Here are the basics:

MLA format
5-7 pages, double spaced NOT INCLUDING THE WORKS CITED PAGE
Works Cited Page & In-text citations
Writers conference between you and me required
Topic – American Literature or American History
4 minimum sources; 6 maximum sources. NO EXCEPTIONS!
3 main points
No more than 8 paragraphs: introduction, 1-2 body paragraphs for each main point, conclusion.

It must be the right size topic for 5-7 pages. Do not make it too general; for example, the American Revolution would be too big of a topic for 5-7 pages.

Assignment 2: Make sure your topic is argumentative. What I mean is make sure that when you think about this topic, you can argue a specific side of it with someone who disagrees. For example: I DO NOT want a report on the causes of the Salem Witch Trials. What I want is a paper that argues that the time period of the Salem Witch Trials was one of the most explosive/puzzling/dark etc. time of the seventeenth century. See what I did there?