Paper #1: 4 to 8 pages, double-spaced in a plain 12 point font
Due: Tuesday, March 4

Topic:
Research and write a paper about one commodity that had global influences in the period from about 1500 to 1900: coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, tobacco, opium, or potatoes.

Sources:
Use The World that Trade Created and The Earth and Its Peoples as basic sources, but do further library research. Start research as soon as possible so you can borrow books from other libraries through PALCI and Interlibrary Loan. No internet sources are allowed because they often are unreliable.

Paper content:
You should 1) develop a thesis that explains why this commodity had global effects, 2) defend your thesis by describing the origins of the commodity, explaining why its production and consumption spread to make it important globally, and describing the different effects that it had on people and the environment in various places around the world.

Policy on Plagiarism:
Quotations or ideas that you take from your sources should be acknowledged with properly formatted footnotes or in-text citations (those who do the latter must also provide a bibliography). Failure to acknowledge the source of a quote or an idea is plagiarism. Flagrant cases of plagiarism may result in a grade of "F" for the class.

Grading:
Your grade will be determined by how well you defend your thesis (80%), and the quality of your writing mechanics (20%). Your grade will be reduced because of deficiencies in grammar, spelling, punctuation, organization, readability, and citations.