From Amy Grey's handout of guidelines for History 101
Paper # 2 - Change Over Time
Analyzing change over time is the historian’s stock in trade. The basic definition of history is “Change over Time.” If there were no change, there would be no history.
We also find it very useful to balance change with continuity because the tempo of how things change—some things change quickly and yet some things change so slowly it almost seems that they are hardly changing at all—can tell us a great deal about the past.
In this paper you will choose a book from the list (see Library Books tab), read it, and compare it to the readings from class this semester to analyze what has changed and what stayed (relatively) the same. You should make an argument about why you think that things changed or stayed the same. Did it have to do with the comparative values humans placed on particular habits, ideas, skills, or technology? Or was change driven by something outside of human culture, such as the environment?
- This paper is worth 150 points. Rough draft = 50 and final draft = 100
- This is an 6-8 page/1500-2000 word paper, double-spaced, 12-point font.
- Your research question for this paper: “What major change happened for the topic that I have chosen?”
- You will be writing this paper over the course of much of the semester and there will be smaller assignments leading up to the finished paper.
- You must have chosen a book for your research by the end of next week.
- All of the books listed on the Library Books tab are examples of books that you might use for your research. These are NPC library books. You can order a book at the library website: https://www.npc.edu/library (Ask-A-Librarian or use the catalog - see the image below for directions on placing a hold through the Library Catalog.)
- You can choose any book that appeals to you even if it is not on this list.
- You can Ask-A-Librarian or place a hold through the library catalog to have the book shipped from any NPC library to the library that you use most often.
- Alternatively, you can find a book for free online at one of the free libraries listed on the Digital Books tab.
- You will be using three sources to write this paper: your chosen book, a peer-reviewed journal article, and our class textbook or other readings in the course.
- You may NOT use any online source, such as History.com or Wikipedia.
- This is a formal academic paper and it should have a clearly articulated argument supported by evidence both from the biography and from your textbook.
- Be sure to spell-check and edit your paper. You should read it out loud to catch any awkward phrases or run-on sentences.
- Tutor.com is available to help you edit your paper.
