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College Prep WritingResearch Paper TopicsMrs. FordASSIGNMENT: Select a historical event of national or international importance that occurred between 1950 and 2000. You will not be writing a history report; instead, you will formulate a thesis and write 6-8 pages on the causes, effects, and significance of this event. To begin, select three events that you find interesting from the following list of 100 topics. (You may choose another event, but you must clear it with me. I also suggest involving your parents in this process.) Conduct light research on the three topics to see which one interests you most. You may find it helpful to answer the following questions as you narrow your selection: Why am I interested in this topic? What do I already know about it? What do I hope to find out? 1950s:The Korean War Firing of General Douglas MacArthur The founding of NATO The very beginning of problems in Vietnam—the French-Indochinese War General Gamal Abdel Nasser’s seizure of the Suez Canal The Cuban Revolution and the rise of Fidel Castro Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s meeting at Camp DavidThe McCarthy hearings and blacklisting of many famous movie stars because of the intense “Red” (Communist) scare in the U.S.The trial of Alger Hiss The arrest & execution of the Rosenbergs Growth of television and popular programs like Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, and I Love Lucy. The beginning of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Crusades Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka—the end of legal segregation Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Montgomery bus boycott Integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas Sit-ins at the lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina Sputnik I and the space war First rise in popularity of rock ‘n’ roll (Buddy Holly, Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry) 1960s:Building of the Berlin Wall Organization of the Peace Corps Cuban Missile Crisis Beginning of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Conviction and execution of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann James Meredith’s attempt to enroll in the University of Mississippi Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Birmingham, Alabama, riots and the Selma, Alabama, march Assassination of Malcolm X Riots in Watts, Los Angeles Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Washington march Cesar Chavez and fight for migrant workers Rise of the women’s rights movement and founding of the National Organization for Women Dennis Banks and the American Indian Movement Beginning of the Vietnam War March on Washington in 1967 Tet Offensive Assassination of Robert Kennedy Anti-war movement First men on the moon—Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin The Six-Day War of Israel and Arabs 1970s: Watergate break-in and cover-up Resignation of Nixon and his pardon by Gerald Ford Imprisonment of Nelson Mandela in South Africa Iran hostage crisis Jimmy Carter’s failure as president 1972 Olympics and the murder of Israelis by Arab terrorists My Lai massacre in Vietnam Yom Kippur War Overthrow of the Shah of Iran National Guard troops kill Kent State student protesters Nixon’s visit to China and the Soviet Union Work of the Washington Post in the Watergate scandal Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, nuclear crisisRise of high-tech industry; for example, Apple Computer Company 1972 presidential election: George Wallace Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot’s activities and atrocities in CambodiaEnergy crisis in the 1970s Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise in Iran Mass suicides in Jonestown, GuyanaUlster’s Bloody Sunday—clash between Irish and British 1980s:Women breaking down the barriers (Sally Ride, Equal Rights Amendment, Geraldine Ferraro running for vice-president, etc.) The Iraq–Iran War Downfall of Mikhail Gorbachev & his popularity in the United States Election of Corazon Aquino in the Philippines in 1986 Invasion of Panama and the arrest of Gen. Manuel Noriega Tearing down of the Berlin Wall Tiananmen Square Massacre in ChinaThe fall of Nicolae Ceausescu in RomaniaThe spread of AIDS in the 1980s Murder of John Lennon Sandra Day O’Connor’s appointment to the Supreme Court Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland Accusation and trial of Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North Explosion of space shuttle Challenger (Christa McAuliffe) in 1986 Disaster at Chernobyl nuclear power plant Exxon Valdez oil spill Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority Opening of and breakup of the Soviet Union Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan Air traffic controllers’ strike in 1981 1990s: Ross Perot and the election of 1992 Rise of Boris Yeltsin Radiation experiments on US citizens from the late 1940s to the late 1970s (mentioned here because it was uncovered in 1993–94) Freeing of Nelson Mandela in South Africa Defeat of apartheid in South Africa (De Klerk) Break-up of Yugoslavia Collapse of the Soviet Union Operation Desert Storm Official end of the Cold War Riots in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict Cult compound in Waco, Texas, raided World Trade Center bombed Nelson Mandela Elected President of South Africa Rwandan genocide Oklahoma City bombing Mad Cow disease hits Britain Princess Diana dies in car crash Scientists clone sheep The Euro becomes the new European currency Panama Canal returns to PanamaGeneral Paper Requirements:Minimum of 6 full pages (approximately 1500 words)Maximum of 8 pages (or 2000 words)MLA format: typed; double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri; 1” margins; page numbers; and parenthetical citations.Additional requirement: detailed outlineMinimum of 7 sources: at least 2 books; absolutely NO encyclopedia articles of any kindOodles of cited research throughout your paperSimplified Research Steps:Conduct light research to generate/select your topic. Read enough to gain a general idea of the event you have chosen.Form a working thesis. You will probably need to tweak it a bit as you continue your research.Continue with formal research; take notes on 3” x 5” cards. Be meticulous as you document your sources. When using online sources, you should print out short articles in their entirety. Print out the first page of lengthy online articles. Outline your essay. If you have a solid thesis statement, you will have a logical order for your outline. The thesis statement drives the outline.Draft your Works Cited page.Use your exquisitely detailed outline to draft your essay. Then revise this draft—and the next one.Important Dates:DateWhat’s Due?Class topic(s)February 10---Research paper overviewFebruary 17Paper topicDocumenting sources; notetakingFebruary 243 source cards; 30 note cardsWriting a thesis statement; workdayMarch 26 source cards; 60 note cardsWriting an outline; workdayMarch 9Outline with thesis statementFormatting parenthetical citationsMarch 16Introduction paragraphCreating a Works Cited pageMarch 23Rough draftGiving an oral presentationMarch 30---Taboo words/clichés; final checklistApril 6Final draft; student presentations beginStudent presentationsApril 13EASTER BREAKEASTER BREAKApril 20Student presentations concludeStudent presentationsWhere do I find information on…?TopicLittle, Brown Handbook (12th ed.)PlagiarismSection 44, esp. chart on p. 649Notetaking: summary & paraphraseSection 43dDirect quotationsSections 43d-eThesis statementSection 45aDetailed outlineSection 45bIntroductory paragraphSection 4eConclusion paragraphSection 4eParenthetical citationsSection 46aWorks Cited pageInfo is out of date. Do not use.MLA styleSection 46cFor electronic help, visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab () and select the appropriate topic under “Research and Citation” from the left-hand tool bar. How do I document my sources while I’m doing research?Print out short online articles in their entirety. Print out the first page of a lengthy online article. Save these articles for future reference.Create a working citation for each source by using a template from your research packet.Use the free citation generator at NoodleTools: ................
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