The research paper should focus on one of the presidential campaigns in the 20th century and it is a major requirement for this course. You can analyze the campaign from a variety of perspectives: by looking at the campaigns of both candidates; by studying the party primary, by examining the public's response to the candidates; by examining the newspaper commentary on the campaign (the commentary would be found on the editorial page); or by focusing on specific and decisive issues in the campaign. I will also be happy to discuss other possible topics with you. Remember most campaigns, prior to 1960 were conducted from August to November during the election year. Although campaigns since 1960 seem to go on forever, most have been conducted principally during the months from August to November. 

 This paper should be 12 pages in length, with two additional pages citing your bibliography and your footnotes. Two of you may co-author a paper in which case the paper should be 20 pages in length, with two additional pages for bibliography and footnotes. If you choose to have a co-author, it is your responsibility to make sure that your co-author contributes half the work to the effort. Do not get involved in a partnership that will frustrate you. If you should happen to do so, simply withdraw from the partnership. Your paper will be better for this decision.

 In preparing for this assignment, you need to gather a bibliography – in this case the newspaper or newspapers (these newspapers should be major national newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, etc. In Florida you could examine the Miami Herald or  the St. Petersburg Times) that you intend to examine – and a list of secondary books that may also help you gain insight into the topic. Remember that your research should focus on the newspaper coverage of the campaign, so I should not see a lot of quotes from secondary books. I would also remind you that the ideas expressed in the paper should be your own and not plagiarized from someone else's writings. Should you decide to plagiarize someone else's ideas and work, you will fail the course.

 The library has a microfilm reading room on the first floor of Library West. In that room are all the newspapers you will need to cover your campaign. Microfilm reading is quite tiring initially, but it gets easier as you do more of it, although you may not think so at first. If one or more of you are writing on the same campaign, find a way to share the materials or work at different times so that neither of you is frustrated.

 When reading microfilm, you have to take notes, but you should not take notes on everything because you will be there all day. Write down comments that help you understand (and thus will help readers understand) the key developments in the campaign. Also write down the colorful comments, because they will give your essay character. The colorful comments will be readily identified, but it may take you a little while before you begin to realize what is important to your essay and what is not. As a consequence, you may find yourself writing down a great deal initially. You can record the comments in a notebook or on 4" by 6" cards. Most historians do the latter, but you can do what you are most comfortable with.

 Researching and writing a paper take time. If you think you can accomplish this project in two to three weeks, you will be sadly mistaken. You need to work at this each week, apportioning some of your time to the research and/or the writing. Moreover, you cannot write a good paper on the first draft. None of us write articles in one, two or three drafts. You will need at least three drafts of a paper, and you will see it improve on each draft.

 Once you complete the research, my advice is to write an outline for your paper. Then begin organizing your notes or research cards (this is why the research cards are a better approach), lay them on a table and organize them according to your outline. If your outline varies significantly from your research cards, then draft another outline. The nice thing about outlines is that they can be easily changed. But in changing the outline, make sure that you are giving adequate coverage to your topic. If you find that you are not, then you will need to do a bit more research to fill in the holes. You should be ready to write when you have your notes or cards organized in a way that provides a focus for each paragraph in your paper (excluding your opening and closing paragraphs.)

 In writing your essay, take your time and write when you find your mind is clearest. Writing is difficult work; much more demanding than physical activity. So again, give yourselves time to write this paper. Remember the simple things: you need an introduction that introduces the reader to the topic of your paper and to the issues you will cover that are related to the topic; each subsequent paragraph should cover one theme and have an introductory sentence and a concluding sentence; and your final paragraph(s) should provide a summing up of your paper. 

 In any part of this process, you should not hesitate to talk to me. There is no question that is stupid, so do not think you are making yourself look foolish by anything you ask. Good luck and remember the paper is due on November 22 and I would also like a copy of your outline and your first draft with the paper!