nalytical Essay (15%): Students will create an argument using four primary sour

nalytical Essay (15%): Students will create an argument using four primary sources from one topic (such as industrialization or the 1930s). These are not just slides in a powerpoint but an actual reading. Even if you used something in a midterm such as NAWSA or Jane Addams, those were not readings, so please do not just repeat your midterm essay. This is also not about lecture. This is your original analysis of four primary sources from one topic.
Please read these directions several times because your grade very much depends on how well you follow these requirements. Give yourself plenty of time to do this assignment. It’s challenging but I think rewarding.
Please keep quotations to one or two lines and analyze every part of every quote used.
Also please keep personal bias to a minimum. This is not an ethics paper. No preaching please. Passionate language is word-filler; hard evidence from the sources is much preferred.
Please try to come up with a thesis more critically demanding than African Americans or Immigrants or Native Americans were treated poorly. No one is just a victim nor would any of us want to be remembered that way. How did they fight back or find success or fulfillment in their lives? Also, listing how people are treated badly is not analysis. It’s description.
Please don’t argue that throughout all of mankind’s history, this is the one moment that people began to fight back. That statement shows ignorance of world history and is ethnocentric (meaning we as Americans have the answers).
Please do not try to end with some big comparison to today (I think that distracts from your main point and is very difficult to prove).
1. Canvas makes formatting difficult but there should at least be separate paragraphs in 12-font normal type. No title page is needed although you may include a title if you wish.
2. The analytical essay should be at least two pages long (500 words) and no more than four pages long.
3. Please proofread your paper several times. Typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors are distracting and, if excessive, could hurt your grade.
4. Be sure to give credit to the source of the quotation or idea by citing the source in the body. Please do not use MLA or parentheses. Just list the source in your content as follows: For example, “As can be seen in “The Flapper,”…
5. Papers received after the due date will be penalized a full letter grade for the first day late and two letter grades for the second day late.
6. When writing your essay, organize it by including the following three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.
a. The introduction should include a thesis statement which tells the reader exactly what you intend to discuss and which outlines the general argument you will make in your paper. This is the most important part of the essay. A well-defined thesis statement which is then explained in the body of your essay equals a good paper.
b. The body is a presentation of evidence completed in an organized fashion. You must prove your point through evidence. Don’t just include quotations. Take the time to explain why you chose this particular piece of evidence and how it ties into the bigger picture. To present an organized argument, be sure to include topic sentences for each paragraph which tie into your thesis statement.
c. The conclusion is where you summarize your argument.
7. Organize your analytical essay as follows:
Paragraph #1: Your thesis should consider all four primary sources.
Paragraph #2-#5: Each paragraph will analyze one primary source and its contribution to your argument.
Paragraph #6: Summarize and conclude.
Analytical Essay Checklist
_____ 1. Has a strong introductory thesis paragraph which is not about people being treated badly or how this topic relates to today.
_____ 2. Has topic sentences which tie into the thesis.
_____ 3. Uses one primary source for each paragraph for a total of four primary sources from the same topic. These are not powerpoint slide quotes. They need to be readings from the documents.
_____ 4. Does not use MLA format (parenthetical referencing), but simply tells me the title of the source within the text (example: In “The Flapper” …).
_____ 5. Uses one to two line quotes with analysis following (your interpretation of the quote) and does not end a paragraph with a quote. (These quotes should not be obvious – such as quotes from powerpoint slides – but show that the student has read and understands the document.) Has two quotes per paragraph from one source.
_____ 6. Is 500 to 1000 words long.
_____ 7. Does not include the phrase “made their voices heard.”
_____ 8. Has correct grammar and no typos.
_____ 9. Has a sixth paragraph which concludes the argument.