Term Paper Requirements:

Submit a term paper on an important person in the humanities (such as an artist, dancer, musician, poet, etc.).

• Due midnight Sunday of Week 7
• 1000-1500 written words
• Cite 3-5 scholarly resources from Barstow College Library Electronic Resources
• Do NOT use internet websites
• Points Possible – 100

Your paper should include a 250-word biography of the artist. In addition, the paper should include a description, formal analysis, and interpretation of 2 works of art by that artist.

• 250 word biography of your artist
• 750 word description, analysis, and interpretation of two works of art
• In a conclusion, tell me why you chose this artist
• A Bibliography with 3-5 electronic sources (Links to an external site.) (do not use internet websites): Please contact one of our librarians for assistance in locating appropriate sources: Barstow Community College Library (Links to an external site.)
• Do not use our textbook as a reference.
• Do not use Wikipedia as a reference.
• Use a Word processing program to type your essay that you will submit
• Give me good research, not mythological musings from someone.

Term Paper Grading Rubric:

The Term Paper is a research paper with analysis. It is worth 100 points.

• 20%: Quality of the research, the examples used, and inclusion of all required components (see above)
• 15%: Works Cited (3 electronic sources required from Barstow Community College Library Electronic Resources (Links to an external site.))
• 15%: Quality of spelling, grammar, and mechanics 

Tips for Writing Your Term Paper

When writing your term paper, please keep in mind that form and presentation will be reflected in your grade. You should find a suitable title for your work. Give as much fact, precision, detail, and overall information as needed, and always keep your tone scholarly and objective (always imagine that your paper must make perfect sense to a reader in some distant place with no knowledge of you or our circumstances).

Consider your paper as a structured building, where you present your topic and scope (intention) – exposition – , give a thorough account of your issues, and then come to some sort of a conclusion. Also, never burden your paper with useless, cheap matter such as telling a person’s life or a book’s mere contents; remember, that such information can be found elsewhere and to fill your pages in such a way amounts to merely filling space and will be graded accordingly. It is a good idea to consult other books or internet materials outside your classroom texts. Precision in all matters is a must since you are writing this essay at home, with all literature available and under no time pressure.

I expect you to quote your research with at least two outside book or article sources (NOT internet material!) to be found in a library or elsewhere, and to clearly indicate these sources. Please remember that the deadline for submission is Midnight Sunday of Week #7. Essays will not be accepted after that time.

The following information will help you to write a research paper.

1. Read the article before you take any notes. Then go back over the article and put down the interesting facts carefully on cards or a sheet of paper. Use a separate card or page for each article or book.
2. Write down only important facts. Put them in your own words. Do not copy what the author says, as a general rule. Be accurate.
3. Write the reference (the name of the book and page on which you found your information) at the top of each card or sheet of paper. Then, if you need to check up on your information, you will know where to look.
4. If you DO use the exact words of an author somewhere, be sure to use quotation marks around them and indicate the source of that information in parentheses immediately following the quote.
5. After you have finished taking notes, arrange them in some order. For instance, if you have been looking up facts about hummingbirds, you may find that some of your facts are about hummingbirds’ food, others about their nests, and still others are about the way hummingbirds fly. Sort out your cards into piles of facts which seem to go together. Then decide how the piles go together best.
6. Write a complete sentence for each pile of notes – that is, for each main idea. Example: the chief food of hummingbirds is honey from flowers.
7. When you make your report, be as clear and simple as you can. Be sure you make the reader understand all the main ideas in your report. Be ready to answer questions.