Guidelines for Research Paper

Expected length

About ten pages plus bibliography. Make your bibliographic citations complete. In some cases, for example, it is very important to know the date of a publication.

Sources

Where possible, consult primary sources (the words of actual participants), in addition to secondary sources. In many cases there are sources in the periodical literature which are at least as useful as books. Include at least 10 sources, with a minimum of 6 in print (not on-line) form.

1. MIRLYN is a useful source of print references. So is amazon.com.
2. Our course Home Page provides links to on-line bibliographies and other on-line resources.
3. The notes and bibliographies in Rhodes's and Holloway's books are a rich source.

Style

Attempt to avoid trite phrases, jargon, and terms more appropriate to casual conversation than to academic prose.

Here are some rules extracted from George Orwell's 1946 essay ``Politics and the English Language.''

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Science

Since the course carries Natural Science credit, attempt to connect your subject with science! Test bans, missile defense, proliferation, nuclear wastes, radiation effects, reactor accidents, etc. all have clear scientific aspects. Some of your chosen subjects may require imagination on your part!

Topics

Here is a list of some topics used by students in previous years.

Plagiarism

Some comments on plagiarism and

an article on the internet and plagiarism from the New York Times of June 28, 2001