History Essay

Columbian Exchange Essay

Essay Prompt: How did the Spanish come to control so much of the Americas so quickly in the century after 1492? After reading the textbook and additional sources, do you prefer the term “Columbian Exchange” or “Columbian Conquest” as an answer to this question?

· Be mindful that a good essay will briefly introduce the topic and provide an argument (a thesis statement, in your voice, answering the essay prompt) up front – this is crucial to the organization of your essay because the first sentences (topic sentences) of all succeeding body paragraphs should build off and support your thesis. Each body paragraph should include supporting facts and concepts, allowing you to show off what you have learned but in an organized manner. The concluding paragraph restates your argument. In addition to organization, I also assess historical content and writing quality in determining your essay grade.

· When you quote or paraphrase, you may add a simple parenthetical citation in the text of the essay (for example, Foner, 44). YOU MAY CONSULT THE TEXTBOOK, POWERPOINTS, and PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES ASSIGNED HERE TO COMPLETE THE ESSAY. THERE IS NO NEED TO USE ANY OTHER OUTSIDE SOURCES. The D2L dropbox uses turnitin plagiarism detection. Do not plagiarize any sources – this is academic theft and can result in serious penalties that can end up on your permanent record in the worst cases. When in doubt, quote and cite.

Essay Rubric Name: __________________________

	4-Highly Competent	3-Competent	2-Minimally Competent	1-Not Competent
Number of Paragraphs 12 points	5 or more paragraphs	4 paragraphs	3 paragraphs	2 or fewer paragraphs
Your Thesis Statement 12 points	Exceptional statement of the purpose and argument of your essay in your first (introductory) paragraph	Very good statement of the purpose and argument of your essay	Fair statement of the purpose and argument of your essay	Statement of the purpose and argument of your essay is vague or missing
Organization 12 points	Exceptionally well-organized to support your argument, has excellent topic sentences for body paragraphs	Well-organized, good topic sentences	Poorly organized with topic sentences vague or missing	Completely disorganized, topic sentences absent
Content 40 points	Exceptionally well-supported and accurate with several examples from primary and secondary sources in body paragraphs	Generally well-supported with some examples from primary and secondary sources in body paragraphs	Not very well-supported with few examples from primary and secondary sources in body paragraphs	Insufficient content support for your argument
Quality of Writing 24 points	Sophisticated sentence structure with no grammar, spelling, punctuation, or capitalization errors	Generally effective sentence structure with few errors in grammar, etc.	Simplistic sentence structure with several errors in grammar, etc.	Simplistic sentence structure with excessive errors in grammar, etc.

Overall Grade: ____________

Your Sources for this essay:

Foner, Textbook and PowerPoints

Also:

· Alfred Crosby, “The Columbian Exchange: Plants, Animals, and Disease between the Old and New Worlds,” http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/columbian.htm.

· Bartoleme de Las Casas, Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies (1542): http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/02-las.html

· Diamond, “Collision at Cajamarca,” in Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997).

· Nunn and Qian, “The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 24, 2 (Spring 2010), 163-188.