Writing a Term Paper

 

 

I. Purpose

II. How to Get Started

III. Compiling a Bibliography

IV. Originality

V. Questions Concerning Sources

VI. Benefits

VII. Appendix on Newspapers

 

 

I. Purpose

To display your ability to analyze a subject in light of research done by other scholars in the field and offer a particular argument concerning your understanding of this material.  Your subject of interest might be something controversial, on which you will have to take into consideration diverse points, summarize the pertinent arguments, and assess these arguments.  Another approach might involve something more narrative in nature (e.g. explaining the significance of Know Nothings in shaping American Catholicism, the rise of Christian fundamentalism, the meaning and significance of the Half-Way Covenant among Puritans, or the development of the African American church).  To be successful with this latter approach, students must place these subjects within the larger societal context and should directly cite or refer to two or more primary sources from the era (e.g. newspapers, sermons, etc.)  These primary sources may be used to relate insights about a particular subject, or may be employed to simply convey a fuller appreciation or understanding of the period in which these subjects existed.

 

II. How to Get Started

Begin with encyclopedias (not the internet) such as the Dictionary of Christianity in America, The New Catholic Encyclopedia, or Scribner’s Dictionary of American History.  In addition to these more general encyclopedias there are specific titles such as The Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism.  Read an article on your prospective topics as well as related articles.  Also note, many of these works include reference materials at the end of the entry that will give you references to secondary materials.  While some of these entries may be older, they are a good starting point.

 

Another important resource to utilize early in your research is reference librarians.  These individuals are trained in the library sciences and will be able to point you to helpful resources saving you hours of time and perhaps avoiding some frustration.

 

Finally, you should utilize the internet, doing so with a healthy bit of skepticism.  As I have demonstrated, there are many wonderful internet sites and databases available to students; however, one needs to be aware that anyone can “publish” work on the internet.  If you are utilizing this resource, you should look for “peer-reviewed” articles (such as those you find on JSTOR), or works that are generally located with “.edu” websites.  This is not to suggest there aren’t other credible sources located at different urls, this is to simply say approach this resource with some healthy skepticism.

 

III. Compiling a Bibliography

Monographs and journal articles must makeup the bulk of your bibliography as opposed to internet sources.  The only exception to this requirement is if the student is tackling a subject where primary resources are available via the internet.  In these cases, students should talk with the instructor prior to the final submission of their paper.  Other than this “requirement,” there is no specific guideline students must follow.  There is no set number of resources required for compiling a particular bibliography and students should keep in mind that putting together a reliable and appropriate list of resources is somewhat of an art form.  Nonetheless, students will be graded in part on the contents of their bibliography and number of sources used (both on the initial and final entries). 

 

IV. Originality

A term paper in a survey course is not expected to be an example of original research, although they can be dependent upon the student’s interests.  Particular attention should be paid to the way authors use their evidence to construct their arguments and what resources they are utilizing to forward their understanding.  For example, if an author is making a particular argument about a broad constituency (e.g. “American Protestants”), one should ask if the author is citing sources which are solely from the “elite” or male leadership of the group.  If this is the case, students should ask how representative these views are of this constituency and if other authors offer different interpretations of the same group, materials, etc.

 

 

V. Questions Concerning Sources

Part of your project is to evaluate and set the relative importance of materials you are using.  While there is no specific criterion to meet concerning this process, students should realize a good bibliography can easily be distinguished from a poorer one.  Try to strike a balance between secondary works, journal articles, and general reference materials.

 

In compiling your bibliography, here are some general guidelines:  if a student is researching and writing about a topic which several historians have written about in the past, fewer works may be required because you will have plenty of pages to read and digest in order to write your paper.  If you are researching a subject only a handful of scholars have discussed, it may be necessary to utilize those particular written works and more general monographs about the historical period.  A good rule of thumb is to try to include at around two resources (primary and secondary) for each page you are writing.  Therefore, if you are writing a 10 page paper, you should have approximately twenty references in your bibliography.  Keep in mind these are simply suggestions or guides for compiling your bibliography and not requirements.  A student may compile a bibliography that relies too heavily on obscure resources or disproportionately relies on primary sources without serious consideration of secondary materials (e.g. 14 newspaper stories and only 2 monographs in a bibliography is not an appropriate use of primary and secondary materials for this particular task).  Original documents, the grist of the historical enterprise, are welcomed additions to your research if they further your argument or narrative.

 

VI. Benefits

If you gain nothing more than a healthy skepticism of what you read in print, the project of writing a term paper has been successful to a degree.  More importantly though, researching and writing a term paper will help you to judge the credibility of arguments and evidence encountered, provide you an opportunity to demonstrate your clarity of thought, and help to improve your writing skills.  In addition, the research component of this project will expose you to materials you are interested in that may not be covered in the lecture materials.

 

VII. Appendix on Newspapers

Newspapers, both religious sources and non-religious sources, provide a ready source for contemporary accounts of an event.  Reference librarians can assist those of you who are interested in using microfilm.  The internet also has wonderful primary sources such as the Harper’s Weekly.  Some of these newspapers are indexed, others are not.  The New York Times is indexed from its inception in the nineteenth century.  One helpful method of getting to information in those newspapers which are not indexed is to look up the events, persons, places as they are indexed in The New York Times locating the date/s in which reports were published.  This will give you an approximate date in which your subject of interest may appear in other non-indexed newspapers.