History paper four pages due on

HIST-1302

Spring 2018, Paper #2

Dr. David Blanke

The assignment is due electronically (through Blackboard) on Wednesday, April 25 and

considered late thereafter. The assignment is worth 7.5% of your final grade.

Read and follow all of the directions. Your paper will be penalized 20% if you do not follow

these directions.

When submitting the assignment, go to the course Blackboard shell, click on the “Content” tab,

then open the assignment labelled “Paper #2.” When submitting your paper, DO NOT SAVE

THE FILE TO ONE DRIVE OR ANY OTHER CLOUD-BASED APPLICATION. I WILL

NOT BE ABLE TO ACCESS THIS FILE TO GRADE AND YOU WILL EARN A ZERO FOR

THE ASSIGNMENT. Rather, save your work to your own portable drive (hard drive or portable

stem drive), then attach the paper to this assignment as instructed by Blackboard. See me during

my office hours if you are unclear on this process.

The assignment is a “paper” in that it asks you to respond to a series of specific prompts. You do

not need to write a formal paper (with intro, body, conclusion, etc.) rather simply provide the

information requested. The two papers combined are worth nearly the same as the first exam.

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How to access the database:

 Open a web browser and go to the following site: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/

 Under this tab, click on “Topics” or go directly to this site:

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/topics/

 Scroll thru and select a topic of interest from one of the dozens listed. You can select any

topic that interests you, but you will need to relate this material to what we have studied

in class so keep this in mind. Click on this topic to open the link providing a list of more

detailed studies.

 Scroll through the listing of detailed studies. I recommend taking a little time to look

through what is available (there is a lot to choose from) and select a subject that you both

understand and that relates to U.S. history since 1945. Select one and open this file. If

you do not find something that interests you, go back and make another topic selection.

 YOU MUST SELECT A NEW TOPIC FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT (NOT THE SAME

ONE THAT YOU USED FOR THE FIRST PAPER).

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Answer all of the following questions. Clearly separate your answers. Use the number assigned

to each question in your paper.

1. Cut and paste a working url that provides a link to the study you selected. I will click on

this link. If it doesn’t take me to the study you cite you have not successfully completed

this question. Also include the title of the paper. For example, if I selected the topic

“Race and Ethnicity” and then clicked on “Vietnamese in the U.S. Fact Sheet” my

response to this question would simply look like this:

1. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/fact-sheet/asian-americans-vietnamese-in-the-u-

s-fact-sheet/

“Vietnamese in the U.S. Fact Sheet”

2. Provide a brief overview of what is contained in the entire article. This should be in your

words and not cut/pasted from the essay. Be sure to indicate the years that the study

covers. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER MATERIAL FROM THE WEB.

3. Select one graphic or chart from the essay and copy this into your paper. What is the title

provided to this graphic or chart? (for the example above, I might select “U.S.

Vietnamese population living in poverty, 2015”) Using clear sentences (a) describe what

the chart shows, making sure to highlight the variables, questions asked, and information

given and (b) why this information is significant to the topic you selected. Most graphics

allow you to see multiple views of the data. Click these and see if they provide a clearer

presentation of the data. Be sure to clearly label parts (3a) and (3b) of your answer.

4. (a) Write a clear paragraph or two to explain the significance of this report to modern

U.S. history. Consider this the equivalent of a short essay answer on an exam. In the

example I use above, you might explain the consequences of living below the poverty

line in modern (post-1945) America and why you think Vietnamese immigrants are

generally out-performing other Asians, yet not native-born Americans, in terms of

economic success. For this chart, you should also explain Vietnamese immigrants’

performance compared to “all immigrants.” (b) In a line or two, compare your findings

from Paper #1 to Paper #2. If it is a completely separate topic, tell me what you think the

two subjects “show” about recent American history. What trends are evident, are they

related, etc.

When grading your papers, I will use a rubric that assigns 20% to each section (#1 to #4) and

20% based on whether you followed the written instructions.