History 270
ALL PAPERS WILL BE CHECKED FOR PLAGIARISM AND MISUSE OF SOURCES.

INFORMATION CENTRAL: Guidelines, Advice & Essays for Writing History Papers
click here to open advice on primary texts
Dr. Butros' Thirteen Points to Happy Paper Writing
Required Guidelines for Preparing and
Formatting Term Papers and Essays
What is Historical Writing? FROM QUERIES TO ANSWERS:
A Taxonomy of Historical Questioning
The Scientific Method and the
Historical Method
Sample Research Paper
(to view and consult)

Requirements for Essays and Papers

  1. Late Policy
  2. Research Paper
  3. Form and Execution of the Papers
  4. Term Paper Correction Key
  5. Using the World Wide Web for Research
  6. Policy on Plagiarism


    I. Late Policy

    Papers are due starting April 20 and up to April 25, 6:00 p.m. in digital electronic form. After that time, they are deemed one day late. Late papers are penalized 30 points for the first day late after 6:00 pm, then 41 points after 2 days late (=F). The reason is that the submission deadline was extended a full five (5) days, and after that time, the grading schedule imposed by the College becomes very tight with little leeway.

    Submitting: All papers must be submitted electronically in PDF format only(!) by uploading to the course OAKS pages, "Research Paper"-folder (GRADES-menu > ASSIGNMENTS > RESEARCH PAPER > "Submit"). Papers should never be emailed to the instructor or delivered personally. Papers are not acceptable in any other electronic format. In whatever word procesing app or program the students use, they should "Save As" or "Export" their finished paper in PDF-format which preserves the required "Chicago style" paper format (see below, "Required Style Guide").

    Completion of the paper (even if it earns a failing grade) is required to pass this course.


    II. Research Paper

    Paper Due date: April 20-25 (not later than 4/25, 6:00 p.m.)
    Length: 4-5 pages (not including title page and bibliography, but footnotes included).

    Topic: Students are required to complete a term paper on a specific topic of their choice bearing upon Egyptian and Hittite (or Mitannian) comparative history, society, and politics or issues in Egyptian + Hittite historical archaeology (combining textual sources with material culture). Papers on purely Egyptian topics only are not permitted. Papers should always be focused on primary sources, ancient inscriptions and texts. Students should consult the list of Subject Areas and Themes for the Term Paper. They should also refer to the extensive Course Bibliography to help identify sources and to narrow their topics. Then they MUST meet with and confer with the instructor on the topic to ensure feasibility.

    All topics must be approved in advance by the instructor (i.e., before the student has actually begun to write the paper). Papers without explicitly approved topics will not receive passing grades.

    Subject Areas and Themes: Students develop a specific topic for the paper, with the approval of the instructor, from a list of a general themes or subject areas that interest them. This list of Subject Areas and Themes for the Term Paper is provided here:

    Subject Areas and Themes for the Term Paper
    click to open


    III. Form and Execution of the Papers

    Required Electronic Format. Papers should be submitted electronically via the OAKS, "Research Paper"-folder (GRADES-menu > ASSIGNMENTS > RESEARCH PAPER > "Submit"). Papers should never be emailed to the instructor or delivered personally. Papers are not acceptable in any other electronic format. In order to preserve proper form and formatting of the required "Chicago style," papers must be in PDF-format only. They may NOT(!) be in any other format, including Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) or Apple Pages format (PA). If students use these word processing programs, they must "SAVE AS" or "EXPORT" the paper as a PDF-file.

    NEVER EMAIL THE PAPER TO THE INSTRUCTOR!!

    See document above, Required Guidelines for Preparing and Formatting Term Papers and Essays, for specific requirements on formatting and writing this paper. The paper must have a specific thesis, and it should have a succinct title which reflects that thesis. Please feel free to consult the instructor at any time for advice on preparing the papers or about writing strategies. Students may also consult the College Writing Lab (http://csl.cofc.edu/labs/writing-lab/index.php) for assistance in organizing and preparing this paper. The lab is located in Addlestone Library, Room 116, and it is operated by the college's Center for Student Learning. (http://www.cofc.edu/~csl/).

    Required Style Guide. In the preparation and execution of all papers for the class, students are required to follow the style and format presented by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), or The Chicago Manual of Style, especially in regard to the style of block quotations, citations (i.e., footnotes ), and bibliographies. Look over Chapters 8-10 to compare their forms and styles.

    Historically, Turabian's style, also called the "Chicago style," has been the official style-guide of the History Department of the College of Charleston. This style is recognized throughout the world for academic writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences. If you are not familiar with this format, open the book and learn it! Do not try to "wing" it or fudge the format. Any papers that do not conform to Turabian's Manual will be graded accordingly. Copies are located in the College of Charleston Library Reference Section and on Permanent Reserve. The Writing Lab can also advise any student in Turabian's format; it also provides a Turabian style sheet (only marginally useful!).

    Students will find various extracts of Turabian's Manual or The Chicago Manual of Style at the following Web addresses (n.b.: these are not replacements for the full Manual!):

    University of Chicago Press: Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers
    http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html
    Bridgewater State College: "Turabian Style: Sample Footnotes and Bibliographic Entries (6th edition)"
    http://www.bridgew.edu/Library/turabian.cfm
    Ohio State University: "Chicago Manual of Style Form Guide"
    http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/guides/chicagogd.html
    University of Wisconsin-Madison: "Writer's Guide (Chicago Turabian Documentation)"
    http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChicago.html

    Sample Papers. To see a sample of a paper using the required formats and styles for this research paper, including setup, margins, spacings, block quotations, footnotes, bibiography, etc., follow the links at the top of this page marked Sample Papers.

    Parts of the Paper. All research papers should be printed in black ink on 8.5x11-inch white paper, with 1-inch margins all around. The paper must include these parts:

    1. cover page (do not repeat paper title and course information on page 1 of text);
    2. text typed double spaced and in 12-point type (not Helvetica, Arial or any ornamental font);
    3. type-written page numbers on all pages except cover sheet and page 1;
    4. citations (footnotes only; no endnotes or parenthesis-notes; The footnotes are single-spaced with a double space between each note.
    5. separate Bibliography-page

    The content of the paper should consist of rational argument based in the historical method, including:

    1. an introduction presenting the issues and containing a thesis statement;
    2. the body of the paper with argument and analyses following the rules of historical interpretation (see the "Taxonomy of Historical Questioning" above.
    3. a conclusion which neatly ties up the argument and validates the findings in light of the thesis statement.

    The cover page and the bibliography do not count toward the required number of 5-6 pages. Pagination begins on the first page of text. See link above, "Suggestions and Advice on Preparing and Formatting Term Papers and Essays," for detailed information, advice, and suggestions on form, format, and grading criteria for the term paper.

    Citations: Required Footnotes. Footnotes are required in this paper. Footnotes occur at the bottom of each page. Do not use parenthetical references. That means do not put references in parentheses at the ends of the sentences. A 3-point grade reduction will be taken for each occurence of a parenthetical reference. Do not attempt to create and number footnotes manually. Use the proper footnote commands to make the word processing software create and number footnotes automatically. However, be aware that the default format for footnotes in most word processors does not conform to the requirements of Turabian's Manual nor to historical writing. For example, some word processors will automatically use Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.), instead of required Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.), or they will incorrectly use a smaller type-font in the notes than in the text. The font size inside footnotes is always the same as the main text, not smaller (12-point, Times-Roman). Lines of text inside footnotes are always single spaced--but with a double space between notes! If necessary, change the default settings of the software to meet these requirements. In many word processors, one must manually type a carriage return (i.e., "Enter"-key) at the end of each note to create the required double space between notes. Use only full-featured word processor programs to type the paper, e.g., MS Word or Word Perfect. Microsoft Works is usually inadequate, since it does not contain all the features necessary for college level academic writing or for Turabian's Manual.

    Students are encouraged not to rely on research paper templates found on the Internet to format their papers properly. These services, e.g., Google Docs, EDocs (ezdocs.wordpress.com) etc., do not provide consistently reliable templates for proper format and punctuation, which then results in grade reductions. Students are encouraged to use the Turabian/Chicago writing guides, as well as the sample paper provided above and to consult the Writing Lab or the professor on formatting issues.

    Whatever you do, do not employ the MLA style of
    parenthetical references in your history papers!!

    IMPORTANT: Footnote numbers always run in a single series beginning with the number "1". Each note takes its own unique number in sequence that is never repeated in the paper. Notes never(!!) repeat the same number (see Turabian, Manual, 8.7-16). See Sample Papers above for proper convention in numbering and organizing footnotes. If anyone tells you that you may use repeating footnote numbers (including the Writing Lab!), they are wrong!! A 3-point grade reduction in the paper will be taken for each identically numbered footnote.

    Be conscientious to note the sources of all facts, thoughts, and ideas that you use from other books and articles in your paper, whether or not you actually quote them directly. Even paraphrases must be footnoted. As a rule of thumb, do not quote class-lecture notes. If you want to quote material mentioned in class, you should go find it in published sources among the course readings, and quote from there. If you cannot find the source among the readings, see the instructor for advice.

    Footnote Format, Spacing, etc. Punctuation and form within footnotes depend on the type of publication cited. See Turabian's chapter 11 (pp. 185-213) to compare the various forms and styles. N.B.: Turabian's Manual uses the following conventions (e.g., p. 187):

    BOOKS
    SINGLE AUTHOR
    11.3 N XXXX 1John Hope Franklin, George Washington Williams: A Biography (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985), 54.
    B Franklin, John Hope. George Washington Williams: A Biography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985.
    "N" refers to the form of the citation when it is used in a footnote.
    "B" refers to the form of the citation when it is used in a bibliography.

    Lecture Notes. As a rule of thumb, do not(!) quote class-lecture notes in the paper. If you want to quote material mentioned in class, Go find it in the published sources among the course readings, and quote from there. The first place to look is in the bibliography at the end of the appropriate chapter in the course textbook. If you cannot find the source among the course readings, see the instructor for advice. Please feel free to consult the instructor at any time for advice and suggestions on preparing the paper.

    Videos. Citing videos is prohibited as a source in this paper (most other college papers, too), especially those found on the Internet (e.g., YouTube). Videos are not acceptable historical sources, primarily because they are not usually or reliably peer reviewed. Often they are too derivative and "dumbed down." As a rule, videos and films do not meet the stringent requirements of professional-grade research publication. They are the equivalent of blogs and web essays (also prohibited--see below). Even if a video is provided by a university source or hosted by a professional scholar, it is almost always not professionally vetted. Videos on the Internet come under the heading of "infotainment," often with only limited research quality control and oriented to the general public, and not to the professional researcher.

    Bibliography. History papers take a "Bibliography" not a "Works Cited"-list. See the sample paper (at the link above) for examples of correct footnotes and bibliography. The Bibliography comes at the end of the paper beginning on a separate page of its own. It is a listing of each book and article quoted or cited earlier in the footnotes. Do not list any sources that you did not actually footnote in the paper. All the books and articles are listed in alphabetical order according to the last name of the author. Although you can cite a reference as many times as necessary in the footnotes, in the Bibliography, you may list each entry only once. Similarly, do not list each primary text-reference separately in the bibliography if they come from the same anthology. List only the anthology in which it is published, and list it only once.

    Form and spelling are factors in grading a research or project paper. If you are uncertain of your spelling, use a dictionary. You must proofread your paper before submitting it, and make any minor last-minute corrections cleanly in ink, if necessary!!. A few handwritten corrections will be tolerated; more than a few will lower your grade. If you employ a word processor, use a spell-check program. Admittedly, that will not be of help in spelling foreign names. So you will need to be conscious of spelling throughout.

    Why the emphasis on form? A research paper is a means of communication. The purpose of any paper is to convey an argument as logically as possible according to standards of form that facilitate its communicative function. Form is not merely format and correct spelling but also includes the logical arrangement of an argument and the rational ordering of historical and textual data to support a particular interpretation. Poor form can impede the communication of a valid point of view. When a paper cannot communicate due to a lapse of form, it has failed in its purpose.

    Conventions in Transcribing Near Eastern Names. Among the instructor's lectures, course readings, and outside sources, students will find different conventions in the English spellings of ancient Near Eastern names. When they write their papers, whichever convention they use, they should be consistent, e.g., do not write "Tuthmosis" one time and "Thutmose" later, or "Ramesses" and "Ramses". Choose one convention and stay with it.


    IV. Term Paper Correction Key

    Before preparing their research papers, students should open and print out a copy of the professor's "Term Paper and Essay Correction Key," from this Web page and use it to help organize, format, and write their papers. This form identifies in a clear and consistent manner typical issues and problems pertaining to argumentation, historical writing style, and formatting. It contains a list of the format and logic issues that the professor is considering when grading a paper--in addition to historical analysis. Hence, "forewarned is forearmed." If students know ahead of time the problems and pitfalls that can affect their paper's grade, they can strive to avoid them, as they research, organize, and compose the term paper.

    Term Paper and Essay Correction Key
    click to open


    V. Using the World Wide Web for Research

    STUDENTS MAY USE ONLY SOURCES THAT HAVE UNDERGONE PROFESSIONAL PEER REVIEW. SOURCES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN VETTED OR HAVE NOT UNDERGONE PEER REVIEW ARE NOT PERMITTED.

    The Web for Research? One does not perform research merely by sitting at a computer monitor Googling and browsing the open and public World Wide Web (at least not yet in Egyptology and Near Eastern Studies). One does research by paging through books and journal articles (either in print or in digital form coming from professional electronic databases). One consults the bibliographies at the backs of relevant books and journal articles. One also identifies sources by following citations in the footnotes of recent publications backward to earlier publications. Research data forms a paper trail (or an electronic trail) through the sources. In any article or book that you read, look at the footnotes and bibliography there, then add the appropriate citations to your own bibliography.

    Students should confine the bulk of their research to printed publications and to professional databases of electronic copies of printed sources and references (e.g., JStor, Academic Search Premier, etc.). Still, they might use the World Wide Web selectively--only to help research the paper topic and to identify valid issues. A great deal of information exists on the open public Web pertaining to the ancient Near East and Egypt. However, the Web also houses a whole lot of trash that does not conform to modern academic standards. In general, the World Wide Web contains four types of materials pertaining to Egypt and the Near East:

    1. primary sources, i.e. editions of original ancient inscriptions translated and presented by reputable scholars, often used as classroom resources on the Web;

    2. original archaeological reports and field data by archaeologists and bona fide researchers, including diaries, maps, and object-lists of excavators working in the field;

    3. synthetical studies and essays prepared by Egyptologists and Assyriologists (often as Web versions of reputable printed publications);

    4. materials, idiosyncratic essays, blogs, videos, and polemical tracts of uneven and inconsistent quality, prepared by non-professionals, dilettantes, radical Afro-centrists, and self-proclaimed prophets of the New Age revelation (yikes!). Because such essays and videos are unvetted and have not undergone peer-review by qualified academics, they are not appropriate as source materials for research papers.

    Sadly, this latter Egypto-crypto-trash and Babylo-babble [no. 4] constitutes the bulk of Egyptological materials on the Web.

    As of now, very few peer-reviewed professional--specifically Near Eastern--journals are published on the Web (see below). Publicly available primary sources on the Web [no. 1] are usually out of copyright, obsolete translations superceded by modern translations in print. For the purposes of this course, students are permitted to quote from these, but only with the prior approval of the instructor and only if the texts are not available in print! You will find all or most of the primary sources you need in Near Eastern literature-anthologies in the College library. Because Near Eastern secondary sources on the Web are rarely peer-reviewed, students may not quote from [nos. 2 & 3] , unless they consult with the course instructor on each source and get his permission! Web pages for [nos. 1 - 3] are usually identifiable by the domain-markers ".edu" or ".ac" in their Web addresses, and sometimes also by ".org" (denoting educational or charitable organizations).

    Sources and papers found posted on such Web sites as Academia.edu, ResearchGate.net or even on the public Web pages of scholars at other universities, museums, and institutions fall under categories no. 2 or 3 above, and they still require prior approval from the professor. The reason is that these materials are not always peer reviewed.

    While students can consult Web pages for [nos. 1 - 3] and quote only with prior permission(!), under no circumstances may they quote from the unprofessional Egypto-crypto bilge-crud [no. 4] (usually identifiable by the domain-markers ".com" or ".net" in their Web addresses). Students should never quote from any world encyclopedias, whether from the Web or in paper medium. If in doubt about the appropriateness of any research source--either on the Web or in print--please consult the instructor. He will examine or discuss the strengths or weaknesses of individual Web sites with you.

    Students should not quote the publications of E. Wallis Budge, whose work was stubbornly obsolete and misleading even in his own day.

    !! Any papers that contain Web-citations without prior arrangement with the instructor will be reduced in grade five (5) points for each unapproved citation appearing in the paper !!

    Library Electronic Databases: OK! On the other hand, many legitimate and professional peer-reviewed historical academic journals, texts, and books are also scanned and published in restricted portions of the Internet (requiring password access). They include digital editions of reputable journals, books and doctoral dissertations, and these are collected together into electronic databases and digital archives for easy searching and access. A wide selection of eBooks are also available for download through the College Library catalog. The electronic databases are not considered the open World Wide Web. The Addlestone Library subscribes to many of these restricted electronic databases, and they are available only through the Library catalogue under the heading, "Databases" or "A-Z Databases". Students will find these extremely useful and informative, and, yes, they should use them:

    "A-Z Databases": https://libguides.library.cofc.edu/az.php?a=all

    Students should use these electronic databases and sources to find articles and materials for writing their papers; they do not need the instructor's permission to quote from these, e.g.:

    • Academic OneFile (full text)
    • Academic Search Premier (full text)
    • JSTOR (full text)
    • Online Egyptological Bibliography (abstract only)*
    • Oxford Reference Online
    • ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (full text)
    ---------
    *The Online Egyptological Bibliography is the largest and most complete source of bibliography for the field of Egyptology.

    Citing Database Sources. Many of these databases provide the full text of the journal articles and dissertations for download to your computer. Yes, you may employ these database-sources in your papers without prior approval of the instructor. Your footnote and bibliography should include:
    - the full citation of the article (author, title, journal, date, page numbers)
    - the name of the database
    - the URL (web address)
    - the date you accessed it.
    See Turabian's Manual for proper form and format.


    VI. Policy on Plagiarism

    Plagiarizing Sources. As you prepare your papers for this course, be careful not plagiarize any of your sources. Plagiarism is copying or paraphrasing the words and ideas of others and passing them off as your own or misleading the reader into thinking that the words and ideas of other writers are your own. The use of Artificial Intelligence tools to compose this paper or parts thereof also constitutes plagiarism. This includes apps such as ChatGPT and other AI chatbots. The College subscribes to the latest versions of Turnitin which is now able to reliably detect and identify text created by such AI chatbots. Any plagiarism, whether blatant or merely inappropriate paraphrasing, cannot be tolerated. The College will aggresively prosecute the misuse of AI to plagiarize.

    If you have any questions as you prepare your paper, ask the advice of the instructor. If in doubt about anything, quote it--even indirect quotations! Footnote anything that is not your own idea. The Honor Code of the College of Charleston strictly prohibits plagiarism, cheating, and attempted cheating. A student found to be plagiarizing will be reported to the Honor Board, will fail the paper and probably the course. Additional penalties could include suspension or even expulsion from the college if the of the Honor Board finds that a student purposely concealed his/her plagiarism, making it an egregious offense. See the College of Charleston Student Handbook, p. 11 ( http://www.cofc.edu/student-life/handbook/handbook01-02.pdf), for definitions of these offenses. You are responsible for informing yourself of all definitions and regulations on this subject. Ignorance is not an acceptable excuse before the College Honor Board. Protect yourself; when in doubt footnote it! For examples of proper and improper quoting and paraphrasing, see also "A Guide to Freshman English" (https://www.cofc.edu/~english/Guide.html).

    It's too easy to cut and paste off the Web, but don't do it! Protect yourselves. Do not copy any text from the Internet into your paper. To ensure conformity with this policy, the term papers will be spot-checked with software and Web sites designed to identify such activites, e.g., Google® and Plagiarism.org® Besides, the instructor is VERY(!) familiar with most Web essays and sites pertaining to ancient Egypt. Also, the College subscribes to Turnitin which readily reviews student writing through the course's OAKS pages.



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