Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. Zora Neale Hurston --- Throughout the course, you have investigated deep, historical questions and addressed them in scholarly essays. The process of each writing exercise involved reading, thinking, and writing skills development, and now is your chance to produce a capstone piece that demonstrates your mastery of those skills. Time constraints preclude us from delving deep into any one topic, especially those topics germane to the 16 th, 17 th, and 18 th centuries. Take this opportunity to select a topical question that interests you. I m flexible about topic selection you may even change or contort a topic after consulting with me but you must conduct research, develop a narrow, clear, debatable, causal and/or contrasting argument, and produce a written product for submission. Research Topics and Questions 1 History and Philosophy o Contrast Bentham and Mill s utilitarianism with Kant s deontological ethics, and determine the superiority of one of those moral philosophies. o Research and analyze an Enlightenment philosophe (Voltaire, Hume, Rousseau, Diderot, Beccaria, etc.) and evaluate his or her contributions to European society. o How did discoveries and innovations of the Scientific Revolution impact the Enlightenment s beginnings? History and War o How did the Thirty Years War (1618 1648) represent a turning point in European history? o How or in what way did earlier wars like the Seven Years War (1756-1763) and the American Revolution (1776-1783) impact the French Revolution (1789-1799)? o How did the French Revolution s ideals Liberté, Egalité, and Fraternité reflect the political, social, and economic breakdown of the Ancién Regime? History and Women o Research and analyze a significant woman of the Enlightenment (Émilie du Châtelet, Mary Wollstonecraft, Olympe de Gouges, salon women, etc.) and evaluate her impact on Women s Rights or on European society. o Research and analyze a significant female political ruler (Caterina Sforza, Isabella I, Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I, Catherine de Medici, Catherine the Great) and evaluate her contribution to European politics and society. o Research, analyze, and evaluate Marie Antoinette s legacy. How is she remembered and how should she be remembered? History and Religion o Evaluate the Roman Catholic Church s attempt to slow down Protestant Reformation with the Counter-Reformation. o Research, analyze, and evaluate the condition of a religious minority in 16 th, 17 th, or 18 th century Europe and its interactions with other faith traditions. 1 Some questions overlap with other topics. It is important to note that some topics and questions are necessarily general and broad. Do not commit the academically fatal error of writing a research paper that is general and broad! Your task is to explore your topic/question and determine something specific to argue.
History and Science o Can we reasonably assert that the Scientific Revolution was truly revolutionary? o Which development(s) during the Scientific Revolution most challenged Church doctrine? How so? What was the Church s response? o What is the most significant scientific contribution that has promoted stability, order, and healthy living in the world? History and Politics o Compare Hobbes and Locke s perspectives on man, and explain how their worldviews affect their respective ideal governments. History and the Arts o Research, analyze, and evaluate a 17 th or 18 th century composer s impact on music and on European society. o Research, analyze, and evaluate William Shakespeare s influence on theatre, literature, politics, or language. o Analyze how a satirist (i.e. Jonathan Swift, Voltaire, Erasmus, etc.) helped to promote a more free and liberal European society. Investigate challenges to this literary movement. History and Economics o Adam Smith considered free trade far superior to mercantilism. For Smith, mercantilism inhibited economic growth and free trade helped solve that problem. Analyze and evaluate his argument. History and Geography o In his book Guns, Germs, and Steel, acclaimed author and geographer Jared Diamond seeks to explain why some societies are more materially successful than others. He attributes societal success largely to geography. Assess and evaluate his claim. History and Technology o Analyze the impact of a technological development on European education between 1450 and 1650. o Analyze how technological developments contributed to the expansion of state power between 1450 and 1600. Other Questions/Topics by Geography India o What role did Gandhi play in improving world peace? o How or in what way was Gandhi detrimental to India s political development after independence? South Africa o What brought about the end of apartheid in South Africa? Jamaica o Analyze and evaluate the role of slavery and slave rebellions in Jamaica s past. Russia o How did the Industrial Age influence Karl Marx s writing of the Communist Manifesto?
Guidelines and Expectations Pre-Writing o Understand the topic and question know to the best of your ability the research topic and question. Analyze language (deconstruct and construct words); identify and circle terms, and think about what the topic and question is asking. o Explore to the ends of the Earth use library texts (Minuteman Libraries or ABRHS s library), databases (JSTOR and Gale World History in Context), and find relevant primary and secondary sources. Read through and scan over helpful sources. Discard or ignore unhelpful ones. o Organize your work write down relevant ideas, information, and evidence on note cards or on a word processor. You may benefit by creating a table organized by source, information/quote, and significant of the information. We ve worked on that. o Carefully analyze your sources (deconstruct language and construct ideas), looking for strengths and tensions in the text; circle and identify patterns, trends, connections in the text; think about why these sources exist in the first place. Writing o Outline and write multiple drafts. o Create a narrow, clear, debatable, causal and/or contrasting thesis statement. o Use evidence from the sources you discover; analyze how it supports your position. o Cite by quoting, summarizing, paraphrasing, and/or generalizing when helpful (but do not over-quote, over-summarize, over-paraphrase, etc.); the writing should be your writing. o Include an introduction (relevant attention-grabbing opening, context with core terms, thesis, etc.), body paragraphs (transitions and topic sentences, information and evidence), a counterargument paragraph, and a conclusion (revisit the thesis in a nuanced and subtle way, thinking about the big picture, ending forcefully). o Produce a Works Cited (and not a Works Consulted) page that follows MLA conventions (alphabetized, double-spaced, hanging indents, not numbered/bulleted); take note of MLA citation requirements for books, articles, websites, databases, etc. They vary! Draw from various types of sources if you can. o Minimum of 4 ½ pages in length; maximum of 7 pages. Some General Advice (1) Regularly save your work; (2) have a peer and/or adult read drafts of your paper for feedback and insight; (3) hear your writing! Read your paper out loud and listen for oddly worded phrases, awkwardness, wordiness, etc. Tentative Schedule* Pre-writing/research; consider prior knowledge or revisit relevant sources learned; carefully analyze new sources, take notes, organize your research by 03/17/2017. Craft an outline by Friday, 03/31/2017; this outline will evolve as you research more. Craft a rough draft by Monday, 04/10/2017 and have it proofread during the weekend. Craft a second rough draft by Thursday, 04/13/2017; have it proofread during the break. Craft third draft on 05/01/2017; a fourth draft on 05/05/2017; a final draft 05/08/2017. * I reserve the right to spot-check or collect any work throughout the writing process, so please be mindful of completing your work a measured fashion.
Below is a brief list of structural and mechanical expectations. I encourage you to consult the Green Mark Exercise handout to see the full list of grammar items from which I may check. Organizational Structure Header 4-line MLA header One- or two-part title, distinctive and hints at your argument Times New Roman font Introduction Hook/attention-grabbing sentence Context that paces well, builds momentum Core terms relevant to topic Thesis/structure statement (narrow and specific, clear and concise, causal and/or contrasting) Body/Evidence Paragraphs Strong transitions and topic sentence (each topic sentence must be relevant to the thesis) Evidence and analyzes (draw from sources); each body paragraph should function to support the thesis If a topic from a body paragraph is extensive, consider breaking into multiple paragraphs but keep a consistency among topics Counterargument Paragraph Identify the existence of an alternative view/argument/claim/thesis Explain the logic thoroughly (~1/2 a paragraph) Defuse the counterargument (demonstrate its limitations/flaws and why your claim is superior) Conclusion Revisit thesis in subtle and nuanced way Consider broader implications/ Big Picture End with a clincher sentence Mechanics and Cosmetics Syntax Repetitive syntax structures Passivity/the verb to be /limit or be wary of overused verbs ( to use, to do, to have, etc.) Wordiness and awkwardness (tighten writing limit prep. phrases, excessive gerunds; Can I simplify or tighten this sentence? Can I do it even more? ) Avoiding/eliminating the negation Pronoun-antecedent agreement Dangling and misplaced modifiers Proper punctuation (know when and how to use a colon, semi-colon, dash, etc.) Language Word and verb choice Repetition Unnecessary adverbs and adjectives Avoiding/eliminating the conditional ( would, could, and should ) Squishiness ( might, seem, may, can, etc.) Vagueness write specifically! Historical Writing Write in the historical past tense; analyze in the present tense Be wary of tense conclusion/shifting tenses Proper in-text parenthetical citation Formal works cited page Quote, paraphrase, summarize, generalize (but your writing should be your writing, so don t overdo citations) If you quote, limit what you weave. Overall Hear your writing (does it sound/hear well?) Are you proud of your work?
The research paper assignment included questions that might guide your research. That assignment sheet will be more helpful in guiding your research. However, if you feel stuck and would like additional entry points, consider the following historical figures, topics, and events. Whatever you end up researching, your paper must be anchored around a research question and you must craft a narrow/specific, clear/concise, causal and/or contrasting, and debatable/falsifiable thesis. American Montezuma (Aztec Emperor) Atahualpa (Ruler of the Inca Empire) Touissant L Ouverture (Leader of Haitian Slave Revolt) African/Middle East Suleiman the Magnificent (Ruler of the Ottoman Turks) Sunni Ali (Songhai Ruler) Askia Mohammed (Songhai Ruler) Asian Kangxi (Longest Reigning Emperor in Chinese history Qing Dynasty) Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Japanese Warlord Invades Korea) Tokugawa Ieyasu (Japanese, Founded Tokugawa Dynasty of Shoguns) Akbar the Great (Indian Ruler, Inspired Gandhi) Babur (Founder of Mughal Empire in India) Sejong the Great (Korea Ruler and Warlord in 1400s) European Women Catherine de Medici (Powerful Queen of France, Patron of the Arts) Maria de Medici (Queen of France Surrounded by Intrigue) Charlotte Corday (Assassin during the French Revolution) Catherine the Great (Powerful and Benevolent Ruler of Russia) Marie Antoinette (Last French Queen before the French Revolution) Mary Wollstonecraft (Inspiration for the Modern Women s Rights Movement) Empress Maria Theresa (Empress of Remnants of Holy Roman Empire in 1700s) Queen Isabella of Spain (Married to Ferdinand, funded Columbus voyages) Catherine Sforza (Powerful Italian Noblewoman) Queen Elizabeth (Queen of England during the Country s Golden Age ) European Men Ivan the Terrible (Czar of Russia) Ulrich Zwingli (Protestant Reformer) John Cabot (Explorer) William of Orange, AKA The Silent (Leader of Dutch Revolt against Spanish Rule) Boris Godunuv (Russian Czar) J.S. Bach (Composer) Monteverdi (Composer) Jean-Baptiste Colbert (Finance Minister to Louis XIV) Pope Paul III (Pope of the Counter-Reformation) Pope Paul IV (Pope of the Counter-Reformation) Frederick II The Great (King of Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire in the 1700s)
Joseph II (son of Maria Theresa and an Enlightened Despot ) Jan Sobieski (Stopped Turkish Ottoman Advance into Europe) Eugene of Savoy (Famous Military Commander Also Fought the Turks) Cardinal Richelieu (Advisor to Several French Kings) Oliver Cromwell (General in the English Civil War and Dictator of England for 11 Years) Napoleon Bonaparte (French Military Commander, then Emperor) If you re interested in explorers, check Beck et al., pp. 529-535, 553-565 If you re interested in monarchs we haven t studied yet, consider Henry IV of France, Louis XIV, Peter the Great of Russia, Charles I of England, Philip II of Spain, William and Mary (one or both) If you re interested in artists, check Beck et al., pp. 474-475, 480-481, or see me for a separate list Thinkers and Scientists Copernicus (First to Publish Heliocentric Theory) Michel de Montaigne (French Renaissance Philosopher, Popularized the Essay) Galileo Galilei (Developed Motion/Pendulum Laws, Observed Planetary Motion, Used Telescope) Johannes Kepler (Discovered Elliptical Orbit of Planets) Isaac Newton (Discovered, Created Laws of Motion and Gravity) Francis Bacon (Contributed to the Development of the Scientific Method) Rene Descartes (Contributed to the Development of the Scientific Method) Andreas Vesalius (Doctor who Dissected Bodies, Published Drawings) William Harvey (Discovered Circulatory System) John Locke (Wrote about Natural Rights of Man) Thomas Hobbes (Wrote about the Social Contract between People and Government) Moliere (French Playwright) Jonathan Swift (Writer, Satirist) Voltaire (Writer and Satirist, Main Ideas Included Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion) Montesquieu (Separation of Powers) Jean-Jacques Rousseau Wrote about Personal Freedom and Direct Democracy) Immanuel Kant (German Deontological Philosopher) John Stuart Mill (English Utilitarian Philosopher) Jeremy Bentham (English Utilitarian Philosopher) James Watt (Inventor) Maximillian Robespierre (Leader of French Revolution and Reign of Terror) Events in History German Peasants Revolt (1520s) Siege of Vienna (1529) Incan Civil War (1531) Council of Trent (1540s) Russo-Swedish War (1554-57) Battle of Lepanto (1571) St. Bartholomew s Day Massacre (1572) The Spanish Armada (1588) Battle of Tondibi (1591) English Gunpowder Plot (1605) English Civil War (1642-48) The Great Plague of London (1665) The Great Fire of London (1666) Battle of Vienna and John Sobieski (1683) The Glorious Revolution (1688-89) Jacobean Rising (1689-92) Battle of Boyne (1690) Great Northern War (1700-21) War of Spanish Succession (1701-14) Battle of Culloden (1746) Seven Years War (1756-63) Battle of Plassey (1757) Congress of Vienna (1815)
After you conduct enough research, think about how your argument will map out visually. When you map out your argument, the thread must make logical sense. In other words, if you had to roughly label each Body/Paragraph as an idea, is the topic of each body paragraph serving to support the thesis? If each body paragraph/idea functions to support and strengthen your argument, then continue to write your drafts. If they don t support the thesis, then make necessary adjustments. Argument Body Paragraph/ Idea #1 Body Paragraph/ Idea #2 Body Paragraph/ Idea #X Counter/ Defuse Conclusion Does each body paragraph/idea function to support your argument? Counterargument acknowledges a limitation and elaborates on the logic of that limitation, but then analyzes why the thesis is superior to the counterclaim. If the writing reads more like a biography and less like an argumentative paper, then we re not in a good place. Sources Have you drawn from a diversity of sources? If so, you re in good shape. Have you taken notes and organized from those sources? Are your sources reliable? Sources like History.com are not reliable. If you just did some simple Google search and clicked on the first link, then I m nervous. Those sources are likely crappy sources. So search for scholarly sources (JSTOR, Gale World History in Context, textbooks, scholarly biographies, etc.) o You may have to take a field trip to an outside library. o You may want to contact/email an expert who might point you in the right direction. o Consult Page 16: Evaluating Research The C.R.A.A.P. Test to help you determine whether your source is current, reliable, accurate, etc. When you produce a Works Cited page for your final draft, will you follow proper conventions (alphabetize, double space, no web URLs, hanging indents, etc.) As always, you can reach out to me. I m usually free before and after school, as well as 3 th, 7 th, and 8 th period. Put in the work look back at old papers and think about the errors you don t want to make again. Look at the last paper and read through the Top 10 errors to avoid. I m rooting for you on this research paper! Keep up the great work.