CHST 201 Essay Assignments
A. Picking your paper topic
Choose an era of human history that we have or will cover in class (Ancient Greeks) – anything from the first ten eras of history in the Western Heritage
table of contents, pp. 1-635.
If you can use Plato (Crito and/or The Republic) or Aristotle (The Politics and/or The Nicomachean Ethics)
Use Athens and Sparta as an example
Then pick one of the three “Great Questions” of the class
3. Who is/ what makes a virtuous citizen?
Your paper will then argue how the people of the era/civilization (that you selected)
answered the particular great question (that you picked). Do not pick more than one era
or question. This is not a compare/contrast paper.
Your final essay will include a title page and bibliography. The essay itself should be
no less than 2400 words and no more than 10 pages.
ALL WRITTEN WORK TURNED IN FOR CORE HISTORY MUST FOLLOW THESE
BASIC RUBRICS:
Typed work (word processor), neat and legible, 8½” x 11” paper
1” margins all sides
Times New Roman font, 12 pt.
Use Footnotes as opposed to endnotes
All citations must conform to the Chicago Manual of Style
Use only permitted sources
Permitted secondary sources: Printed works that are scholarly (that is, peer-reviewed) are the
only permitted secondary sources. Peer-reviewed print journals that are available electronically
through library databases are included among permitted sources. NO OTHER ELECTRONIC
SOURCES are permitted. Your instructor may, at his/her discretion, reject or fail any paper that
has used one or more non-permitted sources.
Essay Grading Rubric
1. Strong Thesis Statement – Is argued coherently and forcefully throughout the paper. Includes
appropriate introductory and concluding paragraphs. The entire body of the paper is argument
driven.
2. Use of Appropriate Scholarly Secondary Sources and Primary Sources – There is depth
and breadth to the research. No false citations. No fluff added to bibliography.
3. Correct use of historical facts and examples to further the argument – Paper does not give
incorrect information, all facts serve the argument and are not used as mere fluff, historical
context is not lost sight of.
4. Mechanics and Grammar – No grammatical or spelling errors, proper formatting, formality
of language
5. Adheres to assignment instructions – Chicago Manual of Style, Word Count, etc.
If you can use maybe Plato (Crito or The Republic) or Aristotle (The Politics or The Nicomachean Ethics)
