Contest FAQs
- How do I count words for the 500 Word Limit in the
Exhibit Category? (Rule #3 in the Exhibit Section of the "Student Contest Guide"
Student-composed written materials that are used on an exhibit (excluding the title page, process paper, and annotated bibliography) must contain no more than 500 words.
This
limit does not apply to words found in materials used for illustration, such as documents, artifacts, graphs, or timelines which were not created by the
student(s). It also does not apply to quotations from primary sources such as oral history interviews, letters, or diaries. These materials are not
student-composed. However, if a student does use his or her own words in a timeline or on a graph, those words do count.
The 500 word limit applies to any student-composed written materials used in any media devices (computers, slides, video) and/or any supplemental materials.
The following are examples of how student composed words are counted on exhibits:
- A date counts as one word, while each word in a name is individually counted. For example, “January 1, 1990” counts as one word, but “John Quincy Adams” counts as three.
- Words
such as “a,” “the,” and “of” are counted as one word each.
Is the 500 word limit in an exhibit category separate from the 500 word limit for the process paper?
Yes, the title page, process paper, and bibliography are considered as being separate from the
exhibit and do not count towards the 500-word limit for the exhibit itself.
- How do you count words for the paper category?
The text of the historical paper (Title page, notes, annotated bibliography, illustration captions, and appendix materials that are directly referred to in the text do not count) must be no less than 1, 500 words and no more than 2, 500 words in length. Each word or number in the text of the paper counts as one word. Unlike exhibits, words in quotations do count against the word limit in papers. Each part of a name counts as one word, so "Mark Van Doren" would count as 3 words. Each part of a date counts as a word, so "June 13, 2002" would count as 3 words.
Please note that only words in the text of the paper count. Words in the title of the paper do not count, although words in subtitles dividing parts of the paper do
count, as they are part of the text. Words in notes, annotated bibliographies, illustration captions, and appendices do not count against the limit, as they are not
part of the text of the paper.
Can you have pictures in a paper, like illustrations, graphs, etc.?
Illustrations also are acceptable. Captions do not count in the word total. Make sure that illustrations are
directly related to the text, and don't overdo them. The people who volunteer as paper judges tend to be quite text-based, and they're probably not going
to be impressed by excessive illustrations; instead, they're likely to suspect that maybe you didn't have much confidence that your writing could stand up on its own.
- Can I use a fictional 1st person in a paper or performance?
Yes. At the beginning of the Category Rules for Papers in the National History Day Contest Guide, there's a description of papers: "A paper is the traditional form of presenting historical research. Various types of creative writing (for example, fictional diaries, poems, etc.) are permitted, but must conform to all general and category rules. Your paper should be grammatically correct and well written." The Rules state, "A performance is a dramatic portrayal of your topic's significance in history and must be original in production." A performance is not simply an oral report or a recitation of facts. You can make up characters to make a broader historical point, but don't make up history. While performances must have dramatic appeal, that appeal should not be at the expense of historical accuracy.
Therefore, clearly it is possible to have fictional characters, for example, writing a fictional diary. However, you need to make sure that you cite sources just as you would for a traditional paper or in a performances use primary sources like letters where appropriate. Most importantly, it still has to be good history. You can make up the character, but the circumstances and events of the character's life and which that character witnesses or participates in should be based on historical facts.
- What is a primary source?
Primary sources are materials directly related to a topic by time or participation. These materials include letters, speeches, diaries, newspaper articles from the
time, oral history interviews, documents, photographs, artifacts, or anything else that provides first-hand accounts about a person or event. Check out the Research Roadmap for more help.
Some materials might be considered primary sources for one topic but not for another. For example, a newspaper article about D-Day (which was June 6, 1944) written in June 1944 would be a primary source; an article about D-Day written in June 2001 probably was not written by an eyewitness or participant and would not be a primary source. Similarly, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered soon after the 1863 battle, is a primary source for the Civil War, but a speech given on the 100th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg in 1963 is not a primary source for the Civil War. If, however, the topic was how Americans commemorate the Civil War, then the 100th anniversary speech would be a primary source for that topic. If there's any doubt about whether a source should be listed as primary or secondary, you should explain in the annotation why you
chose to categorize it as you did.
Here are some common questions about primary sources:
- Are interviews with experts primary sources? No, an interview with an expert (a professor of Civil
War history, for example) is not a primary source, UNLESS that expert actually lived through and has first-hand knowledge of the events being described.
- If I find a quote from a historical figure in my textbook or another secondary source and I use the quote in my project, should I list it as a primary source? No, quotes from historical figures which are found in secondary sources are not considered
primary sources. The author of the book has processed the quotation, selecting it from the original source. Without seeing the original source for yourself, you
don't know if the quotation is taken out of context, what else was in the source, what the context was, etc.
- Should I list each photograph or document individually? You should
handle this differently in notes than in the bibliography. When you are citing sources for specific pieces of information or interpretations, such as in
footnotes or endnotes, you should cite the individual document or photograph. In the bibliography, however, you would cite only the collection as a whole, not
all the individual items. You should include the full title of the collection (i.e., Digges-Sewall Papers or the Hutzler Collection), the institution and city
or city/state where the collection is located (i.e., Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore). You can use the annotation to explain that this collection
provided 7 photographs which you used in your exhibit or that collection provided14 letters which were important in helping you trace what happened. The same
treatment applies to newspaper articles. In the footnotes or endnotes, you should cite the individual articles and issues of a newspaper. In the bibliography,
you would list only the newspaper itself, not the individual issues or articles; you can use the annotation to explain that you used X number of days of the
newspaper for your research.
How many sources should I have for my annotated
bibliography?
We can't tell you a specific number of sources, as that will vary by the topic and by the resources to which you have reasonable access. For some topics, such as
the Civil War or many 20th-century US topics, there are many sources available. For other topics, such as those in ancient history or non-US history, there likely
are far fewer sources available. The more good sources you have, the better, but don't pad your bibliography. Only list items which you actually use; if you looked
at a source but it didn't help you at all, don't list it in your bibliography.
You do need to find both primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources help you to put your topic in context, that is, to see how your topic relates to the big
picture and to understand its long-term causes and consequences. Primary sources help you develop your own interpretation and make your project lively and personal.
As much as possible, your research should be balanced, considering the viewpoints of all relevant groups. That means losers as well as winners, males and females,
different nations, different socioeconomic/ethnic/religious groups, etc. What balanced means will vary depending on your topic.
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