Hist 33D: Final Project Handout -- Update (12/2/03)
(pdf version for printing--without links)

Final Scheduling

• Tuesday, December 2, 2003
  12:00: projects returned in class
  6:30-9pm: Ellison 2626 (computer classroom): file conversion and website construction workshop
• 12/3-12/9: appointments for uploading projects, professor's office, HSSB 4221
• Tuesday, Dec. 9. 2003, HSSB 1174, noon-3pm: groups will present their projects to the class. I envisage this to be "tours" of your pages, with you showing us your pages, telling a little about your research process, and highlighting your theses (results).
  Each of ca. 15 groups will have about 5, 10, or 15 minutes (depending on size) to present their projectsNote: these presentations are in lieu of a final exam. Students who wish to take a written final must contact me in advance.

Grading

• Originally, the final project was worth 20 points, the final exam 22 points.
  Now the points will be awarded as follows:
• Submission of final project drafts on 11/20: 20 points. As per the original handout, I will look for five things: First, a thesis statement that tells me the purpose of the project, what it is trying to elucidate, argue or explain.
  Second, I look for an argument supporting that thesis.
  Third, I look for concrete evidence—specific cases or examples—used to support the elements of the argument.
  Texts and annotations with any two of these three is a "C;" all three elements earn a "B."
  Fourth, I look counterevidence or comparisons—whether you assess the material relative to other works. If the first three elements are also present, this brings a contribution into the "A" range.
  Finally, I look to see whether the texts are carefully written and proofread, and have clear organization or perhaps even stylistic grace. This can lift a project up to a "+" or, with numerous typos and errors, drop it down to a "–."
• Uploaded projects adhering to the design guidelines (jump down) start with 10 points.
  Presentations are worth 4 more points.
  Up to 8 additional points can be gained for each of the following four items (2 points each):

Project Elements

1. Introductory text for homepage : narrative introduction describing briefly the authors and situation in which your project was created (including the date), sources of your information, thesis statement(s), and description of content of rest of site. This text should look like an annotation someone else might write about your site. A sample text might read:
The content of this page about denial of the Holocaust was created in November 2003 by four students at UCSB in an introductory lecture course on the Nazi Holocaust (link to course homepage).
• Beth Brown, a senior history major who has a long-standing interest in World War II history, examines Holocaust denial in France. Based on her examination of Paul Rassinier's books, Beth argues that the first French Holocaust deniers were motivated by a love of Germany (link to Beth's denial in France page).
• John Page, a sophomore sociology major, examined the 1905 antisemitic forgery Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. Based on his reading of Martin Becker's book about the forgery, John compares it to an 1864 text from which passages were plagiarized (link to John's Protocols page).
• Next Author, a bit about who they are, what sources they used, and what they say (link).
2. Content pages, each with a sentence or two at the beginning saying something about the author and sources used.
3. Sources section on the main page, content pages or as separate page. This would be the more detailed book reviews, or the annotated bibliography and/or linkographies. They might start with a short narrative about how you found the books and/or websites, and why you selected those from among the different possibilities.
   Each source should have full publication information (for web sites, too: note the author, institution/place of publication, and creation or update dates, or their absence). With few exceptions, each source should have its own annotation: a short description and your assessment (perhaps also relative to other sources).
   If you have done in-depth reviews of books, or have found the text of other reviews, these texts may link to other pages.
4. An authors page with more detailed information about each project member and perhaps a more personal description/assessment of your research process and what it meant to you.

Note: you will NOT be graded on site design. Individuals who did not work with groups may combine these separate elements into a single page, which should be separated by horizontal rules.
[next time I do this assignment: PROOFREADING will count substantially!]

Design Guidelines (back to top) (Yale Web Style Guide -- imho the best resource on this)

1. Keep it simple . Stick with basic, "vanilla" site design for now. Content is more important than form--do not add background images or design elements until your content is optimal. If you wish to use more sophisticated design elements (CSS, Flash), create a basic (text+simple images only) version of your site first. Pages should be designed to project and print well (no dark backgrounds!).
2. Font styles. Try to stick with Times font for now, 12pt for narrative text. Use underlining ONLY for links. Book or film titles should be in italics. Use bold to highlight theses or key points. Project homepage and page titles in bold, with modestly larger fonts, for example14pt for subheadings, 16pt for top-level headings. (size=4 and size=5 in html)
   Do not use all caps in headings. Extra emphasis in the text can be in bold italics.
3. Links. Use the default blue, underlined font always. I prefer NOT to have words in the narrative text as links, but to separate them in parentheses at the end of the phrase or sentence, e.g. (link to Yale web style guide). Use the term "link" to go to other pages, "jump" to go to a different place on the same page (jump up to introductory text).
4. Special Characters. In general, avoid them as much as possible. Try to use "straight quotes" instead of "smart quotes" (uncheck the box in Tools – Autocorrect – Autoformat).
5. Images and tables. You can use images to illustrate your pages, but use only images that are relevant to your topic. In general, images should be in a two-row table that includes a caption explaining what it is and where you got it. All images must link to the source, or indicate where you obtained them (an attribution with page number for books). Images should be kept in a separate folder within your site folder. They should be formatted for the web, meaning that images included in a text page should be smaller than 100K and not larger than 200 pixels wide for thumbnails (or 600 pixels wide for important images on separate pages). Images should have alternate text.
6. Printable pages. Your pages should also print well and be viewable on 15" monitors, so don't make images or tables wider than about 600-650 pixels. Also, avoid using background images and light-colored fonts.
7. Navigation bar. Insert a one-row table with 5-7 cells linking back up to the course page, the course projects page, your group's main page, its content pages, and its author pages. This table should be inserted at the bottom of all of your project pages: