Winter Term Research Paper 2011

Philosophy is not meant to be a narration of happenings but a cognition of what is true in them, and further, on the basis of cognition, to comprehend that which, in the narrative, appears as mere happening." –Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

The Assignment:

DUE DATE: March 1, 2011 Thursday (G day) by 4PM.
LENGTH: 2000-2200 words.
PENALTY for unexcused late papers: 10 points for each day or part of a day the paper is late without an approved excuse.  Items that are on the calendar (spring trips, sports, fine arts) are not acceptable reasons for an extension.
TURN IN a folder or envelop containing:
a) One typed copy of the paper;
b) Xerox copies of all book pages, web pages, and documents cited;
c) All outlines, notes, and drafts that I have seen and marked.
ALSO: a copy of the paper (with works cited page) must be sent to: turnitin.com.
Prepare for the INEVITABLE TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN.

Detailed Instructions for the Assignment:

Topic
Your assignment is to write a paper in which you analyze how a President arrived at a decision.  That involves two explanations: (a) how he came to decide on this topic (sandwiches) and (b) how he came to make the particular decision on this topic (egg salad sandwich).
- Read the list of topics carefully to help you choose a topic that interests you.
- You may choose to write on one of the topics listed, or you may select another topic.
- It is not your task to decide if a decision wound up being "good" or "bad".
- You are to figure out why the President decided that this policy was “the thing to do.”
- In either case, your topic choice and a sketch outline is due Tuesday, February 2nd.
- If you have not made up your mind by then, I will assign you a topic.
- The sooner you choose a topic, the more time you'll have for research and writing.

Parts of the Paper
Based on your research into the topic:
- Describe the circumstances that made a decision necessary. This background section, while important, should not take more than one-third of the paper.
- Describe other options that were available to the President. Why were these options rejected?
- Assess the role of important advisors and influences.
- Examine and assess why the President selected the options he employed.
- Do not try to find 550 words on each of these items. You won't all find the same amount of information on each item.
- In some cases advisors were important and in others they were not. No two decisions are reached in quite the same way.
- The point is that these are some of the elements of a decision and their importance will vary. Your topic may have other important factors to include.

Research
- Remember that that this is not just a paper, this is a research paper. Use a lot of sources and a variety of sources (10 minimum).
- Do not base your paper on one source.  Use a variety of sources.
- Do not try to read whole books. Consult the index and table of contents.
- Read only those parts of the book that pertain to your topic.
- Use substantial web sources (no encyclopedias, no junk sites!).
- Define key terms, craft good topic sentences, formulate an insightful thesis.
- Figure out the organization of your supporting paragraphs – then write your thesis.
- You will not be ready to write a thesis paragraph until you have decided what the evidence shows.

Do not write a biography or psychology of the President.
Do not write a narrative of events.
Write an analysis of a decision, its origin and genesis.

Library
- Materials (both books and magazines) have been placed on reserve in the Library.
That means that the reserve and reference material may not be removed from the library – at all!
- All materials must be returned to the reserve area immediately after you are through with them.
- When you remove book from the library, you deny your classmates access to them; that is considered an act of academic dishonesty and the paper will receive a reduced or even failing grade.

Quotes
- Don't quote from your sources at great length (no more than 5% of the paper).
- The rare lengthy quotation should be indented and single spaced.
- Most of the time, the paper should be in your own words. You still need to cite if you are using an author's claim, insight, or idea.
- Be clear about when to cite.  Citations help the reader find information and gain confidence that you know the material. Citations answer the reader’s questions and doubts.
- Better to cite too much than too little. Citations show the extent of your research.
- Go to the Becker Library web page and use one of their interactive citation sites to do your bibliography.

Crucial Preliminary Advice about the Assignment:

"That which is written without effort is read without pleasure."  -- Mark Twain

The first, basic, and most important thing to remember when you write an assigned paper is that someone else will read it.  This someone else has not done the work you have and may not think like you do.  This someone else is a teacher who will grade your paper!

Think twice about your audience.  Do not antagonize or abuse him.  Remember also, that he will read it carefully (he is paid to do so!) and not casually, like you might.  So take care.  If you abuse your reader, if you are careless, imagine your reaction if you were him.  If he were your boss, should he promote you?  Or fire you?

This is perhaps the most "real world", practical assignment you will have in high school.  In almost any job you have, you will need to prepare a report that requires substantial research.  The report will be due on short notice and it will have to communicate its point effectively.

Here are three questions about the three most important factors in your grade:

1.  Did you follow the directions for the assignment?  This includes such items as length, scope of topic (analysis of a Presidential decision), format (thesis-argument), research materials, citations.  Read and follow the directions!  All of them!

2.  Did you use the time?  By my calculations you have 22 class days giving you a minimum of 33 hours for research and writing.  This does not include five weekends, including a long Easter weekend of (some) available time.  I expect to see a product that shows this much time was used well.

3.  Did you edit (proofread) your paper?  Spelling errors, grammar problems, word-choice, sentence composition, paragraph composition, as well as clear theses, informative and suitable topic sentences, and clear sequence and flow of argument all had a significant impact on your paper’s grade (a lot!!!).

Some Writing Pitfalls:

Paratactic Paragraphs: 
"Paratactic" refers to laying one thing down beside another.  A paratactic paragraph is one that lays down one item beside another, without connecting or integrating them.  Think of a child rattling on: "And then ... and then ... and then ... and then ...."  That is parataxis.  In writing, it makes the reader scream, "What is the point?! What are you trying to say?!"  This error is more frequent in history papers and book reports where the lazy writer is inclined to repeat (echo) phrases, facts, and other bits from the assigned reading, one after another.

The Narrative Trap: 
In a history paper, the great hazard is the temptation to tell the story again, to repeat "the great narrative of events."  But telling a story again is not the way to present and defend a thesis.  If we both go to a movie, and afterwards you tell me it was a bad movie, where I thought it was a good one, you won't make your point by forcing me to see the whole movie again. 

The Bad Explanation:
(What are the mistakes in the following?)
You are asked directions from SSS to UT.  You reply:

"First you open the door and get in your car.  Cars were first developed in the late 19th century in Germany then in America.  Then turn on the engine.  Leave your parking slot and exit the parking lot.  Drive to Bunny Run and get on the main road, which will take you to the University.  Parking is a problem.  There is a great view from the tower."

You would be surprised at how many papers read like the above paragraph.  Don’t let yours be one of them.

Psychology substitutes for Politics
"President Hero stood up for his beliefs.  He was committed to the rule of law and to justice for all Americans.  His experiences as an American led to his deep commitment to these values, so he decided to torture foreign suspects."

A Presidential decision is a political act, not a psychological act.  It is a policy decision and that means it involves an understanding of the world around him and the situation to be addressed.  That understanding, and the decision is collaborative with others.  So who are those others?  How is the understanding achieved?  How is the decision made?  Beliefs are bogus explainers, as the above “explanation” shows.  Any belief can explain any action.  Try it.  To explain why a belief in justice can explain torture, you have to start filling in an explanation.  So skip the belief nonsense and get to the politics and policy-making.

Ultimately as with any decision, a single human being makes a decision based on an understanding (received from a variety of sources), with a view to certain considerations and purposes, and because she or he finds that it is time to make the decision.  The reasons for the decision are a mixture of all three (past, future, present).

The papers will be graded before the end-of-year final.  The last unit test may not be ready by then.  The research paper counts for two tests.

Suggestions for Paper Topics

You need not pick one of these; they are suggestions to help you think about and find your own best topic.  I may try to steer you away from or toward certain topics.  You are free to ignore my suggestions.  What ultimately counts is that the paper topic is interesting to you and that it is your own best work.

1.) Truman's decision to deploy the Berlin Airlift
2.) Truman's decision to desegregate the armed forces
3.) Truman's decision to get involved in Greece and Turkey
4.) Truman's decision to send troops into Korea

5.) Eisenhower's decision to oppose Britain and France in the Suez crisis
6.) Eisenhower's decision to force an armistice in Korea
7.) Eisenhower's decision to support the policy of "massive retaliation"
8.) Eisenhower's decision to not intervene in the Hungarian uprising in 1956
9.) Eisenhower's decision regarding the Aswan Dam in Egypt
10.) Eisenhower's decision not to repeal the New and Fair Deals

11.) Kennedy's decision to order the Bay of Pigs invasion
12.) JFK's decision to react to the introduction of missiles in Cuba
13.) JFK's decision not to oppose a coup against Diem in South Vietnam
14.) JFK's decision to propose legislation for black civil rights in 1963
15.) JFK's decision to promote volunteer programs for economic development
16.) JFK's decision to support a treaty banning atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons

17.) LBJ's decision to seek legislation reducing poverty
18.) LBJ's decision to escalate U.S. military intervention in South Vietnam
19.) LBJ's decision to push for black civil rights legislation
20.) LBJ’ support for immigration reform

21.) Nixon's decision to normalize relations with China
22.) Nixon's decision to seek detente with the Soviet Union
23.) Nixon's decisions regarding the Watergate cover-up
24.) Nixon's decision to invade Cambodia
25.) Nixon's decision to oppose school busing
26.) Nixon's decision to institute wage-price controls and devalue the dollar

27.) Ford's decisions to overcome stagflation
28.) Ford's decisions concerning the bankruptcy of New York City
29.) Ford and Carter's decisions concerning amnesty for Vietnam era draft dodgers

30.) Carter's decision to push for the Camp David Accords
31.) Carter's decisions concerning energy policy
32.) Carter's decisions to overcome stagflation
33.) Carter's decision to oppose the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan
34.) Carter's decisions concerning the Iranian Hostage Crisis

35.) Reagan's decision to halt the air traffic controllers strike
36.) Reagan's decision to support SDI
37.) Reagan's decision to negotiate the INF treaty the Soviet Union
38.) Reagan’s decision to support the El Salvadorean government and military
39.) Reagan's decision to support the Contras in Nicaragua
40.) Reagan's policy decisions to stimulate economic prosperity. (this would need to be narrowed.)

41.) Bush decision to invade Panama
42.) Bush decision to reunify Germany
43.) Bush decisions about the S&L scandal
44.) Bush decision for Desert Shield/Desert Storm
45.) Bush decisions about economic recession
46.) Bush decision to raise taxes

46.) Clinton decisions for national health care
47.) Clinton decisions about gays in the military
48.) Clinton decisions to become involved in war in Bosnia or Kosovo
49.) Clinton decisions about the Whitewater/Starr investigations
50.) Clinton decisions about welfare reform
51.) Clinton decisions about Camp David accords (2000)

52.) Bush decision to advocate “No Child Left Behind.”
53.) Bush decision to go to war with Afghanistan.
54.) Bush decision to go to war with Iraq.

A CAUTIONARY NOTE ABOUT MORE RECENT EVENTS:
- The closer you get to the present, the less you are dealing with "history".
- As a practical matter that means that there will be fewer books on the subject.
- You will have to rely more on magazine articles and spend more time at other libraries.
- That means that you'll be spending more time at UT and the Austin Public Libraries.
- This is a more time consuming process and will require a much more of a research effort on your part.