Cuban Migration

Cuban Migration

Project description
RESEARCH PAPER:

You will be responsible for writing a substantial (4,000-5,000 word) research paper in the form of a case study of voluntary or forced migration. This paper will be due on Wednesday, March 18, no later than 9:15 p.m. There are a number of stages in the production of this paper:

First, select a suitably narrow research topic that focuses on a manageable case or a set of related events. See the appendix to this syllabus for exemplary topics and chapters 1 and 2 of Turabian for help in choosing a topic. Narrowed research topics are to be turned in by the beginning of class on Wednesday, January 14. This assignment will count for five percent of your final grade.

Once you have found a topic, you need to find quality sources for your research. Quality sources include HYPERLINK “http://www.princeton.edu/refdesk/primary2.html” primary sources, books published by academic presses and substantial articles published by peer-reviewed journals. Assemble as complete a bibliography as you can on your topic and turn it in by the beginning of class on Wednesday, January 21. DO NOT limit your bibliography to sources you know you will use. The aim here is to assemble as complete a bibliography as possible, then select the most pertinent sources from that bibliography. See chapters 3 of Turabian on how to find sources and chapters 15, 18, and 19 for assistance with proper citation. This assignment will count for ten percent of your final grade.

Begin to read your sources and select the most important ones for your paper. As you read, think about the argument you want to make in your research paper. What is your main point, and why do you think its true? Craft a concise (no more than 250 word) explanation of your main argument. Turn in this statement of your main thesis by the beginning of class on Wednesday, January 28. This assignment will count for five percent of your final grade.

Then create an outline for your paper that develops your main argument. Someone who reads this outline should be able to figure out how you plan to develop and present your argument. At each step in your outline, indicate the main sources of evidence for that part of your argument. Turn in your outline by the beginning of class on Wednesday, February 4. See chapters 4-6 of Turabian for help. This assignment will count for ten percent of your final grade.

Now is the time to write a rough draft of your paper. Do not worry at this point about uncorrected grammatical mistakes, mistakes in punctuation, or imperfect citation. The point of this draft is to get the results of your research on paper. The rough draft should be not less than 2,000 words long. Turn in your rough draft by the beginning of class on Wednesday, February 18. This assignment will count for ten percent of your final grade.