• Case Study Paper on a "Middle American Personality" (details below)
  [100 points = 8.5 % of the final grade
  
  
• Length: 6 - 7 well-written pages
  
  
  • including one title page (see sample title page below) and
    
    
  • and at least one separate "Works Cited" (or "References") page (see sample below)
    
    
  • that leaves that leaves 4-5 pages of text
    
    
    • with one-inch margins all around
    • with body type font 11 or 12
    • illustrations, tables, figures, diagrams . . . may be included, but must be properly placed and cited
      
      

• sample paper outline
  
  

• Due: Last day of class
  (i.e., the last scheduled class meeting, Week 15, not the day of the final exam)
  
  
  • Unexcused late Case Study papers @ -2% of final grade
    
    
• Information about Handing in Your Paper
  
  
  • Turn in via WebDrop
    <https://webdrop.d.umn.edu>
    
    
    • name your paper something like YourUMDid_case_study_1
      
      
• Papers must follow a college writing handbook such as Lunsford, A., & Connors, R. (1999). The New St. Martin's Handbook. New York: St. Martin's
  
  Or you can follow the Soc-Anth-Crim-Hum/Cl Writing Guide
  
  Other web resources such as OWL and Paradigm can be found on the UMD "Writing Labs, On-Line Assisstance, and Reference Works" page
  
  
• For your footnotes, "bibliography" ("Works Cited" or "References"), and other matters like that, use either the APA (American Psychological Association) citation style, the MLA (Modern Language Association) style, the CMS (Chicago) style, or the CBE (Council of Biology Editors) style. Don't make up your own.

• Describe and analyze any one the following individuals
  
  
• NOTE: You only need to select one individual
• you do not have to describe and analyze all of the people

or . . .

• Select two of the following individuals and compare /contrast them
  
  
  • that is describe how they are alike, and how they are different
    
    
  • NOTE: You only need to select two individuals
    
    
  • you do not have to compare all of them
    
    

keywords:

to top of page / A-Z index

• It is fine for you to consult with Wikipedia for your term paper but you should be aware that the Wikipedia entries are open-source and are not checked and verified in the same manner as other reference materials. And sometimes the entries are confusing (have a look at "Macedonia," for example).

  It is also OK to start out your research by consulting reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries and lexica, glosaries, other general reference works, and the like, but this stage should only be a preliminary preparation for more focused and in-depth research work.

  For a college research paper you should also have a look at other references, either traditional materials from the library, or on-line materials from sources like JSTOR (search on JSTOR), or books and manuscripts On-Line. That is to say Wikipedia and the other reference-type sources listed should not be your only source of information. And you must add your own evaluations, comparisons, development, criticisms, critiques, and the like to any reference materials used. Simply cutting and pasting information from sources is not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of either a required or extra-credit research paper.

  
  

• Also try getting information from JSTORE, elelctronically stored journals, and look for other items from the UMD Library Research Resources
  
  

• Criteria for Grading College Writing
  
  

• One way to start getting sources for your Case Study papers in Mesoamerica is by searching "the web"

• Try surfing the web by searching with the Sociology-Anthropology WebSearch Page found on the upper-righthand corner of all of the course WebPages
  
  
  • Try getting information from JSTORE, elelctronically stored journals, and look for other items from the UMD Library Research Resources
    
    
    
• Hint: When you do a search on an item that has more than one word, like "Aztec calendar," use the "Advanced Search" option
  
  
  • use the "phrase" option on the search engine -- otherwise it will search out everything with "Aztec" and everything with "calendar," and the list of "hits" could get quite large
    
    

• For this Case Study -- and all of the Case Studies -- you may also use traditional library materials, and, where appropriate, interviews and videotapes
  
  
• Use the MAforum to discuss your paper with others in the class
  
  
• See the "Preparing the Final Draft" section of the Sociology - Anthropology -Criminology - Humanities / Classics Writing Guide to see the details of what your Case Study report should look like when you hand it in
  
  
  • Basically, your paper should look like the paper below
    
    
• For more help see Paradigm On-line Writing Assistant and / or
  The Soc-Anth Department Writing Guide

to top of page / A-Z index

to top of page / A-Z index

to top of page / A-Z index