Skip to Main Content

U.S. History: Home

Snapshot in History

President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, 1965.

Yoichi Okamoto/National Archives 

Guidelines

Topic: A U.S. history topic of your choice.

Thesis: Your thesis must be approved; it must be analytical – that is, it must be a statement that is arguable. 

Format: Your paper should be 6 to 9 pages long, typed, double-spaced. (The number of pages refers to text, not bibliography or other material). 

Apparatus: All papers must include in-text parenthetical citations, following MLA format (click the "Citing" tab above). All papers must have a Works Cited list that includes secondary and primary sources. Use NoodleTools to create a project that contains all your citations, this will make for an easy "works cited" list later! There should be no more than one encyclopedia entry among the secondary sources. Sources should be balanced between electronic and print resources.