Major History: Origin of Persian War
Topic – Origins Of the Persian War
For this assignment you will be writing a major research paper on a topic of your choosing discussed in the weekly research paper updates between week 2 and 5.
Guidelines: As a formal written assignment this paper will need to be proofread, spell checked, contain a cover sheet, a bibliography and citations in Chicago/Turabian style footnotes or endnotes throughout your paper for all information that you use from your sources. This paper should have a word count of between 2,200 and 2,400 narrative words (minus citation and bibliography). Please use a minimum of three primary and six secondary (you may use your main text for class as one source).
Introduction and Thesis Statement
- Did your essay include an introduction and clear thesis statement at the end of the introduction?
- Did you bold your thesis statement?
Organization and Body of essay
Is your essay well-organized with topic sentences and supporting detail that reinforces your thesis?
Did your essay meet narrative word count requirements? Narrative word count is word count without citation and bibliography.
Historical Analysis
- Did you construct your essay using quality academic sources (specifically Required and Optional readings from Lessons and book or peer-reviewed sources from our Online Library or other university, governmental, museum, or research websites)?
- Did you include relevant historical support, including historical examples that reinforce your thesis?
- Did you include chronological context in your essay and include important dates or date spans?
Conclusion
- Did you include a well-developed conclusion to your essay that restates your thesis and is well-supported?
Writing Style and Grammar
- Is your essay composed using formal English (no use of slang) and using proper capitalization, grammar and spelling rules?
- Is your essay presented in academic third person (does not use “I”)?
- Did you refrain from using abbreviations and contractions in your analysis (use “do not” instead of “don’t”)?
Use of Footnotes/Endnotes and Bibliography
- Did you consistently follow the citation and bibliographical requirements of Chicago or Turabian manuals?
- Did you cite your sources in the narrative of your essay using computer-generated footnote/endnote numbering? Remember citation takes place immediately after each use of direct quote and after paraphrasing of information.
- Did you include a separate bibliography with your essay? Remember to separate three primary and six secondary sources into two lists, with primary first.
- Is the bibliography alphabetized and includes all relevant information depending on source type? Remember accessed date for online sources.
Conclusion (5 points): Sound conclusion that summarizes content and reinforces thesis; fully supportable.
Writing Style and Grammar (10 points): Spelling, grammar and sentence structure all used effectively.
Use of Footnotes/Endnotes and Bibliography (20 points): Footnotes/endnotes are correctly cited and bibliography follows the correct rules for citing sources.