09 Jul Historical Topic Analysis Assignment

HistoricalTopic Analysis Assignment Instructions

Overview

Thepurpose of the Historical Topic AnalysisAssignment is to evaluate historical events, topics, and trends and theirrelated causes and effects, especially in the field of education. The topic willalso be addressed from a Biblical worldview perspective integrating currentcourse materials and peer-reviewed journal articles. Candidates are encouragedto explore from a historical perspective a topic they anticipate might relateto their future capstone or dissertation project. Candidates research andconduct the analysis. They demonstrate knowledge of educational ideas of thepast, consider the relevance of the topic, analyze the topic in light of theirown educational beliefs, and critically analyze related actions and beliefs.

 

Instructions

Thispaper is based on the topic, guiding question, and preliminary thesis statementyou submitted in previous assignments and should be in APA format (see the APA Format Quick Guide).

 

Length: This paper is to beat least 1,300 words in length fromthe introductory paragraph to the conclusion. This does not count the titlepage, abstract, or reference pages.

                                                                                                                

Citations andReferences: Citeat least five sources throughout the paper and list them on the referencepage. Of the five sources, one of them is required to be the course textbook. Youmay incorporate articles from your AnnotatedBibliography Assignment and other course assignments as appropriate. Othersources may include course videos, academic journal articles, books, andtextbooks from other courses.

 

Structure: You have a greatdeal of latitude in how the paper is structured, but it should follow a logicalprogression of thought and the guidelines below. See the Historical Topic Analysis Grading Rubric for required elements.

1.     Title Page

• Pagination: In APA, all pages are numbered. The title page should be page 1.
• Title: The title should not be the name of the assignment (i.e., Historical Topic Analysis). It should be a phrase drawn from the thesis statement in the introductory paragraph. It should provide the reader a hint of the topic and the main idea supported throughout the paper and may be phrased in a clever, unique fashion. The first letter of all words should be capitalized except for articles (e.g. a, an, the), conjunctions (e.g., and, but), and short prepositions (e.g., of, about), unless they appear as the first word, which is always capitalized. Center and boldface your title and position it near the middle of the page or slightly above the middle.
• Other Information on Title Page: All other information on the title page should comply with current APA requirements.

 

2.     Abstract: The heading of theabstract should be centered and boldfaced.

       Placethe abstract at the top of a page by itself after the title page.

       Donot indent the first line.

       Theabstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the paper. Itshould present the main ideas and main conclusions/implications. Including themain ideas and conclusions in the abstract is much more important than a simpleoutline of the structure or headings.

 

3.     Introduction: Do not use the word Introduction as aheading for this section.

       Thepurpose of the introductory paragraph is different from that of the abstract. Donot simply copy the abstract.

       Inthis section, introduce your thesis statement that will be developed throughoutthe paper. It is the main idea you are presenting. Save other supporting ideas forthe body of the manuscript. Do not overload the introductory paragraph with toomany concepts that distract from the key point of the thesis statement.

       Itis best to place the thesis statement at the end of the introductory paragraph.It is typically one or two sentences that serve as a transition into the restof the paper. Some writers choose to place it as the first sentence of theintroduction. Either option is acceptable as long as the introduction is wellwritten and has a logical progression of thought.

 

4.     Summary and Context: Centered in boldwith all major words capitalized, enter the first Level 1 heading of yourpaper. (Level 2 headings are unnecessary for this short of a paper.) Use thewords Summary and Context.

• This brief section describes and/or summarizes the topic you have chosen so the reader understands the setting in which the topic developed. This is a succinct presentation of events or circumstances that may have influenced the topic.
• Include transitions that build a logical progression from the thesis statement in the introductory paragraph into the topic and its historical context.

 

5.     Critical Analysis: This Level 1heading should be formatted the same as the previous one. Use the wordsCritical Analysis. This section should reflect various perspectives about thetopic, including a Biblical worldview lens.

 

6.     Conclusion: Use the same Level1 formatting as you have done with your other headings above and enter the wordConclusion is centered, bold font. Althoughyour conclusion should include concepts from the thesis statement in theintroduction and should have some alignment with the title of the paper, youshould not simply restate the thesis statement. Wrap up the paper byemphasizing your main idea and draw a clear conclusion. Typically, a good conclusiondoes not introduce new information. The conclusion is where you are to discussimplications about what you have already shared and relate ideas to currenteducational issues.

 

7.     References: Starting at thetop of the next page after the end of the manuscript, center in bold font theheading References.

       Double-spaceeverything throughout your paper, including the reference page. Do not insertadditional extra lines/spaces.

       Usinga hanging indent, which means that the first line of every reference is left-justifiedwith all other lines of the reference indented.

       Followthe format below for books. Onlyinitials are used for the authors first and middle names. See the APA manualfor examples of multiple authors, editors, etc.

 

Authorlastname,A. B. (2019). Book title in italics withonly the first word and proper nouns, like Christian, capitalized: If there isa subtitle, the first word is capitalized. Publisher.

       Followthe format below for journal articles. Both the journal title andthe volume number are italicized. There is no space between the volume and issuenumbers. (Sometimes, the source provides no issue number. If that is the case,simply place a comma after the italicized volume number.) Page numbers are lastwithout p. or pg. before them.

 

Authorlastname, A. B. (2019). Article title in regularfont with only the first word and proper nouns, like European, capitalized:Subtitles may or may not be used. JournalTitles Capitalize All Major Words Except for the Articles, Conjunctions, andShort Prepositions, 15(2), 41-50.

       RegardingAPA format for citing the Bible, seeReligious Work References on the APAwebsite. The Bible should be in addition to other required references.

 

Miscellaneous Tips

 

First PersonPronouns: Perthe APA manual, first-person pronouns are permitted. However, they shouldrarely be used and are intended only for conveying an incident about your lifestory (e.g., I was born into poverty) or explaining the actions you took as aresearcher (e.g., I conducted focus groups with participants.) A good writermakes strong declarative statements in third-person plural (e.g., teachers,parents, leaders, etc.) in terms of oughtand should rather than overusing redundant statements such as I believethat, I think that, to me, for me, etc. Almost always, sentences arestrengthened by simply omitting references to self.

 It is considered poor writing to refer toyourself in third-person (e.g., this author). It also may confuse the readerbecause there are typically multiple authors being discussed within amanuscript.

Academic Integrity:Thispaper will be screened by plagiarism-checking software, which reports to theprofessor the degree to which your paper is similar to other works. Thefollowing tips will help you avoid issues with plagiarism:

       Direct Quotes: No more than 10%of your paper should be made up of direct quotes. Therefore, do moresummarizing and paraphrasing than quoting. Short quotes should be in quotationmarks and longer quotes of 40-words or more should be indented. If you do notset off direct quotes in this manner and/or do not cite them, it is plagiarism.

       Ideas and Facts: If the idea orfact is not your own, you must cite its source. When not directly quoting,summarize, or analyze the idea in your own words.

 

Note:Your assignment will be checked for originality via an online plagiarism tool.