HIS 201
History Paper Guidelines FALL, 2014
ASSIGNMENT
Your assignment is on Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis, read the book and write a 1,000-word book review on the book. In essence, this is a compare-and-contrast essay – it is not a book report. An sample outline is included to show how to do your paper. In order to complete this assignment successfully, you will have to read additional books and other materials to evaluate the book and assess the book’s strengths and weaknesses.
FORMAT
Please make sure that your paper is formatted like the example paper accompanying this document. Your paper should be typed in a regular-style font (Times New Roman or Calibri) and the type should be no larger than 12-point. Margins should be no larger than one inch and indentations for paragraphs should not exceed one tab. Please single-space your papers.
Each paper should be properly cited and each paper is expected to include a properly-formatted works cited page. Both the paper and the works cited page should be included in the same document and that document should be uploaded to EagleWeb no later than the start of class on the due date. Late papers will not be accepted!
Each paper should have no fewer than six outside sources. All sources should be books, periodicals or online articles from scholarly journals or scholar-run websites. Sources from websites not affiliated with academic research will not count as a source and neither do encyclopedias, dictionaries or your textbook. In addition, the book you are reviewing does not count as an outside source.
All papers will be checked for plagiarism. Papers that have excessive amounts of unoriginal work (more than 50 percent according to turnitin.com) will be awarded a zero, even if the outside information is cited. The purpose of this assignment is for you to review the book, not someone else. Turning in a paper that consists of lengthy quotes from other sources does not meet the criteria and will result in a grade of zero!
If you have taken this class before and you did a book review in it, please choose another book and do a new paper. All papers are stored electronically and when you resubmit it, it will show up as plagiarism. Plus, if you are taking the class for a second time, it might indicate that you didn’t do such a good job before so you will be required to do a new paper on a new book.

U.S. HISTORY BOOK REVIEW GRADING SHEET
NAME: _______________________________________________________________________________ CLASS: _______________________________________________________________________________ BOOK REVIEWED: ______________________________________________________________________
CATEGORY
STUDENT POINTS (100 Points Total, 10 Points Per Category) TOTAL POINTS
Paper Is 1,000 Words Or More
Paper Formatted Correctly
Student Used 6 Outside Sources
Works Cited Page Formatted Correctly Student Properly Cited All Sources In Paper Proper Grammar, Logical Flow Well-Rounded Summary
Comparison Of Book With Other Sources Organization
Coherence
TOTAL:
____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________
COMMENTS: _____________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________
SAMPLE BOOK REVIEW OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. About The Author
1. Define His/Her Expertise, Etc. B. Main Points Made In The Book
1. Point 1 2. Point 2 3. Point 3 4. Point 4
II. What Other Sources Say A. Source 1
1. Information on author of Source 1 2. Main Points Of Source 1
a. Compare with book b. Contrast with book
B. Source 2
1. Information on author of Source 1 2. Main Points Of Source 1
a. Compare with book b. Contrast with book
C. Source 3
1. Information on author of Source 1 2. Main Points Of Source 1
a. Compare with book b. Contrast with book
D. Source 4
1. Information on author of Source 1 2. Main Points Of Source 1
a. Compare with book b. Contrast with book
E. Source 5
1. Information on author of Source 1 2. Main Points Of Source 1
a. Compare with book b. Contrast with book
F. Source 6
1. Information on author of Source 1 2. Main Points Of Source 1
a. Compare with book b. Contrast with book
III. Conclusion
A. Evaluation
1. Compare, contrast
