Essay Instructions: SEMINAR IN EARLY MODERN ENGLND
Course Description and Objectives: This is a reading-intensive and discussion course and is designed to familiarize you with recent literature in the field of early modern English history. We will focus our attention on the British Civil Wars, 1637-1651 paying particular attention to the problems associated with ruling multiple kingdoms. In this contact, we will examine the causes of conflict in all three Stuart kingdoms ? England, Scotland, and Ireland ? as well as the continued interaction between these respective realms during the ward of the three kingdoms.
Throughout the semester we will also study research techniques, sources, and writing methods, all of which will help you to plete a 20 ? 25 page research paper. The research paper is to be an original scholarly contribution, not a recapitulation of the work of others. For this reason the paper must be based substantially on primary sources, and
Give clear evidence of personal thought and organized, thorough, and original research. Indeed, for those planning to go on to graduate studies, this course will provide the opportunity to produce a paper of sufficient quality to sustain a graduate
School admission application, and perhaps, with additional polishing and research, one worthy of publication.
Required texts:
A Monarchy Transformed, Britain 1603- 1714
The Causes of the English Civil War
The British Wars, 1637-1651
These are the guidelines:
1 Choose a Topic: Select a topic as soon as possible. DO something that is of interest to you, and one that is fresh not overworked. Another strategy is to identify a primary or secondary source available to you in our library, and consult it as a window onto a topic that interests you. The longer you hesitate in choosing your topic, the core trouble you will have.
2. Be Narrow: While 20-25 pages may seem like a lot, it is really the minimum necessary to cover a topic adequately. Good papers have fairly narrow topics that you can research and discus thoroughly within the constrains of you page limit. You can narrow a large question by focusing it chronologically, geographically, topically, etc. If your topic is too vast, you will have too much to research, and your coverage will be too superficial.
3. Identify Primary Sources: Your topic choice is directly related to the availability of primary source materials. Remember you essay is into a mere term paper ? you need primary sources. Ascertain whether there are sufficient primary sources in our library or via interlibrary loan for you to do the project you wish. This is important: it is no use having a great idea, nut no sources.
4. Build a Bibliography: Once you have a topic, start identifying your bibliography. Use library resources, and notes and bibliographies of books and articles on your topic that you read.
5. Read voraciously in the early days of the semester. You need to familiarize yourself with the topic, the questions, the topic?s historiography, and the primary sources.
6. Construct an Argument: All good history writing is ?argument?. By this I don?t mean that it is confrontational or full of brash opinion or criticism. Rather, good history writing has something to say beyond storytelling. It leads to conclusions: it has a thesis or point to make: in other words, it has an argument. It examines and synthesizes the evidence, not merely recites it.
7. Introduction and Conclusion: Write your introduction and conclusion last. Many first draft papers suffer because of a weak introduction and conclusion ? largely because the author just throws something together in a rush to be done and get the paper in. Spend time on these crucial aspects of your paper and your drafts will be much more successful.
This is my intended project ? though if you have something very similar ? I would consider that topic as well.
The subject of which I am going to research and write is ?Covenanters in Scotland 1639 ? 1640.? This time as you know was during the Bishops ways. I will be looking at the Covenanters rise in 1638 when they were called wupon to defend churches in Scotland against King Charles who was trying to impose the Anglican Prayer book in 1637 on to tyhem. The thesis of thiws research paper will be the look into the affectsw that were had on Scotland by the Prayer book imposed upon them by Charles and how that formed the Covenanters.
*** this is very vague ? so feel free to manipulate where you feel, as long as it is focused and not broad. Thank you much, Lucas. Feel free to email me at any time. At or call at 720-32-9375.
