Rosemary Bell

WHAT CONSITUTES AN "A" PAPER?

All History classes - Located on the Skyline Website is the link to the Library. Click on it. Go to Cite Souces link. Voila! How to document your resources is all spelled out for you. No muss, no fuss.

Below is some very important information as you begin writing your research paper. I have put this information up here as a resource for you to use.
All research papers have a separate page, entitled Works Cited, that should be included at the end of the paper. A Works Cited page provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and be able to read any sources you cite in the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your works-cited list.  Here are some guidelines for preparing your works cited list.
- Begin your works cited list on a separate page from the text of the essay under the label Works Cited (with no quotation marks, underlining, etc.), which should be centered at the top of the page.
- Double space all entries, with no skipped spaces between entries.
- Keep in mind that underlining and italics are equivalent; you should select one or the other to use throughout your essay.
- Alphabetize the list of works cited by the first word in each entry (usually the author's last name)
There are different ways to document articles.  One is the Chicago style, the other is the American Psychological Association (APA), or the Modern Language Association (MLA) style.  I ask that you use the MLA method.

MLA EXAMPLE

GRADING STANDARDS

"A" work- (1) Responds fully to assignment; (2)expresses its purpose clearly and persuasively; (3) Begins and Ends effectively; (4) provides adequate supporting arguments, evidence, examples, and details; (5) Is well-organized and unified; (6) Uses appropriate, direct language; (7) Correctly acknowledges and documents sources; (8) Is free of errors in grammar, punctuation, word choice, spelling, and format; (9) Shows originality and creativity.

"B" work- Realizes (1) through (9) full and completely-and demonstrates very good presentation-but shows little or no originality or creativity.

"C" work-Realizes (1) through (9) adequately-and demonstrates overall competence-but contains a few, relatively minor errors or flaws.  A "C" paper may show creativity and originality, but I have to tell you, those qualities do not make up for poor or careless writing.

"D" work-Fails to realize some elements of (1) through (9) adequately-and contains several, relatively serious errors or flaws, or many minor ones.  A "D" paper looks like you put it together two days before it was due and it shows!

"F" work-I don't think I have to tell you what this looks like, but I will.  Fails to realize several elements of (1) through (9) adequately-contains many serious errors and usually many minor ones. This is a paper that looks and reads like you threw it together an hour before class.

If you have questions about how to arrange your paper please come by and talk to me. I'd be pleased to help you.