Creating Historical Paper Entries
After selecting a topic, a research paper involves three basic steps:
- Collecting information
- Organizing the information
- Presenting it to the reader in a clear and interesting fashion
The paper should consist of an introduction stating the thesis of the work, a main section addressing the theme, and a conclusion flowing logically from the thesis statement and body. Click here for the complete paper category rules. Many books are available that deal with the writing and documenting of research papers; one that is highly recommended is Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (The University of Chicago Press; sixth edition, 1996).
Read the student contest rule book carefully and follow its guidelines. Particular attention should be paid to the length of a paper: it must be between 1,500 and 2,500 words, or approximately 6 to 10 pages.
Note: Typically, there are 25 lines on a page and 10 words per line, so if the paper runs over 10 pages, it should be shortened.
Writing Essays That Make Historical Arguments is an article that will help you prepare your paper.
Each paper must have an annotated bibliography that is divided into primary and secondary sources. The entries should be in alphabetical order and correct bibliographic form (see Turabian's Manual). Cite only those sources which you actually used in researching the paper. You should not add a lot of extraneous material unless they are relevant to the text. Be careful about using a large number of pictures or maps.
Papers must include footnotes or endnotes. Footnotes are explanations provided by writers stating that ideas or quotations presented in the paper are not their own. Footnotes not only give credit to the originators of ideas, but also serve as evidence in support of your ideas. Use footnotes in the following instances:
- Quoting a primary source.Footnote any original material used, such as a selection from a speech or an interview. Example from Turabian:
4. Merle A. Roemer, interview by author, tape recording, Millington, MD, 26 July 1973.
- Quoting a secondary source. Direct quotations from someone's book must be footnoted. Example from Turabian:
Henry Seidel Canby, Walt Whitman: An American (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1943), 110.
- Paraphrasing a secondary source. Even if you describe an author's ideas in his or her own words, the source of the information must still be footnoted. Example from Turabian:
6. Basil de Selincourt, "The Form," in Walt Whitman: A Critical Study (London: M. Secker, 1914), 94-115.
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