Writing a Good Term Paper

WRITING A GOOD TERM PAPER

Term papers can take several forms, ranging from historiographical surveys of a particular topic to focused

analyses using a body of primary sources (journals, plantation records, newspapers). The UF Library has an extremely strong Caribbean history collection, probably the best anywhere; the term paper gives you an opportunity to use a world-class resource base to explore a topic of your choosing. The following points should be taken into account:

The subject chosen must lie (primarily) within the chronological and geographical limits of the course. Listed below are some questions and reading material that might help you formulate a topic. If you choose a topic we have covered in class, you will be held to a higher standard than than if you have to research a subject from scratch.

You ought to have selected a topic by mid-term; this involves reading ahead in the course material. Students frequently encounter heavy demand for the same books; if library books are on loan, fill out a recall form. Discuss your choice with me; I can usually help. Aim to write several drafts; allow time to polish the writing and adjust balance and coverage. An essay needs to be crafted, not just poured out on to paper. Ten to twelve pages of text, not counting notes and bibliography, is sufficient. However, students wishing to write a longer piece preparatory to an honors thesis (and who have a 3.5 UDGPA) are encouraged to do so.

The merit of the paper partly will be judged on whether it lives up to the expectations created by its title. Don't call a paper "Jamaican slave resistance" and write only about maroons or 19th century revolts. Hence, choose your title carefully, and adjust it, if necessary.

Aim for an analytic rather than purely descriptive approach. One way to do this is to adopt a "compare and contrast" framework. E.g. look at the same phenomenon in different colonies ordifferent periods. Also, while you may feel unable to criticize the opinions of published scholars, if you read two or three works on the same subject, you should start to notice differences in content or interpretation, about which you can form your own opinions. Conversely, you need to be able to justify your criticisms. In evaluating a book, take into account when it was published, who published it, and what sources it used. Beware of popular, unscholarly accounts, especially on the internet; material is only as reliable as the person who put in there. Books published by university presses and written by academics are likely to be the most reliable. It may be helpful to read reviews of the work, published in journals such as American Historical Review (available on-line via JSTOR) and New West Indian Guide.

Remember history is in large measure concerned with cause and effect; that is, how and why things change, especially why they do so at a particular point