Essay Instructions: A research paper on the manhattan project
Subtopics should include things like:
The history of The Manhattan Project,
The history and controversies surrounding The Manhattan Project,
The decision to drop the bomb, both for and against it,
Effects of dropping the bomb,
Should we have done it?,
Etc..
Read the following guidelines carefully as they contain many ideas and requirements on how to write this paper.
Write a 5-6 page (1200 to 1500 word) paper. One of your options is a research paper. Please follow the guidelines below and those listed in the syllabus. The topic is discussed above. In researching your paper, you must use at least two articles written for an academic audience and published in academic journals. Examples of acceptable journals include (but are not limited to): the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History (formerly the Mississippi Valley Historical Review), Business History Review, Diplomatic History, Journal of Military History, Journal of Southern History, Pacific Historical Review, and many, many others. If you are not certain, ask if a journal is acceptable because failure to abide by this requirement will result in an 'F' for this assignment. Time, Life, Newsweek, National Review and similar magazines are not acceptable sources. You are free to use other sources as well, but the articles from academic journals must form the core of your paper.
Writing the Research Paper
A research paper should critically describe and analyze its subject. Its first paragraph should contain your thesis, that is an explanation of what you hope to accomplish in writing this paper. In other words, what is your point? The body of your paper should support your thesis and be analytical rather than merely descriptive. Do not just say what happened; explain why it happened. Do not simply parrot what your sources said. You should provide your own interpretation. For example: was it a mistake for the U.S. government to enter World War I, drop the atomic bomb, intern Japanese-Americans, seize the Philippines, or withdraw the Equal Rights Ammendment from consideration? Were the tactics of civil rights or women's rights activists effective? Did they achieve their goals? Was Ronald Reagan an effective President? Why did the Progressives acheive more of their goals than the Populists?
One way to approach this assignment (probably the best way) is to find articles that disagree with one another. You could then compare and contrast them and provide your own interpretation. For instance, scholars are quite divided about the origins of the Cold War. Some argue that Stalin's ambition and paranoia made it inevitatble (John Lewis Gaddis, George Kennan, Adam Ulam, and others), others argue that the United States was at fault (Walter La Feber, Gar Alperovitz, William A. Williams, Gabriel Kolko, Arnold Offner, and others). Finding historians who disagree with one another is actually fairly easy (which is not to say that historians are naturally disagreeable).
Quick suggestions: Your paper should be neat, grammatically correct, and well written. It should adhere to the above structural guidelines and contain solid introductory and concluding paragraphs that are in agreement with one another. Papers lacking these will be penalized. Avoid using too many quotations. Quote only when absolutely necessary. Be sure to mention who you are quoting. MLA style parenthetical citations are fine. Avoid contractions. Organize your paper into discrete paragraphs. Avoid overwriting (using several sentences when a single, short sentence will make your point). Avoid the passive voice. Avoid using phrases such as "seems to," "may be," "appears to," and similar phrases that weaken your writing. Write with confidence. Write about history in the PAST tense. Do not play games with fonts and margins. If you are using a word processor that has spell check or a grammar checker--use it! Be careful, though, because many of the current crop of grammar checkers make incredibly stupid suggestions to improve your writing. Submit your paper in Microsoft Word (--.doc) or Rich Text format (--.rtf). Ask if you have questions.