Article writing homework help. Anth 363
Final Project Guidelines
65 points
Research project goals
For this project, you will need to find an academic journal article about a site, finding, or concept
relevant to Egyptian archaeology. Over the course of the quarter, we will have two writing assignments
that focus on academic journal articles. These assignments are designed to familiarize you with academic
writing.
For this final project, you will summarize and assess the conclusions in an academic journal article of
your choosing.
Your job is to describe how the authors have come to their conclusions and whether the techniques
they applied have provided empirical (real world support) for their discovery.
You should use the library’s online search features to find an article from an online academic journal that
meets the following criteria;
1. The article should be about any kind of archaeological study in Egypt from any time period or region.
The articles assigned for the class reading reviews are good examples (but these should not be used for
your final project).
2. The article should be from an online journal from PSU’s library holdings.
Content- Your project will be an extended reading review, similar to the two writing assignments. Your
project should have the following components…
1. Background- Summarize the author(s)’s goals (review the article abstract). Does (do) the
author(s) offer a specific theoretical perspective?
2. Evidence- What kinds of archaeological materials, contexts or other phenomena are of interest?
3. Methods of analysis- Provide some general information about the methods used, such as
radiocarbon dating, stratigraphy, or artifact analysis.
Do some background research on the methods, for example a brief overview of radiocarbon
dating (if relevant), or a brief discussion of excavation techniques, beyond what is discussed in
the article.
To do this step successfully, you should review the references cited section for your article to
identify a reference for a method or technique that elaborates on the application of that method.
4. Conclusions- Comment on the relationship between the conclusions and the methods and data
used to reach them. If there is a stated theoretical position, how does this impact the conclusions?
Format- The final project is a research project that you can either a) construct as a 20-25 slide
Powerpoint presentation (or some equivalent) that is due Monday, June 1st or b) submit as a 6-9 page
research paper that is due Monday, June 8th
. All students are required to submit a preliminary
bibliography for their final projects by Monday, May 18th
.
If you choose the presentation option, your presentation will be posted online during Week 10 for student
questions and comments. You may use a combination of slides with illustrations and text, or narration, if
you choose. Presentations will be eligible for extra credit because of the earlier due date.
Grading- Your grade will be based on…
Content- 45 points. This grade will be based on the quality of the information you present,
background discussion, methods summary, and how well you relate your conclusions to the information
you present.
Style- 15 points. This grade will be based on the quality of visual presentation (presentation
option) or quality of written work (paper option). For example, were your pictures clear? Were there a lot
of misspellings and ungrammatical sentences? How was the presentation/ paper organized; did one slide/
paragraph follow logically from the next? Is there an introduction and conclusion?
References- 5 points. This grade is based on the quality of your bibliography. Did you use library
resources (including electronic journals you accessed online)? Did you find additional background
information about the methods used in the article you selected? Are your references formatted properly,
using the style specified in class assignments?
Citation guidelines
Follow these guidelines when citing information from references. Remember to include page numbers
when quoting directly, or when closely summarizing the information in the article. Please include the
complete text reference at the end of the paper, for example…
(Journal article)
Mieth, A. and H. Bork
2010 “Humans, climate or introduced rats-which is to blame for the woodland destruction of
prehistoric Rapa Nui?” Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 37, pp. 417-426
When citing specific material in the body of your text, or quoting from a reading, use the following
format (Author date:pp), for example (Mieth and Bork 2010:417).
Other reference formats
(Website)
Wenz, J. (2014, Aug. 27). The Other Neanderthal.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/the-other-neanderthal/375916/
(Book)
Stahl, A. (ed.)
2005 African Archaeology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing
