American Revolution Historiographical Essay
The causes of the American Revolution or The causes of the Civil War. Choose one School of Thought that resonates with you, and defend your position.
Historiographical Essay: 1200 words; APA format
Read a few of the articles from each School of Thought on either the causes of the American Revolution or the causes of the Civil War. Choose one School of Thought that resonates with you, and defend your position.
Writing the paper:
Your introductory paragraph should contain a topic sentence and thesis statement.
- Topic sentence: what is your paper about?
- Example: The dropping of the atomic bomb is considered one of the most difficult decisions in history. (You have let the reader know what the subject matter is (the dropping of the atomic bomb) and that the “decision” to drop the bomb is your focus.
- Thesis statement:
What are your going to prove or argue? YOUR WHOLE PAPER RELIES ON THIS SENTENCE! Your thesis statement should contain 3 points that you will be arguing.
Example: This paper will prove that the invasion of Normandy was necessary for Germany to surrender because it pushed the Germans out of Western Europe, severely damaged their military at the Battle of the Bulge, and pressured Hitler to surrender when he saw that Berlin was going to be besieged by the Allied forces.
Do you see how the above example has 3 points that will be used to prove that the invasion of Normandy was necessary for Hitler to surrender?
- The body of your paper should clearly support your points and include direct quotes from each of the articles.
- Your conclusion should support your thesis. You should close with a strong, compelling argument or a brief summary of your 2-3 strongest arguments. Your conclusion should do more than restate the thesis. You must remind the reader of all you have proven (similar to a closing argument of a prosecutor or defense attorney).
- Sources need to be historians. You must cite them in APA format within the essay and at the end in bibliography form. No Wikipedia or history channel or history.net. Go to the following website if you need help on APA formatting. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
- APA format
- 1200 word minimum/1600 word maximum