Research Essay (assignments 1 and 2)
The objective of the assignment is to produce a research essay examining one of three selected topics below from World War One and is to be completed in two steps. The final essay will be marked for depth and sophistication of research, as well as for the overall quality of writing.
At the fourth year level students must be familiar with the research and application of primary sources. As such, the core of this research essay must be based on primary sources. Primary sources must represent a substantial portion of the research used in the final paper. In addition you will also need to use a range of secondary sources to create a theoretical or contextual framework to tie the primary material together and to help substantiate the arguments made. The final assignment is divided into two parts, each with separate requirements and due dates. For ease of consideration and reference, the two parts will be considered as separate assignments.
In order to ensure that students will have sufficient primary sources on which to build an essay, the topics below have a Canadian focus in order to utilize available sources.
*****Important Note on Internet
Sources:****
Due to the varying quality of internet sites and the difficulty facing students
of distinguishing credible from non-credible internet sources, internet sites
may ONLY be used for primary materials for the research paper. No
secondary or interpretive materials from the internet will be permitted
for the essay.
Topic 1:
Examine the war as depicted in the popular national
periodicals of the day. Students will research and evaluate editorials and
articles connected to Canada at war in the pages of Macleans and
Saturday Night. These periodicals can be used individually or in
combination with one another. They can be used to examine any theme or
event throughout the war, with the exception of Vimy Ridge.
For this assignment students must use a minimum of twelve editorials or articles from these sources. In addition students must also use a minimum of two books and two scholarly articles in the writing of their final essay.
Topic 2:
Examine the war as depicted in the daily press of the day. Students
will research and evaluate editorials and articles connected to Canada at war in
the pages of Canadian newspapers available on microfilm. The library holds
microfilm copies of many newspapers of the period including The Globe and
Mail, Vancouver Sun, Winnipeg Free Press, Victoria Daily Times, etc. These newspapers can be used individually
or in combination with one another to examine any theme or event
throughout the war, with the exception of Vimy Ridge.
For this assignment students must use a minimum of twelve editorials or articles from these sources. In addition students must also use a minimum of two books and two scholarly articles in the writing of their final essay.
Topic 3:
Evaluate the historical accuracy of Barker's Regeneration by
comparing selected themes within the novel to other primary and secondary
sources. This is not an essay about either the novel or the primary
sources on their own, but is to be constructed as a comparison and evaluation
utilizing both the novel and the available primary sources. For the
purposes of this topic, the primary materials for comparison (letters and
diaries) are to be taken from the WWI materials available from
The Canadian Letters and Images
Project. Choose one of the following themes from the novel for the basis
of the comparison:
For this assignment, students must use a minimum of twelve separate sources from The Canadian Letters and Images Project (Each letter used will be considered a separate source. Diaries will count as only one source, regardless of how many entries from the diary are used.), in addition to a minimum of two books and two scholarly articles in the writing of the final essay.
Assignment #1
There are two requirements of the first assignment: a) provide a clear, well defined thesis statement for the final paper and b) discuss some of the research to be incorporated into the final paper. This assignment is to be 1,200 words in length.
a) Thesis Statement (400 words)
The topics above are only the broad topic areas for the final
essay. You must take that topic area and design a solid thesis for
the final essay, which cannot be done unless you have first examined the
primary sources available for that topic.
In your
essay you must have a well defined thesis, or argument, throughout the final
paper. The purpose of the first assignment is to clearly define the argument you will make in your final paper.
Your final essay is not to be a narrative of events or a retelling of a
story. You must take a stand and argue a point of view in your essay.
You need to indicate the purpose of your paper. What will it achieve
or demonstrate? How will it expand our understanding of some aspect
of the war era.? Only by reading a range of sources
can you achieve a sense of the issues involved and create a strong argument
which reflects the complexities of the topic and the period. The
thesis can make or break the final paper and thus requires some thought.
Good research will be wasted on a pointless or superficial argument.
You must also be certain to define the parameters of the paper ( ie geographic,
chronological, etc.) and justify the use of those parameters.
b) Research Discussion
This is to be a discussion of the source material which
is to be used in the final essay. In doing so:
This is not to be a mini-essay, but instead a discussion and analysis of the source material in relation to the thesis and the overall objectives that you have indicated for the final paper.
Assignment #2
This is to be the full research paper which builds on
the argument and material presented in assignment #1 . The
final essay will be marked for depth of research, sophistication of argument,
and quality of writing. Correct bibliographic and reference forms
for history are required. The final essay is to be 3,000 words in
length, +/- 5%.
There are some restrictions as to what sources may or may not be used in the writing of the paper, in addition to the restriction on internet sources above:
use a minimum of 2 books (not including either Barker or Howard)
if you are unclear about what constitutes a scholarly article, read the following page from Cornell University)
may not use encyclopedias of any form
use only primary materials from the internet - no secondary or interpretive materials from the internet will be permitted
Be certain that you are familiar with the due date policy.
Assignment Due Dates: