Research papers often start by first submitting a proposal This assignment will

by Caaltu · May 19, 2024

Research papers often start by first submitting a proposal
This assignment will

Research papers often start by first submitting a proposal
This assignment will be a start to the written assignment due at the end of Week Six. For this assignment, you will need to start your research. You are allowed to choose your own topic, as long as it fits the the subject and time period of this course – American history before 1877. This means no papers on Hitler or the Holocaust, or Richard Nixon, World War II or the Great Depression, or anything else that is outside either the course time frame or subject area. If you are unsure if your topic is acceptable, please contact your instructor. Also, you want a topic that can be done in a three page paper. The entire Civil War – not so much. But a specific battle or person from the war, yes.
Then work through the following form. Formulate a thesis statement – an argument. List three aspect of your topic that you will use to support your thesis. An important note about your questions – you should formulate your questions before you look for sources. The questions should be related, part of a coherent whole, and not simply drawn from three different sources. If you create the questions only after finding sources, it’s very easy to end up with three entirely different questions that have nothing to do with each other. That will turn your three page paper into what amounts to three separate even shorter papers, which is not what I want. The questions do not have to be super-specific, just related to the general topic. The questions can then lead you to sources, rather than just randomly selecting sources from search results.
Then find three scholarly sources for your research. Scholarly means peer-reviewed or published by an academic or scholarly publisher. Note that encyclopedias and sites like history.com are NOT scholarly sources. The APUS Trefry Library is a good place to look for such sources, as is the Google Scholar search engine. These are required to be primary and secondary sources. These need to be formatted according to the style guidelines you choose – APA, MLA, or Chicago Manual of Style.
Please use the following format for this assignment and submit your proposal as a Word document. The format is also attached as a Blank Form you can download and fill in.
The Proposal is due on Sunday by 11:55 PM, ET.
Name:
Topic:
Thesis Statement: This is usually one to two sentences that summarizes the point of the paper. It states the argument of the paper and includes your conclusions.
Topic Subsections: List three related aspects of your chosen topic that you plan to develop in the paper. The intent here is to keep a manageable and relatively narrow focus for the paper, and not end up going off in three wildly different directions.
1.
2.
3.
Sources: Note that sources should be in alphabetic order by author’s last name / title.
Name of source and proper citation according to MLA, APA, or Chicago Manual of Style format:  
One paragraph summary indicating what the source is and why you think it will be important for your project.
Name of source and proper citation according to MLA, APA, or Chicago Manual of Style format:
 One paragraph summary indicating what the source is and why you think it will be important for your project.
Name of source and proper citation according to MLA, APA, or Chicago Manual of Style format:  
One paragraph summary indicating what the source is and why you think it will be important for your project.
The short paper must include a cover page with your name, course number and course title, instructor’s name, and date. You must also include a bibliography at the end of your paper. While composing your paper, use proper English. Do not use abbreviations, contractions, informal language, passive voice, or first/ second person (I, you, we, our, etc). And finally, students are NOT allowed to use encyclopedias or Wikipedia.