History 111
Term Paper Instructions
Value = 80 points; approximately 20% of entire grade
Date Due:
Subjects Up to 1877 that are already cleared. If you have another idea, just bring it too me.
Religious Freedom in the United States
The Roots of Slavery in the United States
America Breaks with Britain
The Bill of Rights (pick only one amendment)
Why the Civil War Started
Instructions
Choose one of the topics listed above and in a minimum 1500 word essay describe the key ideas, people and events related to it. You may use information from the textbook, lecture and up to two other sources (a few more is ok). You must have a Works Cited page and cite within the body of the text.
I will be grading you on how well you explain the relationship of the ideas, people, and events to each other.
Your essay should begin with an introduction that explains what it is about followed by the body of the essay in which you write about the ideas, people, and events and a conclusion that summarizes the topic.
Your essay must be typed double-spaced in 12 point, Times New Roman typeface, with 1.0” margins on all sides.
It must be submitted as a file attachment through Turnitin via Canvas in order to check for plagiarism.
The is a deduction for late papers: -15% after first day, -30% after second day, -50% after third day. After the third day, you will get a zero score.
This assignment will be using the attached Rubric for grading purposes. Please use this rubric when writing and proof-reading your paper.
Rubric
Term Paper
Term Paper
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeOverall Impression
20 pts
Excellent
Author directly addresses main question or issue, and adds relevant and interesting insight to the subject. Able to synthesize this knowledge in new ways and relate to the material that maximizes reader understanding
17 pts
Good
Author completely addresses main question or issue, and does add some insight into the subject. That said, it is clear that the author has much through their research.
14 pts
Needs Improvement
Author attempts to address main question or issue, but doesn’t succeed in this endeavor. Author does not fully understand its meaning or context, and cannot clearly convey it to others.
10 pts
Unsatisfactory
Essay does NOT address main question or issue, and it it obvious that the author has done little research through their body of work.
0 pts
No Marks
Essay does NOT address main question or issue, and it is obvious that the author has done NO research through their body of work.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeEvidence
20 pts
Excellent
Provides compelling, relevent and accurate evidence that strengthens the overall body of research and leads to a firm conclusion. There are no gaps in reasoning—i.e., the reader does not need to assume anything or do additional research to accept main argument.
17 pts
Good
Provides necessary evidence to inform reader of most aspects of the central theme. The importance/ relevance of some evidence presented may not be totally clear.
14 pts
Needs Improvement
Not enough evidence is provided to support author’s research theme, or evidence is incomplete, incorrect, or oversimplified. Available information is used ineffectively.
10 pts
Unsatisfactory
Evidence has numerous factual mistakes, omissions or oversimplifications.
0 pts
No Marks
Provides no evidence for any points or arguments made within the text body.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSources
20 pts
Excellent
Evidence is used from a wide range of valid sources, including lectures, course reading, scholarly books, websites, journal articles, etc. Should have at least four different reliable sources (not Wikipedia).
17 pts
Good
Evidence is used from multiple sources, but author relies heavily on a more limited set of sources. If outside sources are used, they are primarily non-scholarly (i.e., intended for a general audience) and/or web-based. Uses 3-4 mostly reliable sources.
14 pts
Needs Improvement
Uses only one reliable source or uses 2 sources of questionable reliability. Questionable sources are non-scholarly and are intended for a general audience.
10 pts
Unsatisfactory
Uses only one source of questionable reliability.
0 pts
No Marks
Does not provide any sources.
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeCitations
10 pts
Excellent
All evidence is properly cited within text and is linked to a source cited page. Footnotes are allowed, but not recommended for work less than 10 pages.
8 pts
Good
All evidence is cited in body of work and has an existing source cited page, but there are some minor problems with completeness or formatting.
7 pts
Needs Improvement
Some pieces are unreferenced or inaccurately referenced, and there are problems with completeness and format of citations.
5 pts
Unsatisfactory
Only cursory attempt to cite sources; barely meets minimum standard without becoming plagerism. Beware if you think you might be in this category, because you might actually be in the last category.
0 pts
No Marks
No citations were used.
10 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGrammar / Language
10 pts
Excellent
Strong use of grammar/language enhance the author’s ability to convey the message and improves the overall body of work.
8 pts
Good
Grammar/language allows for the author to convey the message without detracting from the overall body of work
7 pts
Needs Improvement
Grammar/language detracts from the message, but reader is still able to understand the overall body of work with some difficulty.
5 pts
Unsatisfactory
Poor use of grammar/language detracts from the author’s overall message and keeps the reader from understanding the overall body of work.
0 pts
No Marks
Work is unintelligible.
10 pts
Total Points: 80
