Research Paper

• • 1,000 word minimum
  • Double-spaced (if you are unsure of how to format your paper, please ask for help.)
  • 12-point font
• Your essay must include a thesis statement and your paper includes information gained from research.

• Your research paper will not be just a report presenting information, but will be an essay that carefully examines and presents your own historical interpretation of the topic you have chosen and your interpretation of the information you have gathered.
• Your research paper may include consideration of problems and solutions, define key terms, or refute arguments against your thesis statement.

It is important to choose a topic of interest to you.

• Approach this assignment with an open and skeptical mind, then form an opinion based on what you have discovered.
• You must suspend belief while you are investigating and let the discoveries shape your opinion. (This is a thesis-finding approach.)
• Once you have found your thesis, write the paper to support it.

You will use some of the following critical thinking skills in this process:

1. Choosing an appropriate topic, limiting the topic
2. Gathering information, summarizing sources
3. Analyzing and evaluating sources
4. Defining key terms
5. Synthesizing information, comparing and contrasting sources
6. Testing a thesis, making an historical argument, using refutation
7. Amassing support for a position
8. Documenting sources

Because this may be a longer essay than you have written before and a complex process is involved, it is recommended that you complete this paper using the following steps:

• Gather information from a variety of sources. As you gather information, work on your Annotated Bibliography assignment. You don’t have to use all 10 of the resources you explore from that Annotated Bibliography assignment in your paper, but it’s a good way to figure out which ones would work well with your research paper. Use a minimum of four (4) sources for your paper, and at least one (1) must be a primary source.
  

• It is recommended that you outline the results of your research and then plan for your essay. Write the final draft and be sure to include a Works Cited page; be sure to use the correct MLA documentation style (Links to an external site.).
  • Examples of primary sources are what you’ve used to complete your Historical Challenge assignments.
    They are sources that are contemporary (related to) the times under investigation.
  • Here’s additional help with primary sources (Links to an external site.)
  • An example of a secondary source is our American Yawp U.S. History (Links to an external site.) “book” website.
  • Here’s some Examples of Reliable U.S. History Websites for Students (Links to an external site.)
  • Notice they all have .edu (educational institution), .gov (government website), or .org (organization) in their web address. If you need help finding additional reliable resources related to your topic, please ask and I’ll be happy to help point you in the right direction.
  • Do not include book reviews.
  • Do not use encyclopedias of any kind (examples, but not limited to: Wikipedia.com, encyclopedia.com, Britannica.com), points will be deducted.
  • Do not use History.com, points will be deducted.
  • Do not use a resource below college level. For example, Ducksters.com is an educational site for children.
  • Do not use websites like Study.com, KhanAcademy.com, etc.
  • If you have questions, please let me know.

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GRADING RUBRIC

Includes a clear thesis statement, an assertion or position. Topic is original and manageable in a short research paper. /15 points

Body of the essay focuses on this thesis and develops it fully, recognizing the complexity of issues and refuting arguments in opposition to the thesis. /20 points

Uses sufficient and relevant evidence to support the thesis (and primary points), including facts, inferences, and judgments. Quotes, summarizes, and paraphrases accurately and effectively–appropriately introducing and explaining each quote. /25 points

Shows a clear understanding of the sources; has evaluated each source and used it appropriately. Uses a wide variety of sources reflecting significant research. /10 points

Uses MLA format correctly; includes a Works Cited list; is free of errors. /15 points

Introduces the topic in an interesting way; shows critical thinking and depth of understanding; uses appropriate tone; shows sophistication in language usage and sentence structure. /15 points

I have chosen and the question and done an annotated bibliography already

Explain and analyze W. E. B. Du Bois’s political ideas. How did he attempt to expand civil rights for African-Americans?

“W. E. B. DuBois.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/42e.asp.

W.E.B DuBois was born in Massachusetts as a free black man in 1868. He attended Fisk University and was the first black man to get a PHD from Harvard. He was a professor at Atlanta University. In 1905, he met with 30 other black men and they made the Niagra Movement. The Niagra movement called for an immediate end to all forms of discrimination. He moved to Ghana in 1961 because he believed that blacks would never be treated equally as whites.

“The Debate Between W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/debate-w-e-b-du….

DuBois and Booker T Washington both were two great early black leaders that were pushing for the same thing. They had different opinions on how to get there. Washington preached a philosophy of self help racial solidarity and accommodation. He said black should accept discrimination for the time being but work on elevating themselves. WEB thought that was no good.

The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/flashbks/bla….

In this interview with WEB DuBois right before he died he talks about his time in the early 1900s fighting for african american rights. He also was the editor of a magazine called The Crisis. His writings often times made people very mad and then he wrote an attack which really made some of his white supporters mad.

Williams, Chad. “Perspective | W.E.B. Du Bois and the Fight for American Democracy.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 Aug. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/201….

WEB DuBois lived a life devoted to black freedom and the achievement of true democracy. He was disappointed with how things were and that true democracy could not be had because of the nations commitment to white supremacy. He was also tried as a foreign agent because in 1950 he was not feeling good about democracy happening and tried Marxism as a possible alternative.

Lanham, Andrew. “When W. E. B. Du Bois Was Un-American.” Boston Review, 3 May 2017, bostonreview.net/race-politics/andrew-lanham-when-w-e-b-du-bois-was-un-american.

Continuing on with the marxism, Du Bois was put on trial. Although the charges were dropped the trial and bad publicity ruined his career and left him broke. He was broke to a point where even buying groceries were difficult. The state department also illegally revoked his passport. They gave it back and he moved to Ghana when the state department pretty much canceled his passport not allowing him to come back to the US.

Johns, David. “Editorial: Here’s Why W.E.B. Du Bois Matters.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 1 Mar. 2017, www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/editorial-why-w-e-b-du….

Besides being an activist and editor for The Crisis WEB Dubois helped to establish the NAACP. Also besides his support of blacks he also supported womens rights, pan africanism and liberation. Du Bois happened to die the day before Martin Luther King had his I Have a Dream Speach.