writing assignment

1. Mechanics (0-3 points): correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and formatting – double spaced, 1-inch margins, paragraphs that break the assignment up into its main ideas

2. Understanding (0-4 points): readings and lecture slides relevant to the assignment’s topic are used in an appropriate, correct, and clear manner

3. Persuasion (0-3 points): states the argument being made clearly at the beginning of the assignment, and successfully convinces the reader of the argument by the end

Choose 1 of the 3 prompts below.

1. Imagine yourself as a resident of Southern California in 1920. Product of the boosterism that occurred between the 1870s and 1920s, you migrated here from another area of the U.S. Your friend lives in a major Midwestern city (think: Chicago or Cleveland) and is thinking about moving to Southern California as well.

In a 400-500 word (about 2 pages) letter to your friend, using what you know about boosterism and Southern California at that time, convince your friend not to make the move.

2. Evaluate the extent to which Southern California would look differently in 1940s were it not for the boosterism that marked the 1870s to 1920s.

In your response, consider at least 2 of the following issues: economic growth; development from agriculture to industry; development of the labor movement; ethnic and/or racial diversity. Your response should be 400-500 words long (about 2 pages).

3. Since its founding in 1913, Fontana has reinvented itself at several points in its history – first as a farming town, then as a steel mill town, then as a “bedroom community”, and most recently as a hub for goods distribution/logistics.

In a 400-500 word about (2 pages) newspaper article, written in the year 2030, discuss the next incarnation that Fontana has made for itself and the economic changes that brought it about.