Final Research Essay


World History
Final Research Essay

The Assignment:  The assignment is to write an expository essay on a world issue/problem (some are historical, others more recent).  An expository essay requires the writer to research and inform.  Assume that the reader has no prior knowledge or understanding of the topic as you write. Your essay should be organized and use supporting details to “tell the story”, it will use a formal format (do not use “I” statements).  In this assignment you will be demonstrating skills that we have been working on all semester, because of this it will count for 50% of your final exam grade.

Choose one topic from the list below, or come up with your own, to research. Use to focus questions to the right to guide your research.

Got Water?
In 20th century it was all about oil.  Some think the 21st century will be about fresh water.  What is the fresh water crisis in the world today?  What is being done?  Or should be done?
Human Trafficking
While slavery is technically illegal it still exists in many forms.  How does the world wide trade in humans exist?  Where is it the worst?  How are nations dealing with this human rights violation?
Global Refugee Crisis
Examine and discuss the refugee crisis as it exists today.  Where are the most refugee camps, what caused them to be displace, and what is life like for these people?  Listen to or read at least one account of a person living in a refugee camp to add to your repertoire of information.
Totalitarian Leaders
Discuss the reign of Josef Stalin over Soviet Russia.  How did he control the press, the economy, and his own party to improve Russian industrial output?  Discuss the human rights violations and how people in the Ukraine suffered under the “Terror Famine.”
Iran-Iraq War
Describe the circumstances and outcome of the Iran-Iraq war that was started by Saddam Hussein in 1980.  What do you see as a long term effect?
WWII 
Battle of Stalingrad – one of the most incredible stories of the Russian war with Nazis
WWII
Winston Churchill – the Lion of Britain, what did he do to keep Britain active and fighting?
The Holocaust
Nazi Aryan Racial Theory – the Germans taught that Aryan Race was biologically superior, describe their convoluted science.
Holocaust
Death Camps – there were other camps besides Auschwitz, describe the camp system

Holocaust
Final Solution – Hitler’s controversial plan to finally eliminate all Jews from Europe
The World Court
World Court-What is the World Court?  How does it prosecute war criminals and crimes against humanity?
The Cold War
Cold War & China – how China became communist under Mao
The Cold War
Break up of Yugoslavia-What caused this once independent communist nation to fall apart?  What has happened to this Balkan region since 1919?
China
China was once huge, but poor, communistic country.  Now it is the richest country in Asia.  How did that happen?  What is happening with the communists?  How does this effect 21st century (and US)?






The Requirements:
MLA Format
In-text citations
Must use at least 3 resources
Reference Page
Annotated Notes Sheet (see attached)
Outline Page: You must attach an outline to your essay (it can be handwritten or typed) in order to show that you took the time to organize your information.

Paper Format
Typed, Double spaced, 1 inch margin
Times New Roman Font, size 12
2-3 pages (500-750 words) (Reference, outline and annotation page do not count towards the page count)

Scoring Rubric:

4(100-90)
3(89-80)
2 (79-70)
1 (below 70)
Information
The introduction and conclusion are engaging and appropriate.  Every part of the paper is on topic.  Supporting details enhance the quality of the paper and leave the reader with a thorough understanding.
The introduction and conclusion provide an overview of the topic.
Most of the paper is on topic.  Supporting details are included.
Reader is left with an understanding of topic
Introduction and conclusion are weak.  Paper strays off topic in more than one place.  Reader is left not understanding the topic.
Either the introduction/conclusion are missing.
Supporting details are missing.
Reader is left uniformed.
Organize and Clarity
Superb organization of thoughts and purpose; main points explicitly identified, fluid, and explained with masterful detail and confidence
Strong organization of thoughts and purpose; main points effectively identified and explained with interesting and logical detail.
Some organization of thoughts and purpose; generalized points that are fragmented and difficult to follow.
Little to no organization; scattered thoughts with no clear purpose.
Use of language, conventions and grammar
Word choice is vivid and expressive.  No grammatical/spelling mistakes
Parts of paper are engaging.  1-2 grammatical/spelling mistakes
Paper is simple with no varied sentences.  3 or more grammar/spelling mistakes
Paper is confusing.  Grammatical/spelling mistakes distract the reader.

Cites and documentation
Cites all sources of information accurately (error free) both in-text and works cited to demonstrate the credibility and authority of the information presented.
Cites sources of information in proper format (infrequent minor errors) and documents sources to enable accuracy checking.
Cites sources of information but there are inconsistencies and infrequent omissions of citation details
Creates citations which are incomplete or inaccurate.
Or, no intext citations included.






Annotated Notes Sheets
Use this format for all your sources.  Remember, you must use at least 3.
Source #1:  Correctly Cite your Source below:  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quick Notes from the source (bulleted is fine):  _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Source #2:  Correctly Cite your Source below:  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quick Notes from the source (bulleted is fine):  _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Source #3:  Correctly Cite your Source below:  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quick Notes from the source (bulleted is fine):  _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


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