Your paper should be 6-8 pages, double spaced, font size 12. Please do not try to extend length of paper with long direct quotations or lots of illustrations. A paper of this length should not have more than one direct quote if it enhances your thesis. All paraphrased material must be cited in the text of every paragraph for example, (Smith 1992:34) which is (author date:page). If it does not, it is considered plagiarized. Please see the Guide that is attached. The paper MUST have a “References Cited” page at the end.

Sources

Use both text/articles/books and internet sources. Normally for a paper of this length you will use 3-5 sources. At least one must be a text source.

Structure:

Your paper should have an introduction that includes your thesis statement and at least two to three sections having to do with the point of your paper. Each section should begin with a topic sentence that supports your thesis sentence. You need not include a summary. If you are trying to prove a point, put your conclusion in the introduction formulated as a thesis statement.

Introduction that includes your thesis statement

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Give each section a title. It helps the reader follow your thought.

You will be graded based on the following:

Appropriate anthropological topic and thesis statement

Appropriate citations and references (including in text citations) All information not commonly known to peers must be cited, even paraphrased information.

Grammar, punctuation and organization

References cited page and title page. —

Sample Term Paper Outlines —

The following are suggestions with the main idea that there be a clear thesis statement and the entire paper provides evidence and examples to illustrate that thesis. The paper should have two to four sections, ideally three for this length this is flexible.

You could focus on what interests you such as their technology, foods, the building of shelters, travel, childrearing techniques, make-up of families, sharing of meat. Pick something you would like to describe.

For example (but you can organize and pick the focus as YOU wish):

Introduction
This paper is based on archival film footage of the Netsilik Eskimo in one of their last seasonal subsistence rounds. I will describe their technology and social aspects of their seal hunting, caribou hunting, and igloo building. (Describe here in about one page, their territory, ecosystem and be sure to include the citations (author date page) in the text. This should refer to the references cited page at the end of the paper.)

Seal Hunting on the Ice
-A few pages on the technology, who participated, how was meat shared, what are personality characteristics required?

Caribou Hunting
-A few pages on the technology, who participated, how was meat share, what are personality characteristics?

Building an igloo
-A few pages on the technology, who helped, what tools used?

You do not need a conclusion.

Another example:
So lets say that you have an interest in shamanism and you read up on it from your text and other sources. Then you decide to apply it to a local traditional culture, for example, Athabaskans. Maybe you would prefer a comparision format. You have found a book,ethnography or article about this topic. The best source is the search engines on your Library link through UAA home page or Matsu College Home page. Perhaps you have used one of the sources provided in the list I provided under “Assignments”

Introduction:
Shamans are part time religious practitioners and typically found in hunter gatherer, horticultural and salmon based cultures (author date page). This paper will focus on the spiritual aspect of healing, divination, and social control functions of the shaman. In particular, the role of the shaman in Dena’ina traditional culture will be described. ( all text that is not commonly know to your peers must have (author date page) in parentheses in the text and refer to the” references cited” page at the end of your paper. Please see the “Guide for writing anthropological papers.”

The Dena’ina:
In this section you could use one to two pages to describe the territory and ecosystem in which this culture is located and in general how they made a living. Are they egalitarian? Are they unilineal descent?

The Role of the Shaman: In this section you could give examples of healing techniques, use of plants, rituals, etc. Are shamans male or female or both? ( This could be about two to four pages)

Shamans and cultural change: In this section you could describe what happened to shamanism and its effectiveness in curing when diseases such as smallpox, influenza, etc. when
they were introduced along with colonialism and contact with Europeans such as smallpox, influenza, etc. (This could be one to two pages)