Ancient World History Research Paper

Research Project: World History Tournament of Champions

I. Review the bracket match-ups and read the descriptions for each period of history.


II. Complete the bracket carefully giving each match-up thorough consideration. Stop by to chat about any difficulties or uncertainties along the way.


III. Your research paper will focus on the championship match. You will research each of the finalists and present your arguments for why they are, in your opinion, the finalists. The next part of the paper will address why you chose your champion.


IV. Your research must be composed of two secondary and two primary sources for each team. Your primary sources should be documents that you believe capture the significance of that period in history. The team you choose as the champion will have an additional primary source to help you further make your case.


V. The paper must be double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font and one inch margins. You may use footnotes or endnotes to cite your sources. Turabian citation style must be used. No bibliography is required for the final paper. The paper must be no less than 5 and no more than 6 pages.


VI. The packet with the bracket and a description of each region can be found on the course documents page.


VII. You will present your champion to the class in the third trimester. You must know your research well enough to answer questions from your peers. Keep in mind that in many cases your claims will directly contradict those of your peers. That is what will make this so much fun!


VIII. Presentations will begin following submission of the second draft.

Deadlines:


Completed bracket due: Last class in November – Submit a photocopy to me. You keep the original.

Outline and bibliography due: Last class in January – submitted as a PDF attachment via email. It is your responsibility to make sure I receive the file. Simply sending it and assuming I received it is not sufficient.

First draft of paper due: Last class in February – submitted as a PDF attachment via email. It is your responsibility to make sure I receive the file. Simply sending it and assuming I received it is not sufficient.

Second draft of paper due: April 15 – submitted as a PDF attachment via email. It is your responsibility to make sure I receive the file. Simply sending it and assuming I received it is not sufficient.

Final paper due: May 6 – hard copy submitted to me in person and submitted as a PDF attachment via email.

Each deadline is worth 3 points of the project total. If you final paper is a 90 and you missed three deadlines, the paper grade becomes an 81. This is your project to manage.

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See me anytime with questions or for assistance. As you work your way through the brackets and decide what eras were more important than others, think about your reasons for your choices. I hope you will learn a bit about your own views of history and what historical forces are most significant.