The Thesis Statement:
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Each research essay must have a thesis statement typed in bold. This statement should be one or two sentences that summarizes the argument or analysis that will form the body of your essay.
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Reduce your answer to a single question. After you have decided what question your essay will answer, write one sentence that answers that question. That is your thesis statement. Your thesis statement should summarize your conclusions about your essay. It should clearly express one main idea.
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Here is a link to a great website hosted by Purdue University (Purdue Owl) designed to help students writing college-level essays:
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http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_essay.html
Endnotes (citations):
You must cite (use endnotes not footnotes) all the sources you used in your research for your essay. Your endnotes should begin after the last page of your essay. Consult The Chicago Manual of Style for citation conventions. Each citation must have a unique number: 1, 2, 3 etc. This is how you arrange your information for your citations (endnotes):
Citations:
Book:
1.
First name of author and Last name of author. Title of Book (City: Publisher, Year): the exact page or pages of where you found your information and/or data.
Journal article:
2.
First name of author and Last name of author. “Title of Article,” Journal Title, Vol. #, No. #, (Date): the exact page number of numbers of where you found your information and/or data.
The March on Versailles
The Annotated Bibliography:
You must use at least three academic sources (college-level books and/or scholarly articles). Your textbook will not count as a source. I suggest you use JSTOR for your article(s). You may not use encyclopedias or general reference books (such as Ancient History for Dummies) for your academic college-level books. Your bibliography must be annotated. An annotated bibliography is the list of sources (either books or journal articles or both and any academic website you may use) followed by a description of each publication or website. Entries in annotated bibliographies are usually between 4 and five sentences long – about 150 words. Your annotation should be descriptive and analytical/critical and should include one sentence that explains specifically why the source was important to your research.
Write from the point of view of an objective third person.
• Be succinct; avoid unnecessary words and long involved sentences.
• Be specific and use direct language – avoid general or vague statements like “the book is interesting” or “the article is good” – explain why it is interesting or good.
• Unless the author is well-known state his or her qualifications and particular point of view.
• Summarize why the article/book was important to your research.
Descriptive:
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Include a summary of the book or article’s content.
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Outline the book’s hypothesis, main findings and conclusion.
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Critique of a website should include an assessment of the technical qualities of the website, the ease of navigation, the layout. Consider the scholarly nature of the material and any images or primary sources.
Analytical/Critical:
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Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument.
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Evaluate the work in terms of its usefulness and quality.
