- 20 Mar, 2021
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Research Paper Instructions
Research Paper Instructions
You will write an 8-10 page research paper on an historical topic (VIETNAM WAR). In this paper, you will be working with different types of sources, including primary, secondary, and pop culture in the form of a film or tv show. This paper should be a critical analysis of these sources; make an argument (or main point) about the sources, have them “talk to each other,” and draw connections between the sources. The majority of the paper should be focused on discussing and analyzing your sources; you can use “I” in the paper as I want your own thoughts to be clear. I cannot overstress this enough—you are writing a paper about your sources, not just your topic. THE PAPER SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON YOUR 5 REQUIRED SOURCES.
Please see the document for Topics and Sources. You will choose one of these topics for your research paper. Each topic has a secondary scholarly book and film/tv show already listed for the topic. It is your responsibility to find three primary sources that also go along with the topic, and two of the three primary sources must be text-based (not a picture/photograph). However, you may also choose a topic that is not listed, or, you may also choose one of these topics and use a different scholarly book and/or film. If you watch a tv show for your topic, you do not have to watch the entire series, but rather, you can focus on a season or even a few episodes. The tv show or film should not be a documentary.
Topic/Sources:
Second Indochina War (Vietnam)
- Primary Sources:
- (aggression from the north)
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/USStateDept-vietnamfeb1965.asp
- (President Lyndon Johnson and Ho Chi Minh: Letter Exchange) https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1967-vietnam-letters1.asp
iii. (Vietnam War Documents from 1954 to 1975) https://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/vietnam-war-documents/
- Secondary Source: William S. Turley, The Second Indochina War: A Concise Political and Military History, 2009. (Available in-print through WKU)
- Film/TV Show: Platoon (1986) / Apocalypse Now (1979)
Final Paper:
Due in Blackboard: Sunday, April 7
100 Points
The Final Paper should be 8-10 pages, double-spaced. Word document. 12 point font, Times New Roman, 1 inch margins. You will include footnotes and therefore do not need to include a Works Cited or Bibliography page. You do not need a Title Page. You should include footnotes, using Chicago Style, within your paper. You should use a footnote for every direct quote and sentence(s) that you paraphrase.
Format:
Please use the following format for your First Draft and Final Paper. You can change the order of the sections if it makes sense for your topic. You can say “My first primary source is…” etc. in your paper, in order to begin discussions of each source.
- Introduction/Topic: An introduction of the topic, primary source documents, secondary source scholarly book, and Hollywood film/tv show. Provide a thesis, or main argument, for your paper. You can choose to include additional paragraphs that give a background of your topic.
- Primary Sources: Discuss the 3 primary sources. Consider date, author, type of document, perspective, and intended audience of each document. You should talk about these sources in separate paragraphs. What does each document tell you about the topic? When possible, compare and contrast the documents—draw these together as much as possible. Do the documents contradict each other?
- Secondary Source: Discuss the scholarly book. Consider the book’s perspective, sources that the author used, and any possible connections to your primary sources. What are the most interesting or convincing parts?
- Film/TV show: Discuss the Hollywood film/tv show. Consider the film’s perspective and accuracy. What connections are there to your sources? Are there exclusions in the film? Are there stereotypes displayed in the film?
- Conclusion: Bring all 3 types of sources together and explain what you learned, the main focus and arguments of the sources, what is left out, and what is the overall importance of the topic—why is it important?
*No late papers.