History is full of uncountable important people, and not just the “winners” or the powerful. For this assignment, you will find a real historical person of your choice and write a biography about them with an argument that tells us why they are important in history. This could be anybody. A king, government official, politician, aristocrat, working-class person, indigenous person, an enslaved person, woman – anyone! You will conduct your own research to learn about them.
The main purpose of this paper is to create an argument about WHY your chosen person is an important and significant figure in history. This should not be a basic “They were born, they grew up, they died” paper. Yes, tell us about their life BUT tell us what about them makes them an important person to understand a certain area of history. Do you think they changed world history? Did they change the way we can understand a certain group of people? Did they make a significant contribution to society and culture?
The person you select must be someone from the scope (time period and location) of this class. Do not pick anyone from before 1700 and only pick someone from Europe or a country colonized by Europe – United States does not count.
Suggested Outline
Paragraph 1: Introduce us to your person and tell us why they’re important.
Body paragraphs: Examples and details of what makes that person important.
Conclusion: Restate your argument and sum up your paper.
Paper structure:
– 3 – 5 pages double-spaced
– Size 12 font, Arial/Calibri/TNR
– Proper margins
– Triple check your spelling and grammar
Citations
– Use footnotes OR in-text citations to cite your sources within your essay. Refer to the Chicago Manual of Style (Links to an external site.).
– Include a Works Cited page at the end. Cite everything.