Review essay

Grading Format for Special Topic Paper (100 Points)

Sources (10 Points)

You are required to cite three scholarly sources. A scholarly source includes a biography, a history reference book, an article from an historical journal, an essay from a historian, or similar sources. You can use more than 3 sources, but you must cite at least three. You can do your research using the NOVA librarywhich contains all the material you could need online. Go to the NOVA home page, then Services and Support and click on the Libraries tab in the dialog box, then to Articles, then click on database by subject, then click on History. The available databases will open and you can choose any ones you want and do searches for any topic you want.

Length (10 Points)

Your paper needs to be 4 to 6 pages, roughly 1600 to 2400 words and needs to discuss one of the three available topics.

Topics (10 Points)

Each topic requires determining 5 of the most significant events, developments or people from the period of our course coverage. For Topic One it is from 11000 BCE (BC) to 1660 CE (AD). For Topics Two and Three it is from 3000 BCE (BC) to 1660 CE (AD). Note that for Topic Two you need to choose a significant development reflected today in Western Civilization and three of your 5 items must be from Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times.

Your chosen 5 items must be from the relevant period. For example, you cannot choose Abraham Lincoln as one of the 5 most significant individuals because it is not from the time period of our course as well as Lincoln is from the United States which had not been discovered during the time period. On the other hand, you can choose Akhenaten, the Egyptian pharaoh.

The accuracy of your information on your 5 chosen items in each instance will be evaluated as part of the grade.

Standard (10 Points)

In order to receive full credit you must provide the standard you are using to come up with 5 chosen items and to support your 1 to 5 rating. A standard is the basis for your choices and ratings. For example, for Topic One it could be the 5 most significant inventions from the period of the course that made life easier and have been used up to the present day. The standard narrows down your choices and affects your rating. Be as specific as you can. Be creative.

Events, Developments or People Chosen That Meet Your Standard (50 points)

In order to receive full credit you must provide the five items that meet your standard and explain why you have chosen them and why they meet your standard. This will be the longest part of your paper. Given that you must choose and rate 5 items, at least a paragraph or two at a minimum is expected per item. For example if your standard is the 5 most significant inventions that made life easier, you might choose the wheel and explain who figured it out, why it is useful, and why it is still used today. If you also choose the printing press as one of the other five, you would need to do the same thing as for the wheel and then explain why you are rating the wheel higher or lower than the printing press.

Make your case for why your choices and ratings are right. Don’t assume things. After you write sentences go back and ask yourself why what you wrote is the case. For example, if you chose the wheel and you write about it helping transportation address why it helps transportation and its uses. Don’t just assume that everyone knows what the wheel can be used for.

Writing Quality (10 Points)

Your paper needs to be written so that it can be understood. It must be grammatically correct which also includes spelling correctness. While this is not an English class you need to make every effort to prepare a quality, well thought out and written paper.