American History

2nd Quarter Research Paper - 2014

Mrs. Butterfield
Objective:
American History research projects are designed to develop students skills in using the
library, Internet, researching, writing and thinking critically. These skills enable students
to succeed in high school and college.
Instructions:
Your task is to research information and data on one of the following areas of American
History; analyze the information; summarize the information and present it in the
following manner.
1. You will write a 3 page TYPED paper (plus a properly formatted cover sheet and
reference page) addressing one of the following topics.
2. Your paper should be in APA format: 1 margins; APA parenthetical citations;
APA works cited (reference) page.
3. You should have a minimum of 3 sources: 1 will be your textbook and 2 will be
an Internet source. You may of course have more sources/references than two.
4. Your paper should contain the following information:
* Historical backdrop of topic (put the topic in historical perspective)
* Events and important people involved (define/describe/explain the topic)
* Historical Consequences and/or impact of topic (how did it change
America)
5.

Please refer to the writing rubric for expectations.

Due Date: ____________December 10, 2014________________________

Total Points: 100 points (*Remember this is a research project and projects are 25% of grade)

SHS Cross-Curricular
Writing Rubric*

CHOICEWORD

FLUENCYSENTENCE URESTRUCTandZATIONORGANI TCONTENandIDEAS

Advanced

Proficient

Basic

Below Basic

contains a controlling idea

addresses topic
demonstrates some
complexity through
details, reasons, and
examples
shows awareness of
audience and purpose

contains an idea, but may

lack focus
addresses topic, but
may lack complexity
relies on generalities
rather than specific
details, reasons, and
examples
shows some awareness of
audience and purpose

may contain an
unfocused idea
may address topic, but
lacks complexity
lacks details, reasons,
and examples
shows little or no
awareness of audience
and purpose

uses paragraphing
effectively
includes an effective
beginning, middle, and
end (with an introduction,
thesis, fully-developed
paragraphs, and
conclusion)
progresses in a logical
order and uses cohesive
devices and transitions
effectively
provides specific and
relevant examples and
details to support an
effective thesis

uses paragraphing
appropriately
includes a clear
beginning, middle, and
end (with an introduction,
thesis, fully-developed
paragraphs, and
conclusion)
progresses in a generally
logical order and uses
cohesive devices and
transitions
provides examples and
details to support a clear
thesis

shows evidence of
paragraphing
includes a beginning,
middle, and end (with an
introduction, body, and
conclusion, but other
organizational
elements may be
lacking)
progresses generally in a
somewhat logical order
and may use cohesive
devices and transitions
Lacks sufficient
examples and details to
support a thesis, and
relies on generalities
rather than specifics

may lack evidence of

paragraphing and/or a
sense of direction
may lack a beginning,
middle, and/or end
(organizational elements
are lacking)
does not progress in a
logical order and lacks
cohesion
generally lacks
examples, details, and
specific language
ideas seem strung
together in a random
fashion.

sentences are well-built,

clear, and varied in
structure
writing has an effective
flow and rhythm when
read aloud

sentences are clear and

show some variety in
structure
writing sounds clear and
natural when read aloud

sentences are generally

clear but may lack
variety in structure
writing has an
inconsistent flow and
rhythm when read aloud

sentences may be
unclear in structure and
lack variety
writing lacks flow and
rhythm when read aloud
and is not compelling

uses precise, vivid

language
words convey the
intended message in an
interesting, varied, and
natural way
modifiers (words and
phrases) are
appropriately and
frequently used to add
depth
generic terms (things,
stuff, everyone, big,
etc.) are avoided

uses precise language

words convey the
intended message in an
accurate and natural way
modifiers are
appropriately used to add
depth
generic terms (things,
stuff, everyone, big,
etc.) are generally
avoided

may use imprecise

language
words may fail to convey
the intended message in
an accurate or natural
way
modifiers are seldom or
inappropriately used
and do not add
noticeable depth
generic terms (things,
stuff, everyone, big,
etc.) are used instead of
more precise language

uses imprecise language

most of the time
words do not adequately
convey the intended
message in an accurate or
natural way
modifiers are rarely used
and do not add
noticeable depth
generic terms (things,
stuff, everyone, big,
etc.) are frequently used
instead of more precise
language

contains a strong
controlling idea
addresses topic clearly
demonstrates complexity
through specific and
relevant details, reasons,
and examples
shows clear awareness of
audience and purpose

TIONSCONVEN

contains few errors in

standard English and
spelling
consistently and
correctly utilizes
conventions of
capitalization,
punctuation, and standard
usage
can be read easily
without pausing to
decipher errors in writing
conventions

contains some errors in

standard English and
spelling
generally utilizes correct
conventions of
capitalization,
punctuation, and standard
usage
can be read with little to
no pausing to decipher
errors in writing
conventions

contains errors in
standard English and
spelling that may be
distracting
inconsistently utilizes
correct conventions of
capitalization,
punctuation, and standard
usage
cannot be read without
pausing to decipher errors
in writing conventions

contains repeated errors

in standard English and
spelling that are
distracting
incorrectly utilizes
conventions of
capitalization,
punctuation, and/or
standard usage
cannot be read without
repeated pausing to
decipher errors in writing
conventions

ChoicerTeache

_____________________

_______________________

______________________

________________________

Note: Per SHS policy, plagiarism on a written assignment results in a score of 0 in

all categories.

Average Proficiency Level for This

Assessment =

Topics:
1. Womens Suffrage in the Progressive Age
2. Muckrakers in the Progressive Age
3. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire what happened and what were the consequences?
4. The National Park System why was it created?
5. The Federal Reserve what is it? How does it help the banking system?
6. Hawaii and the Reason America wanted the islands?
7. Cuba after the Spanish American War
8. Puerto RicoWhy Arent they a state?
9. America and the Mexican Revolution.Why did Wilson get involved?
10. The Causes of WWI
11. The technological changes because of WWI
12. How did Governments role change during WWI?
13. How was propaganda used in WWI?
14. The League of Nations.what was it? What was Americas role in the League?
15. The Treaty of Versailles.the pros and cons
16. The Red Scare (of the 1920s).what was it? What was the impact in America?
17. The Red Scare (of the 1950s).what was it? What was the impact in America?
18. Labor Strikes in America
19. The 1920s American Literature, Music, and Entertainment
20. The AutomobileHow did it change America?
21. Prohibition.A good or bad policy?
22. The Harlem Renaissance.Important changes for African Americans

General APA Guidelines:

Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches)
with margins of 1 inch on all sides. Your final essay should include, in the order
indicated below, as many of the following sections as are applicable, each of
which should begin on a separate page:
Title page: includes a running head for publication, title, and byline and affiliation.

Sample APA title page; running head and page number in upper right-hand corner,
definition of running head IN ALL CAPS, and vertically and horizontally centers the title
of the paper, its author and her affiliation to the page.
Page numbers and running head: in the upper right-hand corner of each page, include a
1-2 word version of your title. Follow with five spaces and then the page number.
Visuals: Visuals such as tables and figures include graphs, charts, drawings, and
photographs. Try to keep the visuals as simple as possible and clearly label each visual
with an Arabic numeral (ex: Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and include the title of the visual. The
label and the title should appear on separate lines above the table, flush left. Below the
table, provide the source.

List of References: Create your list of references on its own page after the last page of
your text. Center the title References one inch from the top of the page. Double space.
Alphabetize the list of references by the last name of the authors. If the work has no
author or editor, alphabetize the work by the first word of the title (excluding A, An, or
The).

In-Text Citations: The Basics:

What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your
essay.
APA Citation Basics
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means
that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the
text, E.g., (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at
the end of the paper.
If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material,
or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make
reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference.
In-Text Citation Capitalization, Quotes, and Italics/Underlining

Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are
four letters long or greater within the title of a source: Permanence and Change.
Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and
adverbs: Writing New Media, There Is Nothing Left to Lose. (Note that in your
References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: Writing new
media.)
When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:
Natural-Born Cyborgs.
Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case
of Hitchcock's Vertigo."
Italicize or underline the titles of longer works such as books, edited collections,
movies, television series, documentaries, or albums: The Closing of the American
Mind; The Wizard of Oz; Friends.
Put quotation marks around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles,
articles from edited collections, television series episodes, and song titles:
"Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds"; "The One Where
Chandler Can't Cry."

Short Quotations
If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of
publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the
quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of
publication in parentheses.

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style,
especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what
implications does this have for teachers?

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of
publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," (Jones, 1998, p. 199),
but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Long Quotations
Place direct quotations longer than 40 words in a free-standing block of typewritten lines,
and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented five spaces from
the left margin. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of
any subsequent paragraph within the quotation five spaces from the new margin.
Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after closing
punctuation mark.
Jones's (1998) study found the following:
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it
was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be
attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style
manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

Summary or Paraphrase
If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to
the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines
encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required.)
According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199)