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Paper Two - Change Over Time
From Amy Grey's handout of guidelines for History 105
Paper # 2 - Biographical Context
To look more closely at historical context, you will be reading a biography and writing a paper that explains how the life of the person in your biography was shaped by the historical events happening around them. Use the following questions to get a sense of their historical context:
Was the person in your biography typical of Americans at the time or were they in some way unusual?
How did issues like class, race, gender, or religion affect their life?
Did the region they lived in shape their opportunities or experiences?
Did they live through a war, a revolution, or did they live during a relatively peaceful time?
How was the person in your biography affected by European arrival in North America, by colonial religion, by the American Revolution, by immigration, by slavery, by the Civil War?
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The paper rough draft is worth 50 points. After editing, your final draft will be worth an additional 100 points. This is a major proportion of your grade, so allocate your time accordingly.
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The research question for this paper is: “How was the life of the person in my biography shaped by historical events?”
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This is a 6-8 page/1500-2000 word paper, double-spaced, 12-point font.
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All of the books listed on the Library Books tab are suggestions for the types of books you might find. Some of these are ebooks in NPC libraries. You may also find a biography at a free online library from the list on the Digital Books tab.
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You can choose any book that appeals to you, even if it is not on this list, just make sure that the book is written for adults.
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You must use three sources to write this paper: your chosen biography, our class textbook, and your chosen peer-reviewed journal article.
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All three sources must have an author. You may NOT use any online source, such as History.com, Biography.com, or Wikipedia.
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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.
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YOU MUST EDIT YOUR PAPERS:
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Be sure to spell-check and edit your paper. You should read it out loud to catch any awkward phrases or run-on sentences.
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Alternatively you can use a free editing service through Tutor.com. The Tutor.com link is at the top of the class MOODLE page. Click on the link, choose history as a topic, and upload your paper for editing help.
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