Islam and the Middle East paper

 Students are required to write a research paper on a topic of relevance to the study of Islamic or Middle Eastern history. This paper should have a thesis statement that develops an argument which answers a question. The length of this essay should be eight pages not including the cover page and bibliography.  The paper will need to make use of primary source material as well as the studies of modern scholars.  Students will be expected to consult (and appropriately cite) at least one primary source and five modern scholarly works, preferably including at least one study in a scholarly journal and at least one book or monograph.  The paper must include a bibliography that lists all works consulted, even if not cited.   The paper will be 8 pages (typed, 12-point double spaced) in length (not counting the mandatory cover page, reference and bibliography pages, and cited using footnotes or endnotes using Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) or MLA format. The paper will be graded using the following criteria: (1) States the approved thesis statement, while setting the context and exigence of the issue (10% of the grade); (2) delivers an argument that demonstrates structure, logic, includes evidential support, and includes a conclusion (45% of the grade); (3) provides a comprehensive bibliography with all sources in CMS format (15% of the grade); is grammatically correct and error free (20% of the grade); (4) and the paper is to be submitted according to this syllabus. (10% of the grade).