History essay
Department of History and Political Science
Caldwell University
Dr. Marie Mullaney
Hi101: Fall 2020
BIOGRAPHY PROJECT
Assignment Goals
This assignment has several purposes, all related to the goals and objectives of this course. Not only will you learn specific factual information about an individual who played a key role in ancient or medieval history, but at the same time you will develop your skills in writing, critical thinking, and information literacy – the specific global objectives of the Caldwell University core curriculum. This assignment is specifically designed to develop your competency in information literacy. This means that students should know how to “select, utilize and document appropriate sources.” This core objective works in tandem with the goals of the Department of History and Political Science, which requires its majors to know how to research a particular topic and produce a well written and organized paper using and correctly documenting appropriate sources. This assignment aims to have you do all these things.
It is worth 20 points toward your final course grade.
POSSIBLE SUBJECTS FOR THIS PAPER
Hammurabi
King Tutankhamen
Homer
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Hippocrates
Pericles
Sappho
Herodotus
Thucydides
Alexander the Great
Cicero
Julius Caesar
Plutarch
Cleopatra VII
Marcus Aurelius
Nero
Diocletian
Constantine
(St.) Paul
(St.) Augustine
(St.) Benedict of Nursia
(St.) Francis of Assisi
(St.) Dominic de Guzman
(St.) Thomas Aquinas
Pope Gregory the Great
Pope Urban II
Charlemagne
Mohammed
Finding Sources:
· Good papers are based on good sources! You will be evaluated on the kinds of sources you select and utilize, so choose carefully. Your paper must be based on a MINIMUM of three different sources. These must be QUALITY, SCHOLARLY sources, not internet sites.
· If at all possible, I would like one of these sources to be a real book, but I know this may not be possible under the current circumstances….an e-book would be great!
· Your course textbook may contain valuable information and should be consulted, but you may
not
count the textbook as one of these three minimum required sources.
· As one of our course requirements, you must complete Independent Library Instruction early in the semester. This remote session introduces the university’s electronic databases, notably
History Research Center (History Online).
This database contains content from standard reference books and is the best and easiest place to do your research!
· Note that the entries in History Online typically have links to other possible sources.
· Additional sources may include a biography of your subject, an article from an edited collection of articles, or a monograph on the time period.
· Be very careful about using articles accessed from ProQuest. The overwhelming majority of such articles will be too difficult to read and too highly specialized for this assignment.
·
Refrain from simply doing a Google search of generic websites. Wikipedia is NOT an acceptable scholarly source.
· Your final paper must demonstrate that you have
used
all three sources, and not relied exclusively on only one.
Assignment Instructions
· All papers must be typed, double-spaced and be a
minimum
of five pages long. pages)
· All papers must have citations and a Works Cited page
using MLA or Chicago/”Turabian” format
. See detailed instructions below. APA format is NOT acceptable.
·
This assignment must be e-mailed to me by midnite on Monday, November 30.
Assignments must be in Word or Google format (not PDF!) Late papers will be penalized. No papers will be accepted after the final exam for the course has been administered.
· I will be happy to discuss your paper with you in advance and to answer any questions you may have.
· I will
not,
however, read or comment on complete preliminary drafts, nor can I make assessments or representations as to what the final grade will be on the paper you ultimately submit based on these preliminary discussions.
Writing the Paper:
Once you have selected your individual, you are then to write a paper (
minimum
five pages) where you complete each of the following tasks. Each item should be numbered and completed separately.
1. Briefly name and identify your subject, focusing on the main reason for his/her importance. Think of this as providing a meaningful introduction to your paper. Do not include information in this introduction that is more appropriate to include in the later, biographical section of the paper.
2. Tell me why you selected this individual. This should be a personal and thoughtful response.
3. Tell me when this person lived and name the SPECIFIC period/topic/or event that we studied in class with which he/she is associated.
4. Explain what this individual accomplished to make him/her noteworthy in history.
· This should be the heart of your paper and the longest part of it. Write this section as you would write a typical essay, with appropriate paragraph construction, logical, coherent organization, and in-text citations documenting the sources of your information.
· End this narrative portion of your paper with a thoughtful conclusion, where you summarize your subject’s continuing importance and relevance to world history.
The following questions ask you to think about this assignment in relation to our course.
5. In a brief paragraph, explain how information we learned in class helped you to understand the words/concepts/terms referenced in the source materials you read. For example, if your subject was Pericles, the leader of Athens during the Peloponnesian Wars, explain how our class discussion of the Peloponnesian Wars equipped you to understand the information being presented. Were there words, concepts, or ideas that you came across in your research that reminded you of topics we had previously discussed in class?
6. In a brief paragraph, explain how this project helped you to develop your information literacy skills. What did you learn how to do in this assignment that you did not know how to do before? Did you learn anything about different types of research materials from the choices and selections you made? Be specific.
7. Finally, in a reflective conclusion, explain how doing this research helped you to achieve one or more of the other CONTENT SPECIFIC goals of this course. Do not discuss information literacy here, because you have already discussed this in #6 above. Review your course syllabus to remind you of all five of our specific course content goals. You will be graded on the care and attention with which you approach this conclusion, so please spend time thinking about this question.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Rest of this Guide Sheet Contains Instructions for Documentation and Citation. Use this when preparing your FINAL PAPER.
All papers must contain BOTH internal citations and a final Works Cited page or “Bibliography” in
MLA or Chicago/”Turabian”format
. APA format is NOT acceptable! In completing your citations and bibliography, please refer to the information below. You should also feel free to contact one of the reference librarians in Jennings Library for assistance. Further assistance with citation and formatting is also available at the Caldwell University Academic Success Center and from the homepage of Jennings Library.
How to Cite Sources and Avoid Plagiarism:
All research papers are based on “sources” – the books, journals, documents, websites, etc. that you use to assemble the information presented in your final paper. These sources must be “documented” or “cited” in a certain way as agreed to by scholars. The purposes of citation are several:
· To allow a reader to fact check the information you provide;
· To give appropriate credit to the author of the work cited;
· To ensure that the work you submit is your own (i.e. to guard against plagiarism).
One of the goals of this assignment is to strengthen your skills in locating sources, using sources, and in DOCUMENTING the sources you use. Failure to properly acknowledge sources is PLAGIARISM. The word “plagiarism” comes from a Latin word which means “to steal”. Using someone else’s words or ideas as your own is stealing, a serious academic offense and a violation of the university’s Academic Integrity policy.
· It is not enough merely to present a bibliography or Works Cited page at the end of your paper without specifically citing your sources within the body of the paper itself. Citations must appear throughout the body of your essay, specifically indicating where each fact or piece of information came from. Internal citations (author’s last name and page number, if available) must be used within the paper for identifying the source where you obtained specific information.
· When using sources, be careful to write in your own words. Do not simply cut and paste from a database or other websites. Remember that plagiarism is a violation of the university’s Academic Integrity Policy! All the information you present must be documented, using internal citations throughout the body of the essay as well as a Works Cited page at the end of the paper. This means that as you write about your subject, you must indicate WITHIN THE BODY OF THE ESSAY where you obtained each piece of information you refer to. See instructions and samples below.
· If you use material taken exactly, word-for-word, from another source you must put the information in quotation marks and cite the source. Note, however, that a good paper is not simply a string of quotations. A good paper should be in your own words and reflect your own understanding. Only use quotations if they are absolutely essential to support a point you are making.
· If you use material from another source and change the wording somewhat, you are still using someone else’s IDEAS. Therefore, you must still cite the source of the idea or interpretation even if you are not using a direct quotation.
· Information that is common knowledge, such as “Augustus Caesar was the first Roman Emperor”, or “Socrates was a famous Greek philosopher”, does not have to be cited since this is basic information that most people are familiar with. You must, however, cite less well-known data, information, ideas, assessments, or interpretation that you use to develop your paper. So, for example, if your source says Augustus was a great Roman Emperor because of five key accomplishments, you must cite this information
· The key principle is this: whenever there is any doubt in your mind as to whether you are crossing the line into plagiarism, cite your source.
· You should be able to explain everything that appears in your paper. This includes all vocabulary, imagery, examples, comparisons, or explanations. If you cannot explain a word, phrase, image or concept that appears in your paper, this is an indication that you are presenting someone else’s ideas as your own and therefore you are guilty of plagiarism.
Look for the internal citations (author’s last name and page number) within this sample:
SAMPLE: HOW TO USE INTERNAL CITATIONS
Throughout his seventy-one years of life, Socrates had many accomplishments that made him noteworthy in history. His main goal was to have the Athenian people examine their own self and soul more closely. The philosopher was “prepared to devote all his time to an examination of human conduct, in the conviction that life was not a meaningless chaos or the heartless jest of an unfeeling higher power but had a definite direction and purpose” (Guthrie, 165). Socrates attempted to teach people that each of their lives were important and meaningful; not intended to follow a higher human power. He reasoned that “the eye of the mind is not blind, but in most people it is looking the wrong way. To educate is to convert or turn it round so that it looks in the right direction” (Guthrie, 168). The wise man was referring to the new way Athenians should perceive their superiors.
In addition, Socrates wanted to educate the people of Athens with his Socratic method. He asked questions to his fellow citizens that related to topics of “the future of Athens or making clear such abstracts as justice, truth, goodness, or beauty” (Turlington, 156). This process of questions and answers enabled people to think. They were challenged to consider subjects and ideas they had never before discussed. This was a “method to be applied to health and recreation as well as to beliefs and principles” (Turlington, 194). The Athenian government soon discovered its citizens were questioning unchallenged assumptions. With Socrates serving as a subversive, or weakening, in society, he was put on trial where he was found guilty of corruption and put to death.
Following his life, the philosopher was recognized in many special ways. Among these ways, Cicero explains, was his ability to take philosophy and “‘to locate it in the cities and lead it into [men’s] homes and compel it to ask questions about life, morals, and matters good and bad’” (qtd. in Turlington, 182). Socrates made such an impact on the Ancient world that he was able to bring his teachings into the homes of his fellow citizens and make a change. Those philosophers who came before him were known as the “pre-Socratics” (Turlington, 182). One saw how greatly he impacted history.
Although he was significantly esteemed, Socrates’ legacy had a profound influence on our Western Heritage, as well. It was known that his actions and mannerisms spoke louder than his words; however, when he did speak, he had the “consistency and integrity with which he followed his own conscience rather than adopting any belief or legal enactment simply because it was accepted . . .” (Guthrie, 165). It was absolutely amazing how Socrates was determined to express his thoughts and opinions in a society that rejected this behavior. This paved the way for many uprisings and revolts that have shaped our history, as well.
How to do a Bibliography or Works Cited Page
· Notice that “citations” mean the specific place where you found that piece of information. The Works Cited page (also known as a “Bibliography”) is a list of ALL the sources you used in writing the paper. Any works, including your textbook, that you may have looked at in preparing your paper should be included here. The Works Cited page or Bibliography appears at the very end of your paper.
· The most important point, however, is that any item you included as an internal citation MUST also be listed in the Works Cited or Bibliography page, so that the reader can “match up” the internal citation with the full identification of the source listed at the end of the paper.
· The basic format for a book is as follows:
Author [last name, first name]. Book Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, date.
· The basic format for an article is as follows:
Author. “Title of article.” Title of Journal. Volume number (Date): Pages.
Epstein, Joseph. “Who Killed Poetry?” Commentary 86.2 (Aug. 1988): 13-20.
· The basic format for citation of electronic sources is as follows:
Author Last Name, Author First Name. “Entry Title.” Book Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Publication Year. Database Name. Database Company. Medium of publication consulted. Date Consulted.
Example:
Bunsen, Matthew. “Augustine, Saint.” Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. (accessed June 22, 2011).
In this sample Works Cited page, notice how the author’s last names “match up” with the internal citations given in the essay above.
Critchley, Simon. The Book of Dead Philosophers. New York: Vintage Books, 2008.
Guthrie, W.K.C. Socrates. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.
Sacks, David. “Socrates.” Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Revised Edition.
Revised by Lisa R. Brody. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts on File, Inc. (accessed November 25, 2011).
Turlington, Bayly. Socrates: Father of Western Philosophy. New York: Franklin Watts,
Inc., 1969.
How to Cite Electronic Sources
· A URL or web address IS NOT a source
· DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!
http://www.fofweb.com.ezproxy.caldwell.edu:2048/history/reference.asp?id=17213
· All sources must include specific information – author, title of actual entry, collection, date accessed
· The most basic entry for a website consists of the author name(s), page title, website title, sponsoring institution/publisher, date published, medium, and date accessed.
· Last Name, First Name. “Page Title.”
Website title
. Sponsoring Institution/Publisher, Publication Date. Medium. Date Accessed.
· Smith, John. “Obama inaugurated as President.” CNN.com. Cable News Network,
21 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2009.
MLA guidelines have been inconsistent on including URLs in a bibliography entry. URLs can be very long, are subject to change, and may become outdated. Users are more likely to find an article now by searching titles or author names. If you choose to include the URL, the entry would look like this:
Smith, John. “Obama inaugurated as President.” CNN.com. Cable News Network,
21 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2009.