Philadelphia History: Architecture and Planning
PAPER #3: RESEARCH PAPER: TAKE A POSITION ON TOPIC
ASSIGNMENT: Using the building/site from your Paper #2, write a research paper with a thesis taking a position about the topic. You may be explaining the architecture, the reason for the form or style of the architecture, or the link to the social, political, and neighborhood contexts in which it was created, depending upon your topic and the approach that you want to take. Exercise critical thinking in your research and writing; do not just report facts (what we have done primarily in the first two papers). (Make any material from Paper #2 work with your Paper #3, editing as needed. You may need to change voice or writing perspective also.)
LENGTH: 1200-1500 words of text.
USE: 12 POINT TYPE.
PAPER: Organize your paper as follows:
- THESIS STATEMENT: Begin with a thesis statement. Take a position concerning your topic. Building has some
issues that may guide this statement, as will your experience of the place when you visited it. You will need to do some more research before determining your thesis completely, and ask yourself a lot of questions….be critical. Ask, “So what?”
- THE BASICS: Include the architect/designer, date, client, reason for the commission, use, style. This section may be an edit of Paper 2. You may be discussing the architecture and its formal organizational characteristics here. Transition into your discussion next.[unique_solution]
- DISCUSSION: As appropriate to your thesis. Present evidence (text and images) to back up your statements and your thesis! This is RESEARCH! Cite your sources. Some possibilities are: Link the social, political and neighborhood contexts to the discussion, if appropriate. What were the original economic, social, or neighborhood forces driving the design? Make some assumptions based on research about the meaning or significance of the structure (or place) at the time it was built. OR, if you are registered as an H 176 student, you may wish to more thoroughly explore the social, economic, or political significance of your building, such as how it was an example of
- th century upper middle class townhouse if you are doing the Powel House, for instance. Include other aspects that are important to your discussion. Evidence will consist of text and images. See section below on images.
- CONCLUSIONS: In this section you should draw conclusions from your research and back up your thesis statement given at the beginning. Back up your reasons for your conclusions with facts and observations and visual evidence (photographs, drawings, maps, etc. with captions, not included in word count but integrated with text). Explain the position you took at the outset and tell us what you told us about.
- FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTES/CITATIONS: In the body of the paper at the bottom of the page, use footnotes where those sources are used. Footnotes are not included in word count. You may also use endnotes or citations within the text. Just be consistent in your style, but they should not count in the word count, either.
- BIBLIOGRAPHY of your sources. Use scholarly, academic sources. Books and articles or websites with footnotes and bibliographies. Websites that are .edu. (Not Wikipedia. Not visitPhilly or touristy sites.) Provide bibliography, but it is not included in word count. Use commonly accepted forms for bibliography.
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WRITE, EDIT, REWRITE, EDIT!!!! One section should flow to the next section seamlessly.
This paper requires you to do research to discover facts, and it may require you to use both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources may include the building itself, licenses, titles, blueprints, planning documents, images, and artifacts. These may be found in places such as Temple University’s Urban Archives, the records department of the Philadelphia Planning Commission or the public records of the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department, and the Free Library of Philadelphia. Secondary sources may include books and articles on Philadelphia history as well as on your specific topic. (See http://libguides.uky.edu/c.php?g=223088&p=1477173 for descriptions of Primary and Secondary sources.) Use the Free Library sources available, and ask questions of librarians at CCP!!!
Your essay should obey all the conventions of a college-level research paper: word-processed, double-spaced, conventional fonts and margins, a uniform system of citation throughout. Editing Paper #2 to integrate the basic building information into your longer discussion is important! Some of your work is already done!
GRADING: Based on 100 points. Paper #3 FINAL SUBMISSION counts 20% of total semester grade.
Your essay will be graded using a five-part rubric: structure, content, argument, writing and submission as follows:
- STRUCTURE/THESIS/CONCLUSION: Does your essay have a discernible beginning, middle and end? Do you have a thesis statement and a conclusion? Do you frame out what you are going to tell us early on, and then reiterate it near the end? Do points follow logically from one to the other making a clear argument? Does each paragraph build on the previous one? Do the sections flow well from one to another? Does your conclusion follow from your points and your evidence? This category is very important for grading.
- CONTENT/EVIDENCE: TEXT: Demonstrate the points about the building that support your thesis using relevant resources. Prove that what you said in the argument (thesis topic) is true. Some of your evidence may be based on your own observation of the building. You may use a few key quotes, but use them sparingly. Seek out experts on your topic. Read their material and talk about it in your own words, citing your source in footnotes or citations. Search for strength in terms of primary sources, e.g., writings/photos/etc. which offer direct/contemporary observations of various periods of your building’s debut, modifications, etc. Guard against bias, e.g., using a source that is too likely to be favorable to your building’s architect, construction company, etc. Understand your sources clearly and convey the ideas they offer. (Or challenge them if you do not agree.) Deploy your sources in a skillful/organized manner. Footnote everything you get from a source.
Think critically, that is, ask, “Why?” This category is the most important for grading.
- CONTENT/EVIDENCE: IMAGES: Demonstrate the points about the building that support your thesis using relevant images. Prove that what you said in the argument (thesis topic) is true through the images, minimal number listed above. This category is the important for grading.
- WRITING: Writing should be free from mechanical errors, clear and comprehensible with excellence in grammar and spelling. Use of quotations should be limited. Writing should be at college level or better. This category is important for grading.
- SUBMISSION: Quality of appearance and visual organization. Submitted on time? (Deductions for lateness.)
These are the questions we will be asking as we assign you between 0 and 10 points for each of the five categories above. In general, here is what the point values denote:
- Outstanding work, consistent with what would be expected of undergraduates in two-year institution or an upper-level research seminar or graduate-level work that is publishable work, very rare
- Above-average work which shows a solid understanding of what is expected and a serious effort to engage with those expectations
- Average work, consistent with the student learning outcomes for the course
- Low average work which shows either a fairly serious misunderstanding of what was expected or a
failure to engage with the assignment in a serious way 1-13 Varying levels of incomplete and/or incompetent work
- No work submitted.