Specific Paper assignment: The topic of the term paper is to analyze the European and Arabic accounts in light of their different perspectives; to compare and contrast their content, themes, historical contexts, etc.–whatever interests you–in order to determine to what extent any common ground or understanding existed between them. Possible points to consider: the perceptions of Europeans newly arrived in the Middle East versus long-term European residents; European vs. Arab social ethics or chivalry, status of women, religious perceptions or misconceptions, cultural assumptions underlying the varying accounts, etc. Be critical and evaluative in your use of the sources. Develop a particular theme or hypothesis, and strive to prove that hypothesis in your paper.

The first paragraph of the paper must contain an introduction and a thesis statement, which is the point of the paper, or the hypothesis you intend to prove. N.B., to develop this paper properly, you will need to consult secondary sources on European and Arab societies of that time and Christianity and Islam.

All papers should be submitted in paper format. Papers submitted electronically via e-mail or on disk are unacceptable, since formatting changes do occur when transferring files between computers.

All papers must include a separate cover page. Pages should be numbered (except page 1), and they should contain 1-inch margins on all sides, top and bottom. They should be typed or printed double space in 12-point type. They must include proper citations, either traditional footnotes or endnotes plus a separate "Bibliography"at the end of the paper. The cover page and the bibliography do not count toward the required number of pages.

In the preparation and execution of all papers for the class, students are required to follow the format presented by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), especially in regard to the style of block quotations, citations, footnotes or endnotes, and bibliographies. Look over Chapters 8-10 on how to cite references.

Use footnotes or endnotes only. Do not use parenthetical references. That means you cannot put references in parentheses at the ends of the sentences. Choose the type of reference you want throughout your paper, i.e., footnote or endnote (+ "Bibliography"). Do not mix the two in the same paper. Read Chapter 11 to compare the forms and styles of citations depending on whether they occur as notes ("N") or bibliographical entries ("B").

N.B., footnotes occur at the bottom of each page, while endnotes are all grouped together in a single list on a separate page at the end of the paper (ahead of the Bibliography). Consult Turabian to see how to format endnotes properly. All good word processing programs can automatically number and format footnotes and endnotes. However, you must adjust the document preference commands to ensure that the format of the notes conforms specifically to Turabian's style. If for some reason the software cannot prepare the notes automatically, then you must prepare them manually by typing each superscripted note-number in the text and separately typing the list of endnotes at the end of the paper.

Remember to note the source of any thought or idea that you find in another book and which you incorporate into your paper, whether or not you actually quote it exactly.

IMPORTANT: Title your bibliographical page "Bibliography" not "Works Cited" (despite what Turabian says!).

Turabian's Manual is the official style-manual 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 down-graded accordingly. This manual is a required textbook for this class. Four copies are also located in the College of Charleston Library: two in the Reference Section, two on Permanent Reserve. The Writing Lab can also advise any student personally in Turabian's format, and it also provides a marginally useful Turabian style sheet.

As a rule of thumb, do not quote class-lecture notes in any paper, and never quote the class textbook. If you want to quote materials mentioned in class, you must go find it in published sources among the course readings and quote from there. I you want to quote from the textbook, see the bibliography at the end of the specific chapter for the source. If you cannot find any source among the readings, see the instructor for advice. Please feel free to consult the instructor at any time for advice on preparing the papers or about writing strategies. Alternatively, students may consult writing counselors in the Writing Lab, Rm. 216 Education Center (https://www.cofc.edu/~csl/).

Form and spelling will be factors in grading the final term 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 term 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 point of view. 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.

Before preparing their term papers, students should open and print out a blank copy of the correction key from this Web page and use it to help organize, format, and write their papers. It contains a list of the issues that the professor is looking for, or which he is considering when grading the paper--in addition to the 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.

Students should confine the bulk of their research to printed publications. They may use the World Wide Web selectively to help research the paper topic. Beware, there is a great deal of pseudo-historical trash on the Web that does not conform to modern academic standards. The World Wide Web historical contains four types of materials:

1. primary sources, i.e. collections of original historical inscriptions;

2. synthetical reports and essays prepared by professional historians and which are usually published in professional Web-based journals;

3. materials, idiosyncratic essays, and polemical tracts, and document collections of uneven and inconsistent quality, prepared by non-professionals, dilettantes, and hobbyists and which are often inaccurate in content.

Sadly, this cyber-trash [no. 3] permeates much of historical matter on the Web, and students must learn to recognize it and avoid it. Many of the primary sources on the Web [no. 1] include translations of foreign language documents into English. Be aware that many of these translations are obsolete, incomplete, or idiosyncratic, which is why they are freely available on the Web. On the other hand, more modern and accurate translations are generally published in print, and they supercede the less correct obsolete translations.

Also published on the Web are professional peer-reviewed historical and academic journals [no. 2]. A fair number of these reliable journals exist in cyberspace, and they are collected together into single archives for easy searching and consultation. Such archives include: Jstore® (https://www.jstor.org/), Project Muse^TM (https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/), Academic Press [Ideal] (https://search.idealibrary.com/), and Infotrac^TM (https://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/). The College of Charleston Library subscribes to many of these archives, and they are found in the library catalogue under the heading, "Electronic Journals by Title" (https://www.cofc.edu/library/ej_title.html).

Except for the Internet Medieval Sourcebook, students may not quote from any Web pages in their papers, including translations, reports, and essays without first consulting with the instructor on the validity and appropriateness of the Web sources. To do so, e-mail him either a copy of the Web page itself or the Web address (URL). The only exceptions are those found in the catalog of the College library's electronic journals (see above).

Students may not quote from any Web pages in their papers. Each violation of this rule found in a paper will receive a 3-point grade reduction.

As you prepare theme and term papers for this course, be careful not plagiarize any of your sources. Any plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, whether blatant or merely inappropriate paraphrasing, will not be tolerated in this course. If you have any questions as you prepare your assignments, feel free to ask the advice of the instructor. If in doubt about anything, quote it--even indirect quotations! The Honor Code of the College of Charleston strictly prohibits plagiarism, cheating, and attempted cheating. A student found guilty of these offenses will be reported to the Honor Board and will fail the course. Additional penalties may include suspension or expulsion from the college at the discretion of the Honor Board. See the College of Charleston Student Handbook, p. 11 (https://www.cofc.edu/student-life/handbook/handbook02-03.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).