First Paper (20%)

FIRST 1200-1500 WORD PAPER (ABOUT 4-5 PAGES)

DUE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, BY 11:59 PM

SUBMIT YOUR PAPER AS A WORD DOC OR PDF THROUGH CANVAS

Reminder:  If you need to request an extension on a paper, you must email me or your TA before the paper is due and tell us when you will turn it in (it should be within two days at most unless there are extenuating circumstances).

Wondering how your work will be assessed? The TAs will be grading your work under my direct supervision. We will read papers as a group and ensure that we are all using the same grading criteria and standards. We will assess papers based on the following criteria:

• the strength and clarity of your thesis
• the strength, organization, and complexity of your argument
• your use of evidence and analysis of that evidence
• your factual accuracy
• how well you provide historical context
• the quality of your writing
• your use of citations/footnotes 
• word count (you must meet the minimum word count or you will automatically get a C - 70-79% at best)

The rubric we will use for grading the papers is included below and contains a more detailed breakdown of how we will assess each criterion.

NEED HELP WITH YOUR PAPER? 

We are happy to help you get started or review thesis statements. Come to see us during office hours to discuss your ideas and we can make sure you’re on the right track.

If you need additional help, the following writing centers are available to help you at any stage of the writing process, from getting started to polishing drafts.  

History Writing Center Links to an external site.

CLUE Writing Center Links to an external site.

Odegaard Writing and Research Center Links to an external site.

Paper Topics

The first paper is intended to introduce you to the analysis of primary sources and the use of historical evidence. Rather than asking you to summarize a text or repeat someone else’s analysis, the topics ask you to engage in critical thought, mine our primary sources for evidence, and offer your own analysis of the evidence in these sources. Your argument should be derived from your evidence, meaning you should gather your evidence first and then decide what argument you want to make based on the evidence in the sources, not the other way around. You should use lecture and the textbook to provide historical context for your analysis of the primary sources, but no outside research is necessary or expected. We want to see what you can do with the primary sources.

Choose ONE of the following paper topics:

1. Compare Tacitus’ account of Germanic chiefs/kings with Gregory of Tours’ portrayal of Clovis. Does Gregory’s portrayal of Clovis’ kingship confirm or contradict what Tacitus describes? (Consider things like how a chief/king is selected, his role in warfare, how he maintains the loyalty of his warriors, how he extends his power, and the limits of his power.)
2. Compare Gregory of Tours’ portrayal of Arian and Catholic Christians. How does Gregory portray each group and some of the specific individuals within these groups, such as Sidonius, Clovis, Clotild, Euric, Gundobad, and Godigisel? WHY does Gregory think one group is superior to the other, and what strategies does he use to convince you of this? Which of his strategies do you find the most effective?
3. Analyze the status of women in Germanic society using Tacitus’ Germania and Gregory of Tours’ History of the Franks. What claims does Tacitus make about the status of women? What roles do you see women playing in society in the History of the Franks and what forms of influence do you see them exerting? Does the evidence in the History of the Franks mostly confirm or contradict Tacitus’ claims about the status of Germanic women? (you can also bring in evidence from the Lex Salica if you like)
4. Gregory of Tours and Einhard both reveal bias in their accounts of Clovis and Charlemagne. Compare their portrayals of Clovis and Charlemagne and consider how their biases affect their credibility. Which source do you find more credible and why? (Review the handout on “How to Read a Primary Source” from week 1 for a definition of credibility.) 

Requirements:

• Papers must be 1200-1500 words. Include the final word count at the top of your paper next to your name.
  • Papers that do not meet the minimum word count requirement will automatically be dropped to a C. It’s alright to go slightly over the wordcount, but you want to make sure you meet the minimum.
  • Use a standard 12 point font such as Times, Times New Roman, or Calibri.
  • Use 1-inch margins (the “normal” or “default” settings in Word).
  • Double-space the body of the paper; the heading on the first page with your name and course information should be single-spaced.
• Craft an argument that addresses the paper prompt. Do not make up your own assignment.
  • Make sure your paper contains a clear thesis statement at the end of your first paragraph, and that the rest of your paper is devoted to substantiating that thesis.
    • Writing an introduction is often the most difficult part of the writing process, and we often don't know exactly what our argument will be until we've analyzed our evidence in the process of writing the paper. You might find it helpful to put off writing your introductory paragraph and thesis statement until you've written the rest of the paper - it's much easier to summarize your argument in a thesis statement once you've actually made that argument.
  • Introduce your source(s). Tell us who, what, when, where, why, for each source you use and address any issues the source might have.
  • Give appropriate historical context from lecture and the textbook as needed. It might be helpful to imagine that you are writing for a friend who is not taking this course - what would you need to explain in order for them to understand your argument?
  • Each body paragraph should contain a claim/topic sentence, followed by specific evidence from our primary sources that substantiates your claim, and analysis of that evidence (i.e., an explanation of what the evidence means and how it supports your argument). 
  • Provide a conclusion that reiterates the most important points in your argument and offers a strong restatement of your argument.
• Citations. You must provide footnotes for any information quoted or paraphrased from any source other than yourself. If the information came from any source other than yourself (whether it is a preface, book, journal, website, lecture, or the textbook), you must give the original author credit by including a footnote. Failing to credit the original author of an idea is plagiarism.

• • Microsoft Word and Google Docs will insert footnotes for you and automatically number them. Depending on the version you are using, go to the “insert” menu and choose “footnote,” or go to the “references” menu and choose “insert footnote.”
  • Footnotes are placed at the end of the sentence, after all quotation marks and punctuation. E.g. “This is where you place a footnote.”¹
  • Avoid using block quotes (quotes that take up more than three lines of printed text in your paper). Block quotes are a sign that you have been too lazy to paraphrase.  Overuse of block quotes, especially without analysis, will result in a low grade.
• All papers containing plagiarized material (including AI generated content) will receive a 0, and you will have to rewrite the paper in order to pass the course (you will still receive a 0 on the assignment). If this is a second instance of plagiarism, you will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and will fail the course.

• You do not need to provide a list of works cited. 

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of anyone else’s words or ideas as if they are your own, without attributing them to their originator.  This includes:

• Copying paragraphs, sentences, phrases or words from a book, article, website, or anywhere else without enclosing them in quotation marks and noting the source of the quotation. The copying does not have to be verbatim to be plagiarism.  Changing the sentence structure, changing some of the words, or paraphrasing is still plagiarism if you do not credit the source of the ideas.
• Submitting a paper that was in whole or in part downloaded, purchased, or copied from the Internet or any other source.
• Submitting work as your own that was written by anyone other than yourself.
• Submitting work as your own that was produced by any form of AI, such as ChatGPT.
• Submitting work for one class that was originally prepared for another class, or submitting work for one assignment that has previously been submitted for another assignment, can also be considered a type of plagiarism.

Plagiarism is academic dishonesty; it is an offense in the same category as copying answers from another student on a test.  The easiest way to avoid plagiarism is by crediting all quotes and paraphrases to their originators by footnoting them, and, of course, by never submitting anyone else’s work as your own.

Plagiarism will result in a zero on the assignment and you will have to rewrite the paper in order to pass the course. Egregious cases of plagiarism will be referred to the Office of Academic Conduct for disciplinary action.

Style:

• Make sure your subjects and verbs agree.
• Use the active voice, not the passive voice, whenever possible.
• Use proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and syntax.
• Do not use contractions in a paper (e.g. use “it is” rather than “it’s” and “would have” rather than “would’ve”).
• Do not use overly casual language, slang, or jargon, and try to avoid clichés.
• If you have trouble with grammar, usage, word choice, or punctuation, check out a style guide, such as Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style (look for one of the more recent editions). It offers a good, basic guide to writing and a clear explanation of the rules governing word choice, usage, grammar, and punctuation.

Citations:

You must provide footnotes when quoting or paraphrasing material from our primary sources, lectures, and textbook.  For this course we will be using Chicago Style citations.  If you are unfamiliar with Chicago Style citations, you can consult the Chicago Manual of Style at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html Links to an external site..

Sample first citations (Chicago Style):

Cornelius Tacitus, Germania, http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/tacitusc/germany/chap1.htm, p. 3.

Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, trans. Lewis Thorpe (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1974), p. 140.

Lex Salica, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/medieval/salic.asp Links to an external site., ch. XIII.

Einhard, The Life of Charlemagne, trans. Samuel Epes Turner (Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1960), p. 25.

"Royal Frankish Annals," in Carolingian Chronicles, ed. and trans. Bernard Scholz and Barbara Rogers-Gardener (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1970), p. 54.

Judith Bennett, Medieval Europe: A Short History, 12^th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021), p. 36.

Urbanski, Lecture, 1/25/2020.

You should use an abbreviated citation each subsequent time you cite that source.

Sample abbreviated citations:

Tacitus, p. 3

Gregory of Tours, p. 140

Lex Salica, XIII

Einhard, p. 25

RFA, p. 54

Bennett, p. 36

NOTE: make sure you put the page number(s) where the specific evidence you are using can be found in each of your footnotes.