This research paper should be around seven hundred words (not counting the Works Cited page), but please focus on content rather than on length.
The paper should have at least four sources. Each of them should be cited at least once in the body of the paper, and all four should be listed on the Works Cited page.
Follow MLA format for citations. Use signal phrases where appropriate to provide context and credibility. The TCC Teaching and Learning Center, your handbook, and various online sources have detailed explanations of MLA format.
The topic for this paper is the Indian boarding schools in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. Begin by doing a little research to get an idea what the schools were, what they were intended to do, and what they actually did. There are numerous Wikipedia articles and other websites that will give you a good overview. (See below for details about acceptable sources.)
Develop a specific question about the Indian boarding schools. This question will be the title of your paper, and the answer to the question will be your thesis. For example, if our topic were controversies over interpreting the US Constitution, my question might be, What are the major philosophical differences in the ways the legal scholars interpret the language of the Second Amendment?
It is almost always best to develop a question that begins with who, what, why, where, when, or how, rather than with is or does.
Your question goes at the top of your paper, as the title.
The first paragraph is where you provide the context your reader needs to understand your thesis.
The last sentence of the introduction is your thesis: an explicit, arguable answer to your question.
Each supporting paragraph begins with a topic sentence that clearly develops something in the thesis.
There is no specific number of quotations required, but a successful paper would be unlikely to have a paragraph (after the introduction) without at least one quotation.
The Works Cited section should follow MLA formatting and should include at least four sources.
Although Wikipedia and other websites are useful research tools, they are too unstable to use as citations. Use Wikipedia to get an overview of the issue and to find reliable sources. For example, at the end of most Wikipedia articles you will find sections titled See Also, References, or Further Reading. These will lead you to sources in libraries or other archives.
