Freshman Research Project Mrs

American Studies II Research Project – Mrs. O'Leary/Ms. Abruzzese/Mr. Rooney Recent American History

Research Topics

1. 1972- Munich Olympics 2. 1973- Roe vs. Wade 3. 1973- Yom Kippur War 4. 1975-1994- History of the Computer 5. 1978- Jonestown Massacre 6. 1979- Iran Hostage Crisis 7. 1979- Three Mile Island 8. Popular Culture- 1970s 9. 1980- John Lennon Assassinated 10. 1981- Sandra Day O’Connor appointed to US Supreme Court 11. 1981- AIDS 12. 1986- Challenger Explosion/ History of NASA 13. 1986- Chernobyl 14. 1986-Iran-Contra Scandal 15. 1988- Berlin Wall Falls 16. 1988- Exxon Valez Spill 17. 1988- Tiananmen Square 18. 1989- Texas v. Johnson- Flag Burning (Civil Rights Cases)?? 19. Affirmative Action Cases 20. Popular Culture- 1980s 21. History of Middle Eastern Terrorism before 2001 22. 1991- Collapse of the Soviet Union 23. 1991- Operation Desert Storm 24. 1992- Rodney King Riots 25. 1993- Waco Raided 26. 1994- Nelson Mandela elected president/Apartheid 27. 1995- Oklahoma City Bombing 28. 1997- Scientists Clone Sheet/ Advances in Science 29. 1998- Clinton Impeachment 30. 1999 Columbine Massacre 31. Popular Culture- 1990s 32. 2000- Election of 2000 33. Art trends since 1970s ??? 34. President Carter 35. President Reagan 36. President George HW Bush 37. President Clinton 38. Caribbean and Latin American Foreign Policy- Nicaragua, Granada, Panama You will be responsible for writing a paper that explores your topic in detail.

1. Select one of the subjects from the topic list (see me if you would like to choose a topic not on the list but relevant to the same time period).

2. Research your topic, creating a minimum of five source cards and notes that you will use to write your paper. In addition to scholarly online sources, you must have at least one print source, and no more than one source can be an encyclopedia.

3. Write a MLA formatted research paper at least four full pages and not to exceed six pages, discussing one of the following:  What social/historical factors helped bring about the event?

 Describe the event.

 What is the legacy/significance of the event?

 How is this event remembered by people who lived at that time? Conduct an interview in which you question someone (parent, grandparent, teacher etc.) who remembers your particular event. Your interview may be presented in transcript form (question/answer) or in a narrative (story/paragraph). Use a parenthetical note to cite the source of the interview.

Things to remember for this research paper: Ø The information you include in your paper isn't original thought or interpretation. You will be revealing a series of facts about the impact your topic had on history in an expository paper, attributing credit to each resource you use in the form of parenthetical citations. Ø Your Works Cited page is numbered, but doesn't count as the fourth page of your assignment. Ø You may only use 3 direct quotes, and focus the rest of your paper on paraphrasing.

We will follow a step by step approach to this project. You will submit evidence of your work each step of the way in the course of completing the project. It is important that you submit each required element of the project on time. Your will a homework/classwork grade for each of the preliminary steps:

Project Parts Media Center Work Source Cards (at least five) Classwork Sentence Outline Content/Organization of Final Paper Format/Mechanics of Final Paper Citations in Final Paper Works Cited Page of Final Paper

Your final paper will receive points for both content and format. Your paper must be formatted using MLA format. Don’t worry! We will review this in class. One of the learning objectives of the project is for you to learn how to cite the source of all information drawn from research in your paper. Failure to do so is plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s words or idea as your own. Plagiarism is grounds for failing for the final paper. Again, don’t worry; we will go over this in class.

Please pick a subject that interest you. It is okay if more than one student works on the same topic. You may even help each other find information, but the final paper must be your individual work. This is not a group project.

This project is will be a major grade. Please take this assignment seriously and do your best work. If you need extra help, I will be happy to help you. You can also go to the media center after school to do research, or to the writing lab for help writing your paper.

Final paper due June 7