Posted: May 23rd, 2015

Multi-stage research project.

5 Part Term Paper

Multi-stage research project. In this paper, you will select a terrorist strategy that has been used since the 1950s. This strategy must have been used against the United States and/or its national interests. Describe the strategy, how it was used, and how the United States reacted to it. Include specifics about the U.S. response to the threat, and whether or not that response was deemed appropriate. You may NOT choose “9/11” or the “Oklahoma City bombing.”

This research paper project is divided into five stages; the purpose behind dividing the paper into separate checkpoints is that it encourages you to work on it throughout the term and to ensure that the topic incident chosen is acceptable.

Checkpoint	Date Due	Value
Topic Approval	June 7	5
Thesis Statement	June 14	5
Annotated Bibliography	June 28	10
Abstract	July 5	10
Final Paper	July 12	100

Topic Approval

Please indicate which terrorist strategy you will be studying for this research project. Your selected terrorist strategy needs to have been used against the United States and/or its vital interests since the 1950s.

• Topics should be a single statement (the topic), followed by a short paragraph defending your choice. It should be no more than one typed page.
• Proper grammar and spelling are required.
• All papers are to be submitted in doc, docx, or rtf

 

Thesis Statement

This step has two parts: the statement and the argument. The thesis statement is a single statement — one sentence. The argument should summarize the main arguments you will be making in your final paper. This may change as you move forward, but it will be your general road map.

• The thesis statement should be clearly stated as one sentence.
• Following that statement, in its own paragraph, summarize the main arguments you will be making to prove your thesis statement.
• Proper grammar and spelling are required.
• All papers are to be submitted in doc, docx, or rtf

 

Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that has been annotated with additional information. Here, there are three things added to the typical bibliography: in-line citation, source type, and summary. Your annotated bibliography needs to meet the following requirements:

• Annotated bibliographies must contain 6–8 pages of content
• Each annotation needs to include a full, properly formatted Chicago reference, its proper in-line citation, its source type, and one to two complete paragraphs explaining the basic argument the work makes and the type of evidence used to prove this thesis
• Annotated bibliographies should contain at least 10 sources, including a variety of primary and secondary sources, including two full-length books from reputable academic presses, two primary sources, and articles from at least five academic journals.
• Wikipedia, Answers.com, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and non-professional web sites are forbidden Also forbidden are Internet sources with “wiki” in the URL.
• Allowable source types include: primary source, secondary source, academic book, academic article, governmental report, and newspaper report.
• All papers are to be submitted in doc, docx, or rtf
• While your annotated bibliography is due June 28, you should aim to have it completed earlier than that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following is the rubric I use to grade this assignment.

Criteria	A	B	C	D	F
Number and variety of sources (20%)	> 11 sources	11 sources	10 sources	8 sources	< 8 sources
	> 2 types of sources		2 types of sources	1 type of source	0 types of source
Quality of sources (20%)	all sources are reliable and academic	1 of the sources is not reliable and academic	2 of the sources are not reliable and academic	3 of the sources are not reliable and academic	> 3 of the sources are not reliable and academic
Organization (20%)	sources are grouped logically and thematically	most of the sources are grouped logically and thematically	sources are grouped, but many of the groupings lack logical and thematic order	sources are grouped, but most of the groupings lack logical and thematic order	sources are presented in a random order
Style guide (20%)	paper has zero style guide errors	paper has 1–3 style guide errors	paper has 4–5 style guide errors	paper has 6–7 style guide errors	paper has > 7 style guide errors
Citations (20%)	paper has no citation errors	paper has 1–3 errors in citation	paper has 4–5 errors in citation	paper has 6–7 errors in citation	paper has eight or more errors in citation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract

Please write a brief abstract (between 100 and 250 words) that sums up the main argument you will make in your final paper.

• Abstracts must be concise and well structured, with sufficient detail to demonstrate that the thesis and argument will be valid.
• Proper grammar and spelling are required.
• All papers are to be submitted in doc, docx, or rtf

The following is the rubric I use to grade this assignment.

Criteria	A	B	C	D	F
Content (50%)	clearly explains the problem the paper will address and provides supporting details	clearly explains the topic of the paper and provides adequate supporting detail	explains the topic of the paper, but lacks clarity and adequate supporting detail	unclear explanation of topic, and lacks supporting detail	no clear topic or supporting details
Structure (25%)	thesis and supporting details organized into a concise and effective argument	thesis and supporting details need to be tightened to make a better argument	thesis and supporting details disorganized and do not contribute to an effective argument	thesis and supporting details provided, with no effective argument attempted	complete lack of clarity
Style guide (25%)	abstract has no style guide errors	abstract has no more than one style guide error	abstract has no more than two style guide errors	abstract has no more than three style guide errors	abstract has four or more style guide errors

 

 

 

 

Final Paper

Please submit a finished paper. The final paper must include a brief history of the strategy. It must also answer the following questions: Why is this method a terrorist strategy? Which terrorists use this method? Why? When is this strategy effective? Why? What are the flaws of this strategy? Why? and What infrastructures support the use of this method? How and Why?

Restrict your sources to newspaper articles from major national and international papers, published journals and magazine articles, academic sources (including academic books), and websites from major organizations and government agencies. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and their ilk are not appropriate sources for college-level work. Online sources are fine, but they must be authoritative sources. Wikipedia, About.com, and other non-academic websites are not acceptable sources. If you are unsure about how to determine whether an online source is a good one, the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University has an excellent resource guide:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_evalsource4.html

If you have doubts as to whether a source is acceptable, send your instructor an e-mail. He will let you know.

• The paper must include 8–10 full pagesof content (hard limits), excluding the title page (separate page), abstract (separate page), and bibliography (separate page), which must also be included with the final paper as a single
• Papers must use Chicago format and must use the sources to demonstrate the plausibility of a clearly stated, analytical thesis.
• Proper grammar and spelling are required.
• All papers are to be submitted in doc, docx, or rtf

Most likely, your grade will be lower than you expect. In the past, this has been due to poor structure of the paper/argument, severe grammatical issues, poor citation methods, not smoothly incorporating the sources, lacking transitions, and not using headings to aid the reader in understanding the argument. Be warned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the rubric I use to grade this paper.

Criteria	A	B	C	D	F
Content and analysis (50%)	strong, analytical thesis	thesis clear, but more descriptive than analytical	thesis only descriptive	thesis unclear	no thesis
	original interpretation of material	interpretation not original but clearly expressed	interpretation relies heavily on other works	no interpretation, just description	lack of interpretation and description
	demonstrates understanding of the model	demonstrates understanding of the model	errors in applying the model	lack of understanding of the model	lack of understanding of the model
	consistent and effective use of three or more primary sources and eight or more secondary sources	consistent and effective use of two primary sources and seven secondary sources	incorporation of one primary source and six secondary sources	incorporation of one primary source and five secondary sources	incorporation of no primary sources and four or fewer secondary sources
Structure and organization (15%)	organization contributes to effectiveness of argument	organization is mostly logical, but could use improvement	organization is confusing; it is difficult to follow the analysis and narrative	organization is poor; analysis and narrative are garbled	organization is nonexistent; analysis and narrative do not make any sense
Writing style (15%)	sentences are well-constructed	sentences are mostly well-constructed	sentences are often unclear	sentences are often unintelligible	writing unacceptably substandard
	excellent word choice	generally appropriate word choice	word choice is often poor	word choice has obvious errors	word choice has severe errors
	sources are used correctly and integrated into the paper	sources are mostly used correctly and integrated into the paper	sources are mostly used correctly, but are not integrated effectively into the paper	incorrect use of sources; lack of integration of sources	sources used poorly or not at all
	transitions are clear and easy to follow	transitions are mostly clear and easy to follow	transitions abrupt	lack of transitions	no transitions
Style guide (10%)	paper has 0–1 style guide errors	paper has 2–3 style guide errors	paper has 4–5 style guide errors	paper has 6–7 style guide errors	paper has > 7 style guide errors
Documentation (10%)	paper has no more than one error in citation (formatting or use)	paper has 2–3 errors in citation	paper has 4–5 errors in citation	paper has 6–7 errors in citation	paper has eight or more errors in citation