Papa Jack and the Era of White Hopes

HST 420—History of African Americans in Sport Fall 2021 Paper Assignments General Guidelines

 Papers should be submitted via SafeAssign on Blackboard before class on the date listed below. Unless the criteria for assignment extensions outlined in the syllabus have been fulfilled, late papers will not be accepted. It is your responsibility to insure that papers are properly submitted to Blackboard on time. If in doubt, email a copy to the instructor or bring a hard copy to class.

 Papers should be doubled spaced and use a standard 12 point font. Remember to always put your name on your work.

 The quality of the writing will constitute a significant portion of your grade. Papers should be carefully edited and proofread to eliminate grammatical and typographical mistakes. Follow the Guidelines For Good Writing listed below. Numerous errors will result in a lower a grade.

 While consulting with your colleagues is acceptable, papers are to be written individually. Papers that are exceptionally similar will receive a failing grade.

 Papers must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document. Please do not submit papers as a Mac Pages document. Papers not submitted as Pages documents will be penalized 10 points

 Papers must be original work. Meaning, no recycling or reusing any work from another class. Unoriginal papers will receive a failing grade.

Citations All supporting evidence must be properly cited in whatever format you are most familiar with. Even if you do not quote directly, a citation is still needed. Since citations are how you prove that you actually read and did not take a shortcut, papers that do not provide citations for all supporting evidence will receive a lower grade. Plagiarism Plagiarism is stealing somebody else’s thoughts, ideas, and words and claiming them for your own. Like stealing, plagiarism is a serious offense that could lead to expulsion. Be forewarned that all papers will be vetted by anti-plagiarism software. If you try to cheat, you will get caught.

Guidelines for Good Writing Since writing constitutes a significant portion of your grade, refer to these guidelines. Papers that do not adhere to these guidelines will receive a lower grade.

1. Use proper grammar, punctuation and a formal tone. Avoid slang or other informal phrases. 2. Do not use first person. For example do not write, “I think the book was great.” Instead, write “the book was great.” 3. Make sure that your paragraphs are between 4-8 sentences long. 4. Do not use contractions. For example, write do not instead of don’t; cannot instead of can’t; will not instead of won’t; etc. 5. Either Underline or Italicize a book’s title. Same for court cases. 6. Once you have used a person’s first and last name, you only refer to them by their last name throughout the rest of the paper. Do not repeatedly use titles like Mr. or Mrs. or Dr. or Judge. 7. Place punctuation inside quotation marks. 8. Spell numbers that are two words or less. For example, twenty-eight, sixty-three, twentieth century are spelled out. Numbers like 383, 1935 remain numerical 9. Eliminate unnecessary words. For example, “Caldwell shows the importance of race.” This is far better than “Caldwell is able to show the importance of race.” 10. Diversify your verb choice and vocabulary. Instead of “Caldwell shows” try using “Caldwell demonstrates” or “Caldwell discusses” or “Caldwell highlights” or “Caldwell chronicles 11. Do not misuse words. If you are uncertain of the meaning of word—look it up. Dictionary.com is a wonderful website. Use it! 12. Organize your paper in a clear, logical manner. 13. Do not use block quotes First Paper Assignment: Papa Jack and the Era of White Hopes Due Date: 5:00pm on Tuesday 9/21 To say the least, Jack Johnson was a controversial individual, but was he worthy of respect? After reading all of Papa Jack: Jackson and the Era of White Hopes, your assignment is to write a 750-1250 word essay that argues whether or not Jack Johnson was worthy of respect. Since there is no right or wrong answer to this question, your grade will be determined by how you answer this question and how you support your answer. This is an argumentative paper,

not a book review. Therefore, papers worthy of an ‘A’ will be exceptionally well-written, follow the guidelines listed above have a thesis, and support the thesis with ample supporting evidence selected solely from the reading, and properly cite all supporting evidence. Lastly, papers should focus on Johnson’s adult life. Papers that focus heavily on his childhood will receive a significantly lower grade. Papers that fail to meet the required length will receive a grade no higher than a 60. Second Paper Assignment: Hard Driving Due Date: 5:00pm on Tuesday 10/26 Largely forgotten, Wendell Scott was a racial pioneer who endured many hardships to integrate stock car racing. After reading all of Hard Driving, your assignment is to write a 750-1,250 word essay that discusses the hardships Scott endured in breaking the color barrier in stock car racing. This is also an argumentative paper and not a book review. Therefore papers worthy of an ‘A’ will be exceptionally well-written, follow the guidelines listed above, have a thesis, support the thesis with ample examples selected solely from the reading, and properly cite all supporting evidence. Papers that fail to meet the required length will receive a grade no higher than a 60. Third Paper Assignment: King of the Court Due Date: 5:00pm on Tuesday 11/30 One of the greatest athletes of all-time, Bill Russell remains an outspoken figure. After reading the introduction and chapters nine through sixteen of King of the Court, your assignment is to write a 750-1250 word essay that discusses how Russell’s on and off the court activities made him a Civil Rights icon. Papers worthy of an ‘A’ will be exceptionally well-written, follow the guidelines listed above, have a thesis, support the thesis with extensive examples from the reading, and cite the examples in whatever format you are most comfortable with. Papers that fail to meet the required length will receive a grade no higher than a 60.