Origins of the Persian War Essay
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.