STEPS IN THE RESEARCH PAPER PROCESS:
STEP ONE: Research! After you pick your guiding question, begin the research paper process. You will receive “research response sheets,” and you must complete at least 6 sheets, meaning that you will have at least 6 sources in your paper. At least 2 sources should be primary sources. In class and for homework, you will be doing research by reading sources and completing research response sheets. Make sure to record source information on your research response sheets for your bibliography, so that you don’t have to return to your sources to find page numbers, publishing information, and so on.
****Where do I find research? Use the books in our classroom and the sites/databases linked on this Libguide!
STEP TWO: Complete your outline for your research paper. (By outlining your paper, you will be coming up with a thesis, assertions, opposing arguments, and working to figure out where you will use each piece of evidence/research.)
STEP THREE: Write your research paper. Papers must be typed (12 point, Times New Roman, double-spaced) and 5-8 pages in length. You also must incorporate footnotes. YOU ALSO MUST INCLUDE A BIBLIOGRAPHY with your paper. Information on how to do footnotes and bibliographies will be distributed in class.
STEP FOUR: Revise your paper if necessary. Also make sure to revise your bibliography and citations if necessary.
PLEASE NOTE: You will also be graded on your focus and ability to work in class. This research paper process requires you to work independently and make good use of class time.
Guiding Questions (Pick one, or develop your own and clear it with me!):
NOTE: I do strongly encourage you to develop your own specific guiding question based on the lessons we did in class! Here are some options though.
1) What was the Voting Rights Act of 1965? Do we still need the protections of the Voting Rights Act today?
2) What was the most effective tactic used by SNCC?
3) What challenges did SNCC face and in what ways did the organization change during the 1960s?
4) What were the experiences of women in SNCC (or within the larger Civil Rights Movement–as organizers)?
5) What is the legacy of Malcolm X?
6) Why did the Montgomery Bus Boycott succeed in reaching its goal of desegregating the city’s buses?
7) What were the goals of the Black Panther Party and what did the group achieve?
8) Why did FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover declare the Black Panther Party “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country” in 1969?
9) What were the goals of the Young Lords, and to what extent did they achieve them? OR What was the biggest impact of the Young Lords Party?
10) What was the biggest impact of the United Farm Workers and their movement in furthering the cause of civil rights?
11) To what extent did second wave feminism successfully address the demands of women in the 1960s and 1970s? OR What were some important successes of women’s liberation and what was unfinished?
12) How did the tactics of the Civil Rights Movement influence activists in the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights?
13) How did Stonewall represent a shift in the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement?
14) How did the tactics of the Civil Rights Movement influence Asian American rights activism? What was unique about the approaches of Asian American activists?
15) What was the Third World Liberation Front and what did this group want to achieve? To what extent did they achieve their goals?
16) How did AIM fight for the civil rights of Native Americans–and what were the organization’s most effective tactics?
17) What was redlining? How did it perpetuate institutionalized/systemic racism?
18) To what extent was the Fair Housing Act of 1968 successful? (This can connect to the redlining/gentrification discussions we have had.)
19) Why did Martin Luther King Jr. create the Poor People’s Campaign?
20) What is the history of Muslim American activism and what have been the most effective strategies that they have used to combat Islamophobia?
21) To what extent did the Civil Rights Movement impact the Vietnam War?