history essay about deforestation in amazon rain-forest

History 105—Research Paper

[NOTE: This file is available in the Research Project Module in Canvas]

**You cannot submit a Research Paper if you do not complete the LRAs and Meeting with Instructor.

Research Paper Outcomes

For the Research Paper, you:

·         Identified a contemporary issue in the world with pre-twenty first century historical roots.

·         Developed information literacy skills in researching for reliable sources (especially scholarly journal articles, secondary book, and primary) to investigate those historical roots.

·         Analyzed critically those sources to recognize diverse perspectives.

·         Integrated those sources into the chronological evolution of the issue to today.

·         Expressed your interpretation of the historical roots of the chosen contemporary issue in a research paper that observes standard academic conventions and Chicago Notes and Bibliography citation style.

Introduction

The Research Paper culminates this course and thus serves as your final exam. Your research paper topic relates to at least one of the themes covered in this course: Humans and the Environment (Climate Change), Roots of Inequality (Gender), Diverse Ways of Thinking (Capitalism vs Socialism), Our Shrinking World (Globalization), and Roots of Contemporary Conflicts. Your topic is a contemporary issue with historical roots that is neither limited to the United States nor to the last 20 years. Thus your paper analyzes the historical roots of that non-US issue stretching back into the 20th century if not earlier and incorporates diverse perspectives into the final analysis.

Each of the Library Research Assignments builds the foundation for this paper. Those LRAs result in your defining a research topic through the process of formulating research questions, recognizing diverse perspectives, constructing the thesis statement, and identifying a minimum of SEVEN reliable sources among which at least two are scholarly journal articles, at least two are secondary source books, and at least two are primary sources.

The Research Paper consists of the paper body which is 5 to 7 pages with separate Endnotes and Annotated References sections. It integrates information from your research into an interpretation of the historical roots of the issue and presents a well-organized argument constructed using standard academic conventions for research writing (see below). The paper is due in Canvas by 11 am (PT) on June 16, the scheduled exam day for this class.

Research Paper Graded Components (200 pts)

[NOTE: The Research Project, Writing Guides, and GUIDES Modules in Canvas contain invaluable items to aid you in designing search strategies, identifying sources, citing Chicago Notes and Bibliography Style, and in writing a research paper.]

1.    Issue, Roots, and Argument (120 pts)—This section forms the body of the paper. In the introductory paragraph, the paper identifies the contemporary issue, outlines the historical roots, and articulates the argument the paper makes about those roots in a succinct thesis statement. The rest of the paper then integrates the evidence from the sources to incorporate diverse perspectives in support of that argument. The concluding paragraph summarizes the preceding argument. This body of the paper must be at least 5 but no more than 7 pages. Sources are cited as endnotes in Chicago Notes and Bibliography style.

2.    Annotated References (45 pts)—The paper cites a minimum of SEVEN reliable sources among which at least two are scholarly journal articles, at least two are secondary source books, and at least two are primary sources. Sources appear in Endnotes and Annotated References sections. In the Annotated References section: include only those sources cited in the Endnotes. After each citation in References, add a 1-2 sentence annotation. The annotation first identifies the source type and how you determined that and then explains the source’s value in your paper.See GUIDES and Research Project Modules for aids for evaluation of sources for reliability as well as identification of scholarly journal articles and primary versus secondary sources.Annotation examples: “Because I found this article in ProQuest which identified it as from a peer-reviewed journal, this is one of my required scholarly journal articles. It provided 19th century climate data for my paper.” “This newspaper article is a primary source because it is a report to a London paper written in 1920 from India about the deforestation that is the focus of my paper.”

3.    Citation Style (10 pts)—The paper includes Endnotes and Annotated References sections with each source cited in Chicago Notes and Bibliography style and each source in the Endnotes appearing in References.See Writing Guides and Research Project Modules for numerous aids to help you cite. Endnote Help: Please use endnotes rather than footnotes. If you use Microsoft Word for Mac, click "Insert," "Footnotes," and then go to "Endnotes." If you use Microsoft Word for PC, click "References" and then "Endnotes." [Different versions of Word may require you to expand the "Insert Footnote" dialog box in order to select "Endnote" and to change the "Number format" to 1, 2, 3.]

4.    Standard Academic Conventions for a Research Paper (15 pts)—These conventions require an introduction that includes the thesis statement, body paragraphs that present the argument and the evidence (properly cited), and a conclusion that summarizes the argument. The paragraphs are written in complete sentences that exclude colloquialisms or contractions, avoid first person ("I" or "we") and second person ("you"), demonstrate correct grammar and spelling, and insert superscripted Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) to identify endnotes.

5.    Paper Format (10 pts)

·         The Research Paper is in ONE file (Microsoft Word doc or docx format).

·         Place your name at the top of the first page.

·         The paper must be at least 5 but no more than 7 pages and should be double-spaced. "Endnotes" and "Annotated References" sections are not included in that 5-7 pages.

·         The Endnotes section appears on a separate page. Single space the Endnotes section. The first line of each endnote is indented.

·         The Annotated References section appears on a separate page. Single space the source citation and its 1 to 2-sentence annotation then double space between sources (1 to 2 pages). Each reference indents lines after the first ("hanging indent").

·         For the entire paper, use 1-inch margins on all sides and a standard 12-pt. font (e.g., Arial).

Academic Honesty

Please review your syllabus under "Policies" where you see a statement about Academic Honesty. Plagiarism is a violation of the college's "Rules for Student Conduct" and as such can result in failure in the course at the instructor's discretion. Basically, there are two forms of plagiarism: (1) the unintentional or careless use of other writers’ words and ideas as though they were your own, and (2) the intentional submission of another’s work as your own.

Committing either of the above forms of plagiarism on the Research Paper results in a 0 grade on the paper and thus probable failure in the course.

Citation: You must follow Chicago Notes and Bibliography style to cite the sources of your information even if you do not quote from the sources. Place in quotation marks phrases copied from a source and then cite that source. Use the Writing Guides Module for help with writing in your own words, paraphrasing, and quotation.

Research Paper Rubric

Below is the scoring rubric from Canvas for the Research Paper.