Term Paper
Assignment: You will write a five-paragraph essay on President Truman’s decision to use atomic
bombs on Japan. You will synthesize primary and secondary source documents from your textbook, and “The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb” from Exploring American Histories. All the primary sources (documents 23.5, 23.6. 23.7. 23.8, and 23.9), as well as Harry Truman’s memoirs pages 415-426) must be included in some way in your paper. Respond to the following prompt:
Harry S Truman made the right decision to use atomic weapons on Japan to end World War II.
Directions: Develop an argument to support your response. The paper must include the following:
(1) Introductory Paragraph: Your introduction must include a very concisely written background of the topic, a clear thesis statement, and a list of your supporting arguments.
(2) Body Paragraphs: You must have at least three body paragraphs. Each paragraph must have a topic sentence that supports your thesis statement, several sentences that support the paragraph’s topic sentence, and at least one direct primary source quotation from the documents that support your argument. The supporting sentences must contain specific evidence to support your argument, not generalities that are pulled from the air.
(3) Concluding Paragraph: The concluding paragraph should summarize your overall argument, and make a broader, bigger point. This is the last chance you have to convince your reader of your argument (thesis statement). So, don’t dismiss this section, but make it strong.
(4) Footnotes: At the end of each paragraph, insert a footnote to list the evidence that you used. If you used the textbook, cite the author and page number – “Corbett, 485.” A citation from the documents can be as simple as “Document 23.7.” You should only use the assigned readings for this paper. DO NOT use any outside sources. Papers that use outside sources do not meet the assignment’s purpose and will not be accepted.
Recommendations: If you have any questions, ask me early. Get started immediately locating your sources, outlining, writing, and revising.