U.S. HISTORY DOCUMENT REVIEW GUIDELINES

1. Parameters:
2. 12-pt., Times New Roman font; 1” margins
3. Due the LAST DAY OF SCHEDULED CLASS MEETING AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS (no later); uploaded to the assigned dropbox on Blackboard prior to the beginning of class that day [10 points will be deducted for every hour it is late, no exceptions]
4. 3-5 pages; double-spaced (three full pages of text MINIMUM!)
5. DOCUMENT MUST BE ASSOCIATED WITH AMERICAN HISTORY
6. NOTE: “DOCUMENT,” FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PAPER IS DEFINED AS AN OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT, PUBLIC SPEECH, NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINE ARTICLE, (EVEN POEMS, SHORT STORIES FOR 1301; SONGS AND COMIC BOOKS FOR 1302) OR OTHER DOCUMENT OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE.
7. Document can come from the posted powerpoints or the website http://avalon.law.yale.edu/. Other sources must be approved by the professor.
8. For 1301: Document must come from BETWEEN 1492-1877
9. For 1302: Document must come from AFTER 1865
10. Organization:
11. TITLE: The title of the paper should be the title of the document being reviewed.
12. CONTEXT: To what period of US History does the document belong? (There should be no mention of the document or author in THIS section). Information from posted lectures is adequate for completion of this section.
13. SYNOPSIS: A complete break-down of the entire document IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
14. AUTHOR INTENT: YOUR ANALYSIS of why the document was produced.
15. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: YOUR ANALYSIS of how the document has been important to studying the history of this period of US history.
16. CONCLUSION/OPINION (Don’t use First Person): YOUR ARGUMENTS of the strengths and/or weaknesses of the document.

• Pitfalls to Avoid:

1. Always include Document Name and Date in Title
2. It is grammatically correct to include page-numbers beginning with second page.
3. Break sections into multiple paragraphs (Sub-headings are allowed).
4. Never use first person or contractions.
5. Do not use excessive quotes (in fact, the fewer the better)
6. DO NOT COPY ANYTHING FROM OTHER SOURCES!!!!
7. Grading Rubric: Each section is worth a total of 20% of the overall paper.
8. Footnoting:
9. This is a simple essay. The posted organization is its own formatting. No formal formatting is required UNLESS outside sources are used.
10. No outside sources (other than the document) are needed; but, if used, a “Works Cited” page will be required, following the Chicago / Turabian Style formatting.
11. IF the only source used is the document itself, no footnote or bibliography is required (simply cite the document in parentheses after use)
12. Final Instructions:
13. Failure to organize the paper as stated above will result in point deductions
14. ALL PAPERS will be scanned by turnitin.com. SEE SYLLABUS FOR CLEAR DEFINITION OF PLAGIARISM AND FOR THE UNIVERSITY POLICY ON CONSEQUENCES.