American Literature/American Studies Research Paper

Each student will write a paper about an important person or event in American history. This paper will have a minimum of four typed pages and a maximum number of seven pages. You also complete a society study and convey two impacts of the person or event. You must submit each section of the paper on the due date to ensure your paper will meet standards. Any late submissions is automatically loses 10 points.

1. Pick your topic day will be April 10th, on a first come, first serve basis. You may begin picking topics at 7:30 in my classroom.

Sources are due Wed April 11th in class. You will need a minimum of two books and the other three sources can be internet, magazines, etc…You must have all sources on Noodletools and shared to Mr. Williamson and Mrs. Poston for credit. 25 points.

2. Note cards: Must be completed on Noodletools and shared to Mrs. Poston and Mr. Williamson: 10 society cards are due on April 13th by the end of the day. 50 points 10 background cards are due on April 17th by the end of the day. 50 points 5 impact 1 cards are due on April 19th by the end of the day. 25 points 5 impact 2 cards are due on April 19th by the end of the day. 25 points.

You must have two direct quotes in your paper, and all other information on your notecards must be paraphrased for full credit. Your notecards must be labeled by section and have a key word (ex. Background: Birth and Early Life)

3. Outline and introduction: Your typed outline and introduction with a strong thesis statement must be completed and shown to me in class on April 20th by the end of class.

4. Typed Draft: Each section must have citations and be submitted via the class website. Society section: minimum of three paragraph (government/political, reforms and innovations, and popular culture) due April 23rd. Background: minimum of three paragraphs (chronological) due April 25th. Impact 1: minimum of two paragraphs: due April 26th. Impact 2: minimum of two paragraphs: due April 27th.

Peer Edit: you must have three people edit your paper and submit the peer edits complete by April 30th. You must also have a conference with me about your paper completed between April 28-May 4th

5. Final draft: Your typed final draft must be submitted on by the end of the day regardless of absence. You must submit your paper electronically through the American Literature class website with a works cited. Due date is May 10th, and a copy must be submitted to Mrs. Poston and Mr. Williamson by 3 p.m. American Literature/American Studies Research Paper

 Thesis statement (15):____  Introduction that introduces each section of paper (10):____  Society gives an overall picture of the time (15):____  Society has specific researched events (10):____  Event/Personal Background has all important events (15):____  Event/Personal Background events are chronological(10):____  Impacts are written weakest to strongest (10):____  Thorough discussion of the two impacts (50):_____  Facts are given to support two impacts (50):_____  Conclusion is well-written with no new information (15):____  Title information/last name and page # written in MLA style (10):_____  Works Cited written in MLA style with five sources (20):______Points will be deducted if there are errors for the following:  Citations are used in every paragraphs, information is paraphrased and citations written according to MLA(50):____  Spelling and punctuation(20):______ Grammar and Mechanics (20): Third person, complete sentences, formal voice, no contractions, uses transitions.(20) ______ Writer uses all sources in paper (10):______ Two Direct Quotes used in paper (10): _____

I will not accept your paper for the following reasons:

1. Your paper is not four full pages. 2. Your paper does not have parenthetical citations. 3. Your paper does not have a works cited page. 4. Your paper is not in Times New Roman in 12 font double-spaced with one inch margins.

Late points deducted: 25 points per day.

Late points deducted if you do not fulfill requirements and must resubmit paper! American Literature/American Studies Research Paper

THE LIST: One topic per person in all classes….therefore, if you really want to research Elvis Presley, you need to sign-up first.

George Marshall Michael Jordan 9/11 Attacks George Patton Monroe Doctrine Abraham Lincoln George Wallace NAFTA Affirmative Action George Washington Nat Turner Afghanistan War Gulf of Tonkin No Child Left Behind AIDs Harriet Beecher Stowe Noah Webster Al Capone Harry Truman Oklahoma City Bombing Alexander Graham Bell Helen Keller Operation Desert Storm Alexander Hamilton Henry Ford Oprah Amelia Earhart Herbert Hoover Pearl Harbor Attack Americans w/ Disabilities Henry Kissinger Plessey vs. Fergusson Act Horace Mann Rachel Carson Andrew Carnegie Industrial Revolution Ralph Nader Andrew Jackson Iraq War Reconstruction (Post Civil Andrew Johnson J. Edgar Hoover War) Babe Ruth Jackie Robinson Richard Nixon Barbie James Madison Robert E. Lee Battle of Gettysburg James Watson Robert Kennedy Ben Franklin Jane Addams Roe v. Wade Benjamin Spock Janis Joplin Ronald Reagan Betty Ford Jesse Jackson Rosa Parks Betty Frieden Jim Thorpe Ruth Bader Ginsburg Bill Clinton Jimi Hendrix Sam Goldwyn Bill Gates Jimmy Carter Sam Huston Bob Hope John Dewey Sam Walton Bobby Knight John Quincy Adams Sandra Day O’Conner Brown V. Board of John Deere Scopes Trial Education John D. Rockefeller Steve Jobs Charles Lindbergh John F. Kennedy Stock Market Crash Chicago Black Sox John Glenn Susan B. Anthony Civil Rights Act (1964) John Marshall Theodore Roosevelt Clara Barton Johnny Cash Thomas Edison Clarence Thomas Joseph McCarthy Thomas Jefferson Columbine Shooting JP Morgan Thurgood Marshall Crazy Horse Knights of Labor Title IX Cyrus McCormick Korematsu vs. US and Triangle Fire Douglas MacArthur internment camps Ulysses S. Grant Dred Scott Decision and Larry Bird Waco Amendments 13, 14, and 15 Lewis and Clark Walt Disney Dust Bowl Lyndon B. Johnson Watergate Dwight Eisenhower Kurt Kobain William H. Taft Earl Warren Madeline Albright William Randolph Hearst Eleanor Roosevelt Madonna William Penn Eli Whitney Malcolm X William Tecumseh Sherman Elizabeth Cady Stanton Manhattan Project Woodrow Wilson Elvis Presley Margaret Mead Woodstock Franklin Delano Roosevelt Margaret Sanger Wright Brothers Franklin Lloyd Wright Marilyn Monroe Frederick Douglass Martin Luther King Jr. George Gallup Maya Angelou George Lucas Michael Jackson