Before You Begin
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Academic Integrity and AI Use
Complete your Research Notes before beginning this planner. Every thesis, quotation, analytical claim, paragraph, and reflection here must reflect your own work.
Do not use AI tools to generate, rewrite, or complete any part of this planner or essay. The only permitted AI-supported element in the entire capstone is the NotebookLM Briefing Doc created during the Research Notes stage from your own notes as the sole source.
What You Are Building
You researched all five individuals in Part 1. Your essay does not need to discuss all five. Choose the strongest 2 to 3 cases or lines of evidence for your argument.
Your standard full essay target is 600 to 900 words. Longer is acceptable when the extra length strengthens the argument rather than repeating it.
Each of the three required body paragraphs should include at least one direct quotation from archival evidence, identify the source, and explain whether that evidence supports, contradicts, or complicates the claim being evaluated.
Step 1 - Thesis
Write one clear, arguable sentence. Your conclusion may be that McCarthy's accusations were substantially correct, largely unfounded, mixed, or more complicated than either simple interpretation.
Step 2 - Introduction
Build the introduction in four moves: (1) establish the conventional interpretation of McCarthyism; (2) introduce McCarthy's central accusation; (3) state your thesis; (4) preview the 2 to 3 cases or lines of evidence you will use.
Summarize how McCarthyism is commonly understood and why the controversy matters. Do not call an interpretation a "myth" before you have evaluated it.
Briefly explain what McCarthy alleged in 1950. Keep McCarthy's own accusation distinct from later evidence and later investigations.
Name the specific 2 to 3 cases, cables, or archival findings that will carry your argument. You researched five people, but you do not need to use all five in the essay.
Step 3 - Body Paragraphs
Write three required body paragraphs. Each paragraph should make one analytical point, present direct archival evidence with enough citation information to locate it, and explain what that evidence means. The McCarran and counterargument paragraphs are optional.
Address evidence that does not fit neatly with your thesis. This might include an accusation that lacks archival support, a disputed identification, differences between McCarthy's methods and the accuracy of a particular charge, or another plausible interpretation of the same evidence.
Step 4 - Conclusion
Restate your thesis in new words, identify your 2 to 3 strongest findings, and explain what the evidence adds to our understanding of McCarthyism and Soviet espionage.
Step 5 - Works Cited
You do not need to memorize a citation style for this assignment. Your goal is source traceability. Give enough information for another reader to locate every source you used, and use the same pattern consistently.
Step 6 - Reflection
Describe one specific moment in your research when a source surprised you, confused you, strengthened your view, or caused you to revise it. Name the person and source. Three to five sentences is enough.
Step 7 - Full Essay Draft
Copy your introduction, three required body paragraphs, any optional paragraphs you use, and your conclusion into one continuous essay. Smooth transitions and remove repeated sentences. Your standard target is 600 to 900 words; longer is fine when it improves the argument.
Before You Download
Confirm that your export will contain the full assembled essay, not just the planning fields. Then open the downloaded .txt file and verify that your essay and source list are present.
Submit this file together with McCarthy_Research_Notes_[YourName].txt in the single "Witches Everywhere" Canvas assignment.
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