Slavery and Slave Trade Annotated Bibliography HIST T122 Final Paper Schedule and Grade Breakdown
In order to help you think about a paper topic and start working on your paper over the next few weeks, I have spaced out a number of smaller assignments that will build towards a final product. If you have any questions at any stage, please feel free to visit my office hours or to make an appointment with me. Think of a historiographical question and how you might approach it. This is not easy, and you have likely never written a paper of this nature before. You will do fine, this is part of the process of learning. A historiography paper is an essay that analyses the different ways in which various historians have approached a historical topic. Unlike a research paper, a historiography paper is not a study of a historical subject; instead, it is an examination of how scholars’ interpretations of history and historical events have changed over time. A historiography paper should give a detailed overview of the major works of scholarship on a topic, and it should summarize, evaluate, and critique the arguments of each of those works.
February 25th (Monday): Annotated bibliography due. Take at least ten secondary sources that you have found and show me that you have started to look at them. Think about inspectional questions like who is the author, what are some of the arguments in the sources, what are the types of primary sources the authors are using, what are some of the issues you have with the articles, and, most importantly, how do you think you can use the sources? This should be 3-5 sentences per source (a small paragraph).
March 29th (Friday): Second half (five pages) of the Rough Draft due. This should be at least five pages analyzing two to four articles that shows the beginnings of an argument, how your sources are going to be used, and a basic framework of where the paper is going to go. Don’t feel pressured to turn in a perfect product – just get pages done.
April 12th (Friday): Second half (five pages) Rough draft due. This should be at least five pages analyzing two to four articles that shows the beginnings of an argument, how your sources are going to be used, and a basic framework of where the paper is going to go. Don’t feel pressured to turn in a perfect product. Two of your classmates will read and give feedback on the entire ten-page draft. This feedback, if applicable, should be incorporated into your final draft. Make an argument about others’ arguments and methods. What is a common theme? What is missing from their analysis, methods, or sources?
April 24th (Wednesday): Feedback due. This will be one page each rating various parts of two fellow students’ rough drafts (clarity of writing, clearly stated argument, how can the author improve their organization, argument, etc.). Each of you will give feedback on two papers. Editing is not required, but if you wish to help out your classmate with some editing feel free.
May 1st (Wednesday): Final draft due. This will be a polished five pages – a finished product that incorporates secondary sources utilizes the feedback from others and builds on the earlier rough draft. Do not write a research paper. Research papers are boring and for this class pointless. You are creating new knowledge not simply regurgitating what has already been said or what “happened.” Keep the “this paper is about” or “history” part brief – a page maximum in your final five-page paper.
