Professor Charles Evans
Office hours (room 308): By appointment
Office phone: 703.450.2520
Division phone: 703.450.2505
Division fax: 703.404.7368
Phone mailbox at NOVA Online: 703.323.3713#0846
NOVA Online fax: 703.323.3392
E-mail: cevans@nvcc.edu
Home page: novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/default.htm
OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES: These courses are both taught as independent study courses. Prerequisites are the successful completion of HIS 101 for HIS 225 and HIS 102 for HIS 226. Each course will focus on the completion of a research paper of at least twenty-pages (word-processed). Students will also submit a number of assignments throughout the semester. The intention of these courses is to provide students with the opportunity to undertake intensive research of their own historical interests under an instructor's guidance. Papers can be on any historical topic or person, with the approval of the instructor, drawn from Western history before 1600 (HIS 225) or after 1600 (HIS 226). Students will be encouraged to use primary sources in their work and to develop a critical perspective on history. Grading in the course is based primarily on the research paper. The course, which supports the general educational goals of historians and the college, will help students to develop an ability to do historical research and complete a major writing assignment. In the process of working with sources and criticizing the work of other students, students will be able to improve their critical-thinking skills.
REQUIRED BOOK: Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations (any edition).
ACCOMMODATION: If there is any student in this class who has the need for some form of classroom accommodation, please feel free to discuss this with me or one of the college's counselors.
PLAGIARISM: Any student caught plagiarizing or cheating in this course will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.
GRADING:
- 70% research paper
- 10% class work (bibliographies, outlines, drafts)
- 5% topic abstract
- 5% article abstract
- 10% book abstract
NOTE THAT PROPER GRAMMAR, SPELLING AND STYLE ARE AN INHERENT, AND NECESSARY, PART OF EACH ASSIGNMENT IN THIS COURSE.
NOTE THAT ANY ASSIGNMENT NOT HANDED IN ON TIME WILL BE REDUCED BY FIVE POINTS PER CALENDAR DAY.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
- Week 1, 19 January: Introduction
- Week 2, 26 January: Visit Library and Writing Center. Contact Jennifer Egan, reference librarian, for a brief library tour at Loudoun campus during the week (if you are not already familiar with library resources). The tour's purpose is to identify resources for use in conducting research. Also, visit the campus Writing Center to check available services. Please read Sara Tucker's guide to writing a research paper.
- Week 3, 2 February: Topic approval by instructor. Submit a list of possible resources, including encyclopedia articles, found in the Loudoun campus library. Please review the History Paper Style Rules, which outlines some general principles of historical writing. You may wish to review the examples of common Stylistic and English Usage Mistakes in the Study Aids section.
- Week 4, 9 February: Term paper prospectus. Visit George Mason library. Submit a one-page topic abstract of your proposed topic using the attached guide. Visit the library at George Mason University to locate additional sources, especially periodicals.
- Week 5, 16 February: Consultation. Submit a list of articles found in the library at George Mason University.
- Week 6, 23 February: Article abstract due
- Week 7, 1 March: Preliminary Bibliography due
- Week 8, 8 March: Book abstract due
- Week 9, 15 March: Outline and paper introduction due
- Week 10, 22 March: Revised bibliography due
- Week 11, 29 March: Consultation. Submit a revised term paper prospectus.
- Week 12, 5 April: First paper draft due
- Week 13, 12 April: Consultation
- Week 14, 19 April: Revised paper draft due
- Week 15, 26 April: Consultation
- Week 16, 3 May: FINAL PAPER DUE AT NOON, 10 DECEMBER
SELECTED ONLINE RESOURCES:
NVCC Library