Library Research Guide |
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When the assignment is a research paper, this is probably where your teachers will want a summary of your topic. A summary gives a broad overview of main points gathered from a number of general resources and is always followed by source citations. The expectation is that you understand the basics of the topic and the context in which your topic exists before you proceed with your deeper research. This summary should be paraphrased. Paraphrase by restating the author’s words or ideas into different words, grammar and structure. Reread all your notes, and then write this summary without looking at your notes. The information included in this summary should be general enough to be found in most sources on the topic. It needs to be followed by a list of sources consulted. See Bibliographic Citations handout for the proper format.
Example:
The “Che” that appears on Tee-shirts across the world, known as a crusader for the common man, came from an upper middle class Argentinean family. Prior to his revolutionary career, he studied to be a doctor. During the semester breaks, he would travel through Latin America meeting many people and sharing their life’s experiences. These trips opened his mind to the plight of the common person. After earning his medical degree, Che met a man who will change his life, Ricardo Rojo. Guevara changes his career plans and travels to Guatemala where he and Ricardo immerse themselves in the resistance to the right-wing coup of democratically elected Jacob Arbenz. It is in Guatemala where Che meets a few Cuban rebels, and after fleeing to Mexico, he meets Fidel Castro. He then joins the Cubans and fights on the front lines for two years until the dictator Batista is overthrown.
Fulgencio Batista had been dictator in Cuba for seven years following his own coup d’etat. His policies eliminated democracy. He voided the constitution, removed Congress, and abolished political parties Although the economy of Cuba thrived during his reign, the poorest Cubans never saw the benefits; there were few schools, a poor health care system, unstable employment, and workers had no right to strike. The young and idealistic opposed Batista most fervently. It was this corrupt Batista government that Che helped to overthrow in 1959.
Ernesto “Che” Guevara held several positions in the new Cuban government: head of agricultural reform, head of the national bank, and head of the ministry of industry. His revolutionary spirit is re-ignited on his travels in poor Latin American countries during this time, and finally in 1965 he decides to leave Cuba to help aid other peoples in their dreams of independence. He hoped for a Pan-American Union. He is killed in Bolivia in 1967 by government forces. Che has become a martyr for the poor and oppressed throughout Latin America and the world.
References:
Dette, James. “Defending Che.” Commonweal Foundation. Online. Expanded
Academic ASAP.
Jan 2005.
Dorfman, Ariel. “Che Guevara.” Time. Online. 14 June
1999.
http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/guevara01.html
Gordon, Irving. World History. New York: AMSCO School Publications, Inc., 1993.
Kornbluth, Peter. “The Death of Che Guevara: Declassified.” 1997. 14 July 2005
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB5/
Skidmore, Thomas and Peter Smith. Modern Latin America. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1997.