Paper 1 - 20%

FIRST 1500-1800 WORD (5-6 PAGE) PAPER

DUE MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 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 (urbanski@uw.edu) before the paper is due and tell me 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 TA will be grading your work under my direct supervision. We will read papers together to ensure that we are 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 CenterLinks to an external site.

CLUE Writing CenterLinks to an external site.

Odegaard Writing and Research CenterLinks 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 information, and offer your own analysis of the evidence in these sources. 

Choose ONE of the following topics:

1. Using the documents from weeks 1 and 2, does either Richard III or Henry VII (analyze both) qualify as a good king according to Thomas Smith’s criteria in De republica Anglorum?

For this question, you’ll want to analyze the conception of good kingship implicit in De republica Anglorum from week 2 and consider what Smith has to say about how kings should come to the throne, what duties/obligations kings have toward their subjects, for whose benefit kings are expected to rule, whether kings are obliged to obey the laws, and how good kingship differs from tyranny. Then look at the documents from week 1 (2.6 Richard’s proclamation against Henry Tudor, 2.7 Henry’s speech at the battle of Bosworth, and 2.8 Polydore Vergil’s account of Henry Tudor’s early reign) and assess Richard III and Henry VII using Smith's criteria: how they came to the throne, how they ruled (according to these documents), and whether either of them would have qualified as a “good” king under Smith’s criteria. Make sure to answer this question for both Richard III and Henry VII.

2. Compare the position of women in Thomas Smith’s De republica Anglorum and Thomas More’s Utopia. Does More appear to accept or reject Smith’s assumptions about the place of women in the social hierarchy?

For this question, make sure to consider where women are placed in the social hierarchy in each work, and whether either author seems to believe that women should be able to learn a trade, hold public office/rule, enter the priesthood, get an education, etc. Also consider how marriage might alter a woman’s role within Smith’s England and More’s Utopia. Does either author make any exceptions to the general rules and roles prescribed for women? Finally, make sure to answer the question about whether More seems to agree with Smith’s assumptions about the place of women in society.

3. Compare the depiction of Thomas More in William Roper’s Life of Sir Thomas More with that of Cardinal Wolsey in George Cavendish’s Life and Death of Cardinal Wosley. How do Roper and Cavendish use conscience and Fortune to explain the actions and eventual fates of their protagonists? How do the motifs of conscience and Fortune shape your perception of the personalities and characters of More and Wolsey? Which do you find more effective?

For this question, make sure to focus on how the authors use the motifs of conscience and Fortune within their accounts, and how this framing affects the way you view More and Wolsey. Finally, make sure to address which author’s approach you find more effective and why (e.g., did you find one approach more credible than the other, did you think one was more objective than the other?).

Instructions for Papers:

• Papers should be 5-6 pages (1500-1800 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 word count, 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 cases of suspected plagiarism or AI use will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct for investigation and disciplinary action. Any assignment determined to be plagiarized or produced by AI by the Office of Student Conduct use will receive a 0. A second confirmed case of plagiarism or AI use will result in failing the course.

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

Plagiarism / Use of AI

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.

All cases of suspected plagiarism or AI use will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct for investigation and disciplinary action. Any assignment determined to be plagiarized or produced by AI by the Office of Student Conduct use will receive a 0. A second confirmed case of plagiarism or AI use will result in failing the course.

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 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 any source (this includes lecture, the textbook, our primary sources, and any other print or electronic source).  For this course we will be using Chicago Style citations.  If you are unfamiliar with Chicago Style citations, please consult the Chicago Manual of Style at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.

Use a full citation the first time you cite a source.

Sample first/full citations:

“Richard III’s Proclamation against Henry, earl of Richmond,” (Doc. 2.6) 

Thomas Smith, De republica Anglorum (London, 1583), p. 6.

Thomas More, Utopia and Selected Epigrams, eds. Gerard W. Wegemer and Stephen W. Smith, trans. Gerald Malsbary (CTMS Publishers at the University of Dallas, 2020). thomasmorestudies.org Links to an external site. p. 20.

William Roper, “The Life of Sir Thomas More,” in Two Early Tudor Lives, eds. Richard Sylvester and David Harding (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1962), p. 50

George Cavendish, “The Life and Death of Cardinal Wolsey,” in Two Early Tudor Lives, eds. Richard Sylvester and David Harding (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1962), p. 85

Urbanski, lecture, 10/18/2022

Alec Ryrie, The Age of Reformation (Routledge, 2017), p. 30

Use an abbreviated citation each subsequent time you cite that source.

Sample abbreviated citations:

“Richard III’s Proclamation against Henry”

Smith, p. 6.

More, p. 20

Roper, p. 50

Cavendish, p. 85

Urbanski, lecture, 10/18/2022

Ryrie, p. 30

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