Your paper will be what is commonly referred to as a Historiographical Essay. I do not want you to simply retell me your topic in the manner of the textbook. What I am looking for is an assessment of...

Your paper will be what is commonly referred to as a Historiographical Essay. I do not want you to simply retell me your topic in the manner of the textbook. What I am looking for is an assessment of the scholarship that has been written on your specific topic. By now you all should have turned in bibliographies to me that have at least four approved sources. These sources should be scholarly (written by a professional historian with a PhD or at least a Masters degree) and will focus on whatever topic that you have chosen to cover for this first paper. Follow this format for the paper:I. Introduction:
Clearly state what your paper topic is and what different viewpoints, controversy, or debates that you will be covering in this paper. There should be a thesis statement that explains to the reader what the varying viewpoints are and how those views have changed over time or how they conflict each other. About a half a page.
II. Background Paragraph:
Using your reference source, give the reader a deep background of the facts of your topic. Who, What, When, and Where objective details that all historians can agree on. Use your reference source and rewrite it using your own words. Be detailed and provide ALL information on your topic so the reader is fully informed. This should be the longest paragraph, 3/4 to 1 page.
III. Source #1:
For paragraphs 3, 4, and 5 analyze and summarize your three perspective sources to provide a full depth of perspectives and viewpoints on your topic. Each source author should be researched; let me know if the author is a scholar, a historian, a professor, what is their professional background, why are they qualified to publish on your topic. Are they experts in the field? Once you have identified the author, also identify the thesis and what their particular view is on your topic.

IV. Source #2
V. Source #3
VI. Conclusion:
This is where you summarize your findings and come to your own conclusions. What do historians say about your topic? What is the current scholarship? Is there still a debate? Is there consensus or agreement? Try NOT to give me YOUR opinion, this is a place for your assessment after analyzing three sources.
Some tips:DO NOT USE 1st Person references (no I, me, my, etc...)MLA Format with headers. See MLA Style SheetMLA Bib and Citations.docx

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Look at the sample papersSample History Paper.docx

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are to do is summarize these sources:

- Identify the author and maybe give some background on their work. Is the author a professional historian, a PhD, do they teachWesternCivilization or some other discipline related to Ancient history. What have they contributed to the study and interpretation of your topic.

- What is the main thesis of the article (this is usually clearly outline in the introduction or prologue and then reiterated in the conclusion.)

- Gather quotes that help to prove the author's thesis. Make sure that you make a note of the page number(s) in which you found the quote.

Once you have done this for all three sources, you may now start an outline for your paper which should probably look something like what I have below:

I. Introduction

Your paper which will identify what your topic is and should also include a rough thesis statement. This statement will try and find patterns between your three sources, here are some sample patterns to look for:

1) Does the scholarship on your topic seem like there is a consensus or are there variances

2)



Has scholarship on a specific topic changed over the years due to newarchaeologicalevidence ornew interpretations? (For this thesis look at the dates (1930 vs. 1960 vs. 2012) in which your sources were written - history tends to change over time as new thoughts are developed)

3) Do your sources deliberately challenge each other? Sometimes historians get into intellectual battles over interpretations. These are easy to pick up because one author will clearly "call out" another much like we have been doing in our discussions.

II. Brief Description

General background information that any reader needs to know regarding your topic. This is where you may use an encyclopedia-type source that simply gives a "textbook" explanation of your topic. It is important for you to paraphrase your source...be careful of plaigirism.

III. Source 1 summary

IV. Source 2 summary

V. Source 3 summary

VI. Source 4 summary

VII. Conclusion

Here is where you tie it all together. What are your findings? Has the history on this topic stayed relatively the same over time?Do historians generally agree? If they disagree, which do you find to be the most plausible? Be careful not to give your own bias in this paper, simply look at the different perspectives, approaches, and interpretations and tell your reader what they are how they differ, etc...

Paper RubricPaper Rubric

Criteria	Ratings	Pts
MLA Format	Headers, Page #, 10-12 Font10pts Incorrect Headers or Page #s5pts	10pts
4-5 Pages	Yes10pts No0pts	10pts
Bibliography	MLA Format, Alphabetized, Left Justified, All sources used in the paper.10pts Present but not formatted correcty or a source is listed and not used.5pts	10pts
Citations	(Author pg#).10pts Present but incorrect5pts	10pts
Proofed	No spelling, usage, grammar, or historical errors.10pts A few minor mistakes or historical inaccuracies.5pts	10pts
Content	Followed 7 Paragraph Historio-graphical format.10pts Failed to fully develop one of the paragraphs per the instructions5pts	10pts
3 Scholarly Sources	At lest three verified scholarly sources used. Of which two should be non-reference type sources.10pts Only 1 or 2 scholarly sources.5pts	10pts
Description of criterion	Yes25pts No0pts	25pts
Total Points:95