Junior Tutorials

Social Studies students are normally required to take two junior tutorials (Social Studies 98). If you are studying abroad, you may write a research paper alongside your study abroad coursework to exempt you from taking one of your 98 courses. Note that you cannot satisfy both of the 98 courses with papers written while studying abroad – only one! Moreover, if you choose to do this, the class for which you wrote this paper cannot also be used on your focus field. In other words, an abroad course may either count towards the focus field OR be used to substitute one junior tutorial 98, but not both.

The paper should be a work of independent scholarly achievement, displaying not only that you have done substantive research but also that you have accomplished that research through appropriate methodological practices and substantially grounded your research framework and analysis within appropriate secondary source literatures. The paper should demonstrate that you have worked on the project’s research and writing process over a full semester. 

Content: the paper should include… 

  • An introduction and central question or problem to be investigated, as well as how that question or problem fits within the exiting literature.
  • Substantive discussion of the literature surrounding the topic, demonstrating in particular the significance of your question and approach within this literature.
  • A thesis statement or main argument, which demonstrates your answer to the question/problem under discussion.
  • Methodology or interpretive approach, meaning the concrete steps taken to investigate the central question/problem; this section should include a clear discussion about how data/evidence was collected and analyzed, along with discussion about the strengths and limitations of the approach used.
  • Findings and discussion, in which you explain your research findings and discuss them, providing analysis that allows you to substantiate your thesis statement and answer the question you aimed to explore. In some disciplines, this is treated in a separate section, whereas in others, analysis and discussion is integrated throughout the entire paper’s narrative.
  • Conclusion that reiterates the question/problem, your thesis/argument, how you arrived at this conclusion, and a suggestion of its broader import for the scholarship in your field.  

Format and Citations: 

  • Length: 20-25 pages (double spaced; standard margins and font/size)
  • Numbered pages
  • Citation format consistent with the paper’s main discipline
  • References cited in text or as footnotes/endnotes (so long as you use a consistent format)
  • Full bibliography, works cited, or references section at the end

If internet sources have been used, an Internet Sources Annotated Bibliography should be attached separately at the end of the paper, explaining for each website referenced information about the website’s production and perspective.