Final paper assignment
The paper should be submitted to: 5918@mail.muni.cz
Deadline: 12.05.2008
The final paper consists of critical interpretation of an excerpt from a book:
Daphne Berdahl. Where the World Ended: Re-Unification and Identity in the
German Borderland. (University of California Press, 1999).
The paper should contain 2000 words (there is a tolerance from 1800 to 2200
words). The paper has to contain (a) a short recapitulation of a core idea from the
excerpt, (b) an interpretation of this core idea grounded in a wider theoretical
context, and (c) a critical commentary based on a secondary literature.
The final paper must follow the classic format:
(a) The paper has a specific title related to its content and main thesis. Students
put their name under the title. (b) The first part provides an introduction to the
main thesis of the paper. (c) Then, in the main part of the paper, arguments and
counterarguments are developed and illustrative examples and evidence for and
against them are provided. (d) Finally, it restates the main thesis in the conclusion.
(e) The paper ends with bibliography in ASA citation
format.(http://www.calstatela.edu/library/bi/rsalina/asa.styleguide.html)
Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and will constitute grounds for failing the
course. Generally, students are expected to use their own words and develop their
own arguments, but if they do borrow ideas or words from someone else, this must
be acknowledged. All direct quotes must be in quotation marks. Both direct quotes
and ideas from someone else that are paraphrased must be associated with a
precise bibliographic reference in ASA citation format that in addition includes
page numbers! Students can be asked by instructors to provide an evidence of their
reading of all texts that are included in the bibliography.