Constitutional Amendment Research Paper

Instructions

TOPIC OF DISCUSSION

Please select one of the 27 Amendments to the United States Constitution for your research focus on this paper.

The topic of this paper is a discussion on the history of a Constitutional Amendment and how it is relevant today.

For the history discuss the following:

1.   what the Amendment is designed to accomplish;

2.   who proposed the Amendment;

3.   when the Amendment was proposed;

4.   how the Amendment was passed (by how many votes and what states ratified it); and

5.   why the Amendment was passed.

For the modern application of the Amendment, analyze how this Amendment has evolved and why it is still applicable in today’s society.

SOURCE MATERIAL

The paper must have 10 resources cited.  Sources must include 5 primary sources and 5 secondary sources.

Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects that were created at the time under study. Primary sources are the evidence of history, original records or objects created by participants or observers at the time historical events occurred or even well after events, as in memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include but are not limited to: The Constitution, letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, maps, speeches, interviews, court cases, documents produced by government agencies, photographs, audio or video recordings, born-digital items (e.g. emails), research data, and objects or artifacts (such as works of art or ancient roads, buildings, tools, and weapons). These sources serve as the raw materials historians use to interpret and analyze the past.

Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary from other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and academic books. A secondary source describes, interprets, or synthesizes primary sources. A secondary source is analytical and interpretive. It may offer a new reading of historical events and primary sources that have been analyzed before, or present an analysis of events and sources that were previously unknown or not written about. A secondary source might also synthesize the work of other historians in order to formulate a totally new interpretation. You will use secondary sources to identify the main currents of thought on your topic, and to answer questions.

PLEASE NOTE: GOOGLE SEARCHES OF WEBSITES DO NOT COUNT AS SCHOLARLY SOURCES. IF THE SOURCE DOES NOT HAVE AN EASILY IDENTIFIABLE AUTHOR……IT IS NOT A SCHOLARLY SOURCE.

Lanier Technical College has a wonderful library full of source material for your easy access and reference. I highly recommend utilizing this tool.

https://libraryguides.laniertech.edu/amergovt/home

APA STYLE OF WRITING

The research paper for this class shall be written in APA style. The minimum page requirement is 10 pages of content (this does not include cover page, abstract, or resources pages- meaning there should be at least 13 pages in the document you turn in).

Your paper should be as follows:

1. Title Page

2. Abstract

3. Paper Content (10 pages)

4. References page

The Purdue Writing Lab offers great resources in terms of how to properly format an APA paper and I am happy to answer any follow up questions you may have. While there are many good, reliable sources out there for reference on APA writing style, Purdue Writing Lab is the one I have found to be the most user friendly and my personal go to when I need a refresher on proper formatting.

The site can be located at:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html

Make sure to familiarize yourself with in-text citations. In-text citations are an essential part of a scholarly research paper.  The reason in-text citations are so important is because it easily identifies what you are relying on as research and protects you from inadvertently plagiarizing. A well written scholarly paper should have about 80%-90% research and cited source material (with in-text citations) with about 10%-20% being your original thoughts and conclusions. The more sources cited in your paper the better.

PLEASE NOTE- FAILURE TO INCLUDE IN-TEXT CITATIONS CAN RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC FAILURE.