Humanities Research Paper

You must have a heading; the format is below:
❖ Your name: Arouj Rizwan
❖ Class and section: HUM 101-W02 ❖ Instructor: Keith Jensen
❖
You may place this heading in either the upper left-hand or right-hand corner of the paper. It needs to be single-spaced.
If you use Microsoft Word, the current version (or the 2010), your paper is not single-spaced. Every time you skip a line, it will leave a little space between the lines. To avoid this issue, do the following:
✓ Look at the formatting boxes in the upper right (each box includes something like this: AaBbCc, etc. Underneath the letters are words like Heading, Normal, No Spacing, etc. The default is the Normal Box; you need to click on the No Spacing box, and then it will single space normally.
✓ After the heading, skip one space, and then write the title of your paper.
✓ Then skip another space and begin your paper; make sure you change to double-spacing.
Select a topic of interest to you in Western culture from the Prehistoric period through the Middle Ages. The topic should focus on either the Prehistoric Era; the Ancient Near East; Ancient Egypt; the Classical world of Greece and Rome; Early or Byzantine Christianity; Islam; or Medieval Europe. The paper must be an argument with a thesis. Explaining why your topic is important to understanding Western culture could be your argument, but you need to be specific as to how and why it is important. The paper must use at least five sources.
The paper must include an introduction, with an arguable thesis; a body which provides sufficient evidence to support your thesis using outside sources and your own commentary; and a conclusion. If you are focusing on art objects or an artist, you are encouraged to include pictures within your paper, although this is not required, and if you do, you must include a photo credits page. Pictures are additional materials and do not count towards the page length.
· You must number your pages; your paper will be penalized if you do not.
· ✓ MLA citation format must be used wherever you use material from a source, whether you quote it
directly or write it in your own words.
➢ The only things that do not need citation are your own comments or information of common knowledge (i.e., Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922).
➢ Follow the MLA guidelines found in the Humanities Bible available on Blackboard. U.S. copyright and Harper College regulations concerning citations govern written texts, e-mail, software programs, and Internet sites.
❖ FORBIDDEN SOURCES: Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, About.com, Schmoop, Sparks’ Notes, Cliffs’ Notes, and the like.
✓ ACCEPTABLE SOURCES: Books, e-books, pdf copies of print books, and on-line databases;
· All papers must have a title, and please make it more interesting than “Research Paper” or “Olympic
Games.” The title should reflect what your paper is about.
· ✓ Your audience for this paper is the world at large wishing to learn something about your topic. You
should not assume that your reader knows anything about it.
Listed below are the questions I will ask as I read your papers and will use them to determine your grade.
❖ Do you create a question that has a controversial answer and answer that question? How completely do you answer it? How well do you stick to answering the question and avoid drifting away from it?
❖ Do you demonstrate knowledge of and understanding of the material you have covered as it relates to your topic?
❖ Do you make a reasonable argument? Is your answer logical, based on evidence and rational argument?
❖ Do you present enough convincing evidence to support your arguments? Do you consider all relevant, available evidence?
❖ Do you cite sources properly, whenever necessary? Do you use quotations, paraphrases, summaries, etc. and cite them correctly?
❖ Do you apply general principles of good writing? Are you clear, concise, and generally grammatical? The paper is worth 250 points of the course grade. After I have given the initial points, I will deduct points
for the following specific infractions/errors:
❖ Papers that do not follow the proper margins (one inch): ❖ Papers WITHOUT numbered pages:
❖ Papers WITHOUT the proper heading and Format:
❖ NO Works Cited Page:
12 points
12 points Up to 25 points 25 points
No Citations will result in a zero for the assignment.

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