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Essay Instructions and Rubric Description: For this class, you are required to write a number of essays based on the historical readings from the course. There are no outside sources required for these papers. Based on your reading and analysis of the historical documents, write an essay based on a thesis statement. A thesis is a focused argument based on your reading of the historical documents. The essay should use evidence from the historical documents to support your thesis (please see helpful hints below on writing this assignment). Please see the Comprehension sections of applicable weeks for more details on each essay assignment. Requirements: The essays should be 1000-1250 words in length. While lectures may be utilized, the paper should primarily rely on the historical documents to support your thesis. Citation: Any form of citation is allowed as long as you remain consistent throughout the paper. Citations, including in-text citations, do not count towards the overall word total.

Writing a Thesis and Essay (Helpful Hints)

What is a Thesis Statement?

Almost all of us—even if we don’t do it consciously—look early in an essay for a one- or two- sentence condensation of the argument or analysis that is to follow. We refer to that condensation as a thesis statement.

Why Should Your Essay Contain a Thesis Statement?

• to test your ideas by distilling them into a sentence or two • to better organize and develop your argument • to provide your reader with a “guide” to your argument

In general, your thesis statement will accomplish these goals if you think of the thesis as the answer to the question your paper explores.

Develop a strong thesis statement. Give some thought to your thesis before taking notes and outlining, lest you end up with pages and pages of pointless evidence. Ask yourself, "What is the main question that I am trying to answer in this paper?" "What is the one point that I want the reader to come away with after reading my essay?" If you are writing an essay based on numerous historical sources, consider a theme that unites the documents. Your thesis is like a coat tree or clothes line upon which you will hang your supporting evidence. Without it, the essay has no direction and no purpose. It should present your analysis of the meaning and significance of the source(s). Accordingly, your thesis should be argumentative, not descriptive.

Example of a descriptive "thesis": "In Common Sense, Thomas Paine presented his views on why the American colonists should break with Great Britain" (Note: no one would ever disagree

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with this statement; it only tells us what the author did and it says absolutely nothing about the meaning or significance of Paine's work).

Example of an argumentative thesis: "Thomas Paine's use of plain language, biblical analogies, and egalitarian rhetoric explains the enormous appeal of Common Sense" (Note: one could easily prove this argument by examining, in the subsequent paragraphs, the three points listed in the sentence).

A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea. Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. A strong thesis statement is specific. A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic.

Don't summarize-analyze! An historical source essay should not be a restatement or summary of the document's content. Essays typically call for a close analysis or dissection of the texts' meanings.

Use strong topic sentences. "What is the main point I am trying to make in this paragraph?" The first sentence in the paragraph-the topic sentence-should announce not only the subject of the paragraph but also the significance of the information that follows it. The topic sentence is essentially the thesis of an individual paragraph. Do not place your strongest points in the middle of or at the end of the paragraph lest the reader wonder why he/she is reading your evidence.

Use quotes judiciously. The essay should present your analysis of the sources; overuse of quotes reduces the amount of space in which you have to develop your arguments and shows that you have nothing more to say than the original document. Refrain from using block quotes in shorter essays (those that are fewer than eight pages long) unless the complete quote is indispensable to your analysis. If your quote is longer than four lines, then you should use a block quotation. Block quotes are single spaced, indented, and do not need the telltale quotation marks (" . . . "). Be sure that you provide citations and that your quotations do not take the words, phrases, or sentences out of context.

These helpful hints brought to you by: Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml; College of William and Mary http://www.wm.edu/as/history/undergraduateprogram/historywritingresourcecenter/handouts/primar ysources/index.php

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GRADING RUBRIC 100 points total

Excellent

Points: 34- 31

Good Points: 30-

27

Fair Points: 26-24

Poor Points: < 24

Points for

Section

Thesis or Organizing Principle

The essay includes a focused, polished thesis or sophisticated organizing principle, and develops a convincing position or compelling, unified narrative, as appropriate to the assignment.

The essay includes an appropriate, focused thesis or organizing principle, and develops a clear position or unified narrative, as appropriate to the assignment.

The essay includes a thesis or organizing principle and develops a position or clear narrative, although the position/narrative might not be exceptionally focused, polished, or convincing.

The essay lacks an evident organizing principle or thesis statement and fails to adequately develop a convincing position or unified narrative.

Comments: [Enter any comments here]

Excellent Points: 33-

30

Good Points: 39-

27

Fair Points: 26-23

Poor Points: < 23

Points for

Section

Organization, Development and

Support

The essay demonstrates exceptional critical thinking skills and includes well-chosen, effective supporting information or narrative details. This evidence is organized and presented persuasively, coherently and logically, with one point leading smoothly to the next.

The essay demonstrates strong critical thinking skills and includes good supporting information or narrative details. This evidence is organized and presented logically and coherently, within an appropriate plan of organization.

The essay demonstrates some critical thinking skills and includes adequate supporting information or narrative details. This evidence is organized and presented logically, within an observable plan for organization. There may be some logical fallacies, points left underdeveloped, or some ineffective narrative development.

The essay fails to demonstrate adequate critical thinking skills or include enough supporting information or narrative details. This evidence or development is presented haphazardly or illogically or ineffectively.

Comments: [Enter any comments here]

Excellent Good Fair Poor Points

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Points: 33- 30

Points: 29- 27

Points: 26-23 Points: < 23 for Section

Style, Format and Mechanics

The essay demonstrates a polished and effective writing style. The essay demonstrates exceptional academic credibility and polished formatting. The tone and vocabulary are most appropriate for the audience, topic, and purpose. The essay conveys an effective, distinct author’s voice. The essay is free of errors in the convention of the English language.

The essay demonstrates an effective writing style. The essay demonstrates good academic credibility and effective formatting. The tone and vocabulary are appropriate for the audience, topic, and purpose. The essay conveys an effective, author’s voice. The essay is mostly free of errors in the convention of the English language.

The essay demonstrates a suitable writing style. The essay demonstrates basic academic credibility and suitable formatting. The tone and vocabulary are appropriate for the audience, topic and purpose. The essay gives the reader some sense of the author’s voice. Although the essay may contain some errors in the convention of the English language, it will be free of egregious grammatical errors.

The essay fails to demonstrate an effective writing style. The essay fails to demonstrate academic credibility and/or is not appropriately formatted. The tone and vocabulary are inappropriate for the audience, topic, and purpose. The essay fails to give the reader some sense of the author’s voice. The essay includes multiple errors in the convention of the English language, and some of these errors are egregious.

Comments: [Enter any comments here]

Total Points:

Overall Comments: [Enter any comments here]