RESEARCH PAPERSAmplifying Instructions

Sea Power & Maritime AffairsResearch Paper Directions

Overview

2 papers 500 words (+/- 100 words)

You choose topic– Person– Battle– Technology– Strategy/tactics

Extremely Critical: Topic must have made a lasting impact upon Navy/Marine Corps history.

Formatting

Double spaced 12 pt. font Times New Roman 1” Margins 2 spaces after periods Black ink STAPLED!!!! No spelling errors, grammatical errors,

or typos

What it should look like

Grading CriteriaOverall Grade 89.95

Argument

Background 90 10

Contribution 85 10

Impact 85 10

Accuracy 85 20

Organization

Intro 90 2

Thesis 100 2

Body Paragraphs 85 2

Re-state Thesis 90 2

Conslusion 95 2

Style 85 15

Typos 100 10

Sources 100 7.5

Citation Formats 100 7.5

Percentage of Grade

Actual Grade

Chicago Style Citations

Footnotes Bibliography

Chicago Book Citations

Footnote

Bibliography

Example

Example

Chicago Website Citations

Footnote

Bibliography

See Chicago Manual Handout for full details, and directions for citing other sources.

Chicago Bibliography

Note: (1) Citations are in alphabetical order (2) Citations are single spaced, with double spaces separating citations (3) All lines after first line are indented

Grammar

Voice. – “Third person voice” (no “first person”

words like “I” or “me”)– “Active voice” (not “passive voice”)

Tense. Use past tense Grammar.– No run-on sentences– Subject-Verb agreement– No dangling prepositions or dangling

modifiers

Style

Use person’s full name only once. Use last name afterwards– John Paul Jones was a Navy captain….The men

liked Jones….Jones did his best to take care of them… Jones united a nation…

Ships always in Italics– USS Arizona, HMS Victory, etc.

Abbreviations

Uses full name first occurrence with abbreviation in parenthesis. Then use abbreviations ONLY for all subsequent uses:

– “He attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) in 1923. Though it was tough, OCS taught him…When he looked back at OCS…”

Structure Introduction:– Make your argument (thesis statement) and

introduce your topic sentences. Body Paragraphs– State your 1st topic sentence and defend it. – State your 2nd topic sentence and defend it. – State your 3rd topic sentence and defend it. – Etc.

Conclusion– Restate your thesis and recap your 1st, 2nd and 3rd

points and restate your argument. – Insightful closing

Essay Outline

Draft Copy Edits

Must be submitted two weeks prior to due date for paper.

I will return them a week prior to due date.

Additional Information

See www.navalseapower.com– Topic ideas– Paper formatting checklist– Outline template– Chicago Style Citations manual