This is a 10-pages of original research on a topic of your choice.
Absolutely No Exceptions or Extensions.
Important Questions to Consider for your Seminar paper:
- Topic: A successful topic should pose an interesting question that can be answered using available evidence.
- Title: A good title should excite the reader's interest, while summarizing the subject in a few key words.
- Introduction/Thesis: The introduction should interest the reader and clarify the purpose of the paper. An answerable question should be clearly stated (and it doesn’t necessarily need to be in the form of a question) with the rest of the paragraph articulating the argument you will construct to answer that question.
- Historiography: A worthwhile essay is part of a larger scholarly conversation. The author should define the scholarly discussion to which they contribute, making it clear what others have said on the subject, clearly stating what their position is and how this expands the larger debate? I know you think you are “just an undergrad” but you do have something to contribute to the debate surrounding your topic. Don’t be afraid to believe in your intellectual capabilities!
- Primary Sources: The main purpose of this paper is for you to construct an argument driven by primary sources. How well does the thesis satisfy this requirement?
- Analysis: What kinds of evidence does the author rely on? Is the evidence used sufficient to satisfy the author's goals? How is the evidence used in support of the argument?
- Organization: Clear, coherent and logical organization is key to ensuring the reader understands your argument. Is your thesis well organized? Is your argument made clearer by the way you organize the information/data?
- Formatting: Do your footnotes follow The Chicago Manual of Style format? Are your footnotes complete? Do your footnotes to convey useful information that support the main argument?
