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Big Changes to Sophomore Term Paper Emphasize Writing Over Research

Aiming to lighten workload, research will no longer be an expectation of the sophomore term paper. Students will now be provided with pre-approved sources with emphasis shifting from original research to analytical writing skills.


By Anika Sherer '26


History Teacher Daniel Song.


The sophomore term paper in The Atlantic World history class, previously one of the biggest undertakings of the year, underwent significant changes over the summer, exchanging some of the original project’s key components for elements the History Department considers more important to sophomores’ education.


The longstanding, prior term paper had research as a main component, where sophomores would focus on a topic within the Atlantic World—including Europe, Africa, and the Americas—before the modern era. In the research process, students scoured the Internet for sources, filtering through websites and academic libraries. Students were only required to use six sources in their paper; however, some used up to twenty, making the research strenuous.


This year, the department has removed the student driven research component from the paper, providing pre-vetted sources instead. While the overall length and expectations around writing, according to Department Chair Daniel Song, remain the same, the major change lies in providing a database of sources from which students may draw. The department’s hope is that, beyond the openness of the topic and the range of sources, students will be able to present and synthesize a variety of arguments. As before, research elements will be required, including primary and secondary sources, allowing students to interpret and approach material in different ways, developing their unique historical takes. 


Elsa Yeh '27, is relieved by the change. According to Yeh, “The paper is scary to think about because it’s this enormous task…it’s nice that they’re giving us a bit more guidance.”


However, some students who have already experienced the sophomore term paper feel unsure about the changes. Sophia Jackson '25, loved the creativity that doing the research independently offered. She said she was able to write what she considered a unique term paper because she “was given the opportunity to take the reins and drive [her] own research.” She’s concerned that future sophomores might not have that opportunity.

Jasmine Mongue '26, similarly, said, “That’s just a completely different project.” However, this change was part of the History Department’s goals.


The aspects of the paper that the department chose to preserve and emphasize are what it believes to be most important to students’ historical analysis skills, such as historical thinking and logic, close reading, and making sound historical arguments based on excellent sources. Instead of emphasizing the research, the paper aims to build historical reasoning and analysis skills.


Some students still wonder why there can’t be both: emphasis on research and historical analysis. According to D. Song, there were concerns that the paper was too much of a cognitive load, as many students felt overwhelmed during the process, given multiple academic and extracurricular demands on their time. The department wanted to address this concern, while also ensuring that it was educating sophomores on vital skills and responding to overall student health and wellness. Consequently, the department collectively decided to emphasize the skill considered most important for students to learn: historical reasoning.


Current sophomores '27, are reportedly responding well to these changes. “The term paper is what’s most worrisome about tenth grade,” said Yeh. “I think that we’re open to changes because of what we’ve heard from previous grades. It’s comforting to know that they’re changing it because something wasn’t working.” 

Notably, the History Department targeted the sophomore term paper as opposed to the junior term paper, because concerns had previously been raised about the jump from the freshman year white paper—a small research-based project—to the sophomore term paper. This aspect of the change is one that garners most agreement. Mongue and Yeh both say that the sophomore year shift makes a lot more sense as an intermediary step between the white paper and the 11th grade term paper.


D. Song also said that the junior paper is more intuitive in general because the topic is much more familiar, based in the U.S. and limited to the 20th and 21st centuries. Those boundaries make source-finding much more accessible for students who, at that point, will be more mature and stronger writers.


However, the fact remains that rising juniors who experienced the modified sophomore term paper will be entering junior year without the experience of finding and verifying their own sources, skills that both Jackson and Mongue thought would be crucial. “I think the junior year paper will be a lot harder,” said Mongue. Looking beyond high school, Jackson also noted, “Getting the opportunity to write more than one term paper is essential for our skills in college,” although Brendan Long '25, thinks that the reduction in student-driven research won’t harm students in the long run. “I think that if research is focused on in junior year, then I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” said Long. 


According to D. Song, the History Department envisions training future juniors more on research as they enter the term paper process. The freshman year research project may also evolve to emphasize original research, although specifics haven’t yet been shared. 

In terms of the technicalities, the new sophomore term paper is expected to take around the same amount of time as the prior one, and the paper will have the same grade weight as in previous years. At this moment, it is unknown whether or not there will be a rewrite for the paper, an element embedded in previous iterations.


The sophomores have yet to embark on their term paper journey, which will begin in the second semester.

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