THE GUIDELINES GIVEN:
MLA format paper with Chicago citations.
Thesis: State the question you’re addressing. This should take no more than one or two paragraphs.
2. Secondary literature: Review the secondary literature, with two objectives in mind. First, provide the larger historical context for your paper. And second, summarize the historical debate surrounding your thesis. You may find that some historians agree with your thesis while others don’t: you should fairly represent the views of all, but also make plain your own opinions. You may disagree with all the historians who have previously written on this topic: in that case you’re writing “revisionist history,” which is absolutely fine. Or you may find that other historians have ignored your topic, in which case you can justly claim that you are exploring a neglected issue in history. This section should require at least a few paragraphs.
3. The Evidence: The bulk of your paper should be devoted to analyzing and discussing your primary sources. If your evidence does not support what other historians have written about this issue, don’t be afraid to point that out.
4. Summary: In a paragraph or two, summarize your conclusions. And since every historical paper leaves some questions unanswered, you may also suggest directions for future research.

MY TOPIC:
The question this paper looks into is what was a child’s life like under Soviet rule? Soviet Russia changed how children were viewed in Russian culture. Children were seen as small adults, they were for the USSR as much as adults were. They were raised by children’s books, schooling, and everyday propaganda to be a soviet child. World War 1 and 2 both impacted children greatly as many children became orphans living off the streets. After Lenin died Stalin gained power in 1924 and enacted great change across the USSR. Bringing back war communism and collectivization under his Five Year plan being another detrimental impact on children’s lives. Using children’s diaries, propaganda posters, interviews from Russians who experienced childhood in the USSR, and children’s books from the era to gather a full idea of what it means to be a Soviet child. This paper will show the real USSR in comparison to the propaganda that was put out to the world’s vision of a perfect utopia for children.