History 12

Snyder

Final Project: Research Paper

As your final project in History 12 you are to write a research paper on any topic we
have covered in class. The research paper is out of 80 marks and is worth 8% of your
final grade see rubric.

This research paper will focus on a specific part of one of the topics that we have
cover in class. You may choose topics such as those listed below.

Write a one-page research proposal to tell me about your topic and how you will go
about framing + research your topic (see additional handout).

Please confirm your topic with me = hand in your proposal before you begin writing.

This paper is to be done independently and for the majority on your own time. I
will set aside limited class time, a few days of library research and computer/mobile lab
time.

This paper will be well research and documented and will follow the guidelines as
outlined below. It will be printed and submitted.

THE PAPER
Step One
Choose a topic to research and write on. You are to write a well researched and
formulated essay on ONE topic focusing on world history from 1900s to the
present from below or another of your choice. Note that these topics are too broad so
you will have to narrow it down.
REMEMBER TO CONFIRM YOUR RESEARCH AREA WITH ME BEFORE YOU BEGIN .

TOPICS

Genocide (not one that you

have already covered)
WW 1 causes, affects,
battles, social issues, etc.
WW 2 causes affects, battles,
social issues, etc.
Hitler and his Worldview
Paris Peace Treaties
The Holocaust a specific
perspective

Treatment of the Jews in

France/Italy in WWII
The Atomic Bomb
The League of Nations
Russians Revolutions (a part
you did not cover already)
Ideologies (Communism,
Democracy, Marxism etc.)
Stalin and his Worldview
Holodomor Ukrainian
Genocide

The Roaring 20s (USA) a new

perspective
The Great Depression (USA +
the World) a new perspective
Mussolini and his Worldview
Japanese Fascism
The Rape of Nanking
Comfort Women/Comfort
Stations
Spanish Civil War
Appeasement
The United Nations
Cold War a new perspective
Warsaw Pact
NATO
Cuban Missile Crisis
Korean War
Hungarian Uprising
Prague Spring
New Left Student Movement
The Space Race
Berlin Wall
Indochina/Vietnam War
Anti-war Movement

Dtente
War in Afghanistan
Child Soldiers
Velvet Revolution
German Reunification
Fall of Communism
Fall of the USSR
Nuclear Disarmament
European Union
China Tiananmen Square
Massacre
Indian Independence
Israel
Iran-Iraq War
Persian Gulf War
Development of Human Rights
Apartheid South Africa
The Civil Rights Movement
Leaders of the Civil Rights
Movement
Womens Rights/Feminism
Violence against Women
ETC.
ANY OTHER IDEAS SEE ME

Step Two
Formulate a research question for your chosen topic. This question must be related to
your topic and will be answered in your essay you do not have to state the question in
your essay. A research essay should have only ONE question. This question will narrow
your topic, help you to focus, and aid you in developing your thesis. (WAS WINSTON
CHURCHILL REALLY THE GREATEST LEADER OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY?)
Research your topic/question at the library/at home/in the computer lab. Locate books,
newspaper articles, journal articles and search encyclopedias and dictionaries. Locate
reputable websites.

Step Three
Begin a Research Proposal for your research essay this is a detailed outline. This will
become the skeleton or structure of your essay. You will use the proposal to work to the
final product (your good copy) of your thinking, reading and writing on the topic. Your
research proposal will be due at least TWO WEEKS BEFORE we begin the essay in
class.
Use the Research Proposal Handout to write a detailed proposal in point or full
sentence form.

Use the Sample Outline Handout (optional) to create a preliminary introduction and
conclusion. In the body of your essay outline identify your main points of support (your
topic sentences) in the order that you plan to discuss them. Support your topic sentences
with relevant information (quotations, statistics). Make sure that you understand, explain
and expand the information in your own words to ensure you are supporting your claims.
Remember, your topic sentences must connect to and support your thesis.

Step Four
Within your Research Proposal you will have developed a thesis (your statement of
purpose) for your research essay.
Your thesis will no doubt change before you write the final draft. Concentrate on including
in your thesis the topic and your position. Remember, as you move forward in your work,
you may also find yourself returning to steps and stages you undertook earlier in the
process. The process is recursive rather than linear.
Avoid formulaic announcements such as in this essay I will discuss, or these issues will be
examined. Be assertive and make strong statements without the use of I.

Step Five
A research essay resolves to quote directly only those phrases, passages and statistics
that you find the most intriguing or compelling in a source and that will support your
argument.
Integrate quotations using the MLA or APA for quotation and reference guidance. See
additional handouts in LIBRARY
You may choose to do endnotes or footnotes. See the Research Essay Documentation and
Sources Handout.
Step Six
Begin writing a rough draft of your essay using the proper essay structure. Make sure it
is self and peer edited.

Step Seven
Write a good copy of you research essay using the proper essay structure.
In English, an effective research essay should be a clear synthesis of the information you
have derived from research together with your commentary on that information all
presented in the context of a strong, specific, and original thesis.

Include the following criteria:

An academic title page: Include a title, your name, teachers name, the
course/block, and date (see the accompanying handout)
Give your essay an original title
Double space your essay
Type/print or write in blue or black pen
Include page numbers (done by the computer not written in by hand) on the
bottom right hand corner of every page start your title page at 0 and
choose not show the page number on the first page)
Bibliography (use this title for the heading! see the accompanying Chicago
Manual Style handout)

Step Eight
Hand in your research essay.
Include the

following to garner full marks:

An academic title page (mandatory)
Good copy: double spaced, typed (mandatory)
Bibliography: MLA APA(mandatory)
Rough Draft(s) (mandatory)
Research Proposal (mandatory)
Outline (optional)
Brainstorming/research notes (optional)

History 12

Snyder

Final Research Paper Documentation and Sources

QUOTATIONS

You must have at least 4 direct quotations and 2 paraphrased quote in your
research essay. In other words, 6 quotations in total.
These quotations must be properly documented in CHICAGO MANUAL STYLE format
using footnotes or endnotes (your choice). See the CHICAGO MANUAL STYLE handout
for proper citation use.

SOURCES

You must list all your sources in a Bibliography at the end of you research paper.
Your Bibliography must be on a separate page that is attached to your essay and must
have the heading: Bibliography. List your references in alphabetical order in the proper
CHICAGO STYLE format (see handouts/websites). Sources include websites, books,
newspaper articles, documentaries, dictionaries etc.
In other words, everything you have read or watched to write this paper MUST be
documented!
Moreover, you must have at least 5-6 references: 1/2 of them must be books,
newspaper articles, journals and 1/2 of them can be reliable and reputable
websites.
I will accept the following websites as reliable and reputable:
Government (municipal, provincial and federal)
Institutions/Organizations: Vanier Institute for the Family, Worldvision, Amnesty
International, UNICEF, OXFAM, the United Nations, White Ribbon Campaign, Genocide
Watch, BBC, CBC etc.
Statistics Canada or other similar sites
Newspapers (The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun, The New York Times etc.)
Official Historical Websites
University of BC, Simon Fraser University, Harvard, Cambridge, BCIT etc.
People with credentials (academics) such as professors and those with Masters or
PhDs
Hospitals/Physicians/Nurses
Wikipedia?!? (use only as another research tool go to the direct source mentioned
in the article see end of page under references)

I will not accept information from the following: personal blogs, chat room
information, emails, random postings from anonymous people, unauthorized sources.

History 12

Snyder

Final Project: The Research Paper Assessment Rubric

Assessment/Marks
/10 marks - Presentation = academic title page with an original title, double
spaced, pagination (page numbers no page number on title page, start at 1 on
first page of text), neatness, proper margins, appropriate font and font size (no
script; no font smaller than size 11 or larger than 12), white paper and black ink
or blue or black pen on lined paper.

/20 marks Documentation and content = sources identified in-text (as

endnotes or footnotes) and in Bibliography), Bibliography and in text citation in
Chicago Manual Style format, proper quotation use/presentation, proper number
of quotes used (4 direct; 2 paraphrased), relevant support/evidence for claims
made, reliable/reputable sources used, rough work (proposal, outline, notes, draft,
etc.) submitted to provide evidence of process and documentation.

/20 marks - Strong and logical structure/order = academic title page, headings
and subheadings, introduction, thesis, body with topic sentences, claims/support
in text, conclusion, bibliography.

/20 marks Focus and expression = on topic, logical claims, details, analysis,
explanation, commentary.

/10 marks Mechanics = spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure,

proper paragraph formation, transitional words.

Total Marks:

/10

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