Technical requirements: The length of the paper will be 7-10 pages (1,750 – 2,500 words), including footnotes. Pages must be numbered and double-spaced, with 12-point font. A front cover sheet must give the title of your essay, your name, net ID, and include the MSU Honor Code. You will need a bibliography page at the end. Neither the bibliography page nor the title page will count towards the page length.
Sources: You may use all three of the books assigned for the course, and, at minimum, two other books OR scholarly articles. For articles, you need to go to jstor.orgLinks to an external site., an online repository accessible through your library account.
Quotations:
Effective quotations will add weight to your statements. Don’t use them as filler. One or two per page and no more than two lines in length will work better. You don’t want someone else’s words dominating your paper. When you use a quote, you should explain why it important to your paper.
A few quotes can really help your essay, but they should be short and well-chosen. Use partial quotes if needed. You also need to either set up the quote or explain its significant afterwards.
Example: Slavery may have unconsciously influenced republicanism since, “Virginians may have had a special appreciation of the freedom dear to republicans, because they saw every day what life without it could be like.”
Or: “Virginians may have had a special appreciation of the freedom dear to republicans, because they saw every day what life without it
could be like.” While this is difficult to prove, it could offer some explanation of why a slave-owning society strongly promoted democracy.
Either method gives the quote context. Random quotes that are not set up or which lack explanation sound meaningless.
Example: Thomas Jefferson, a slave-owner, said:“Freedom is wonderful, and it is a gift from God.”
What does this mean, and why was this quote used? Was the intention to point out Jefferson’s inconsistency as a lover of freedom while also being a slave owner? Or what it to suggest that Jefferson believed that God chose a person’s place in life, thus slavery should not be
questioned? We have no idea since the specific purpose of the quote was not clarified. When you quote something in this research paper, you need a footnote (Chicago Manual of Style). Go online for instructions if you don’t have the style book. Here’s an example: “I like pizza!”1
DO NOT cut and paste from the internet. Using Wikipedia, online book reviews, and other sources, and then changing a few words won’t work. If Ouriginal flags your paper, you risk, at minimum, a failure grade on the assignment and, possibly, a grade of “XF” in the course.
Do not use personal pronouns such as “I” and “we.”
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