in
notes
manuscript
Thesis is
partially
supported by
relevant
evidence;
paper may
contain
inaccuracies;
evidence
appears that
cannot be
traced to notes
manuscript
Evidence is
lacking, largely
irrelevant or
inaccurate;
paper content
bears little
resemblance to
information in
notes
manuscript
Language is
often
Language is
incoherent or
consistently
Language is
imprecise;
used clearly
mostly clear
paragraphs and
and coherently; and coherent;
sentences
paragraphs are paragraphs are
frequently lack
wellusually welllogical
organized;
organized;
progression;
paper contains paper has few
paper contains
almost no
grammatical or
numerous
grammatical or typographical
grammatical
typographical errors
and
errors
typographical
errors
Language is
largely
unclear;
paragraphs and
sentences lack
narrative
coherence;
grammatical
and
typographical
errors
permeate paper
Only direct
All quotes as
All quotes as
quotes are
well as ideas
well as most
attributed with
taken from
ideas taken
accurate MLA
sources are
from sources
format in-text Paper does not
clearly
are seemingly citations, or
contain in-text
attributed with attributed with quotes and
citations
accurate MLA- accurate MLA ideas are both
format in-text format in-text attributed but
citations
citations
format is
incorrect
Works Cited
list is
appended in
precisely
correct MLA
format
Works Cited
list is
appended and
contains
insignificant
errors (such as
incorrect
month
abbreviations)
only
Works Cited
list contains
significant
formatting
errors or
repeated minor
errors that
were already
pointed out on
notes
manuscript
Works Cited
list is missing
or inaccurate
to the point of
being unusable