Assignment: Your task is to do a Research Project in PowerPoint (PP) format on a topic from our class.  You PP must be an original piece on a topic related to the conversations we have in the classro

Assignment: Your task is to do a Research Project in PowerPoint (PP) format on a topic from our class.  You PP must be an original piece on a topic related to the conversations we have in the classroom.  You will have to explore different resources and will need to develop an individual approach to the subject. The goal is a brief but detailed exploration of some narrowly defined aspect of U.S. History stretching from the end of the Civil War to the present.  The final product should not be a comprehensive study of a topic but rather a focused examination of a specific theme (micro history) based on the lectures.  The PowerPoint is what you will turn in.

Length: Your PowerPoint must be 20 slides.  It must have a title page, a body, and a conclusion.  You must also include a slide(s) that shows a works cited (bibliography) and a picture cited.  You may also include in your PP photos, charts, maps, colors, and sounds.  These additions will absolutely improve the overall appearance of your project.

Purpose: The purposes of this project include 1. developing critical reading and writing skills, 2. enhancing historical research methods, and 3. developing interpretive skills using primary and secondary sources.

Step 1: Your topic has been assigned to you; see the Assigned Topics chart in Blackboard. Start by thinking about topic then refine it down to a more specific aspect of the subject.

Step 2: Begin researching your topic and make a list of sources both primary and secondary.  Do not just use internet sources.  Use books, articles, newspaper clippings, interviews, documentaries, and charts and graphs.

Step 3: Do some background work to find sources. The PowerPoint must draw upon both primary source materials, including declassified documents, newspapers, interviews, and memoirs, as well as secondary sources, including but not limited to your textbook, monographs, articles, historical journals, and government documents.

Step 4: Identify your thesis: You should organize your PowerPoint around a thesis, developed from your materials and displaying the significance of your subject. You need to support the thesis with concrete evidence.  A thesis is an answer to an open question. A good way to find a thesis is to ask a question: why something happened or why it is interesting.

Step 5: Prepare your PowerPoint and begin practicing on how to present it.

Citations: In using sources, be sure to cite them appropriately in your PowerPoint, to do so without giving them credit is plagiarism.  If you have doubts about something, please ask.