Due tomorrow

Paper Format: Approximately 1,500 words, typed, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, twelve-point font Prompt: Read and analyze the primary secondary documents on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement discussed in this course. Your thesis should address the following two questions: What were the goals of the civil rights movement that developed in the 1950s and 1960s and why did this black freedom struggle assume the characteristics that it did? Your essay should analyze primary documents on the injustices the movement sought to redress, including the diverse motivations that inspired individual participation & interpret the strategies that guided organized activism. You should also consider the interpretation posited in the secondary source, At the Dark End of the Street, in your analysis of the primary documents of the civil rights movement. Your essay should answer these questions by providing a detailed presentation of primary & secondary evidence in support of your thesis. Your thesis should be focused on the question identified in BOLD print above. Conventions of Historical Writing: The following components are essential to a historical essay: 1) An introductory paragraph that establishes the scope of the argument – including the specific time period, geographic area, & demographics of the group of people you’ll discuss. 2) A thesis statement (located at the end of the introduction) in which you establish a specific position that you will defend in the body of your essay. 3) A detailed presentation of evidence to support your thesis derived from both lecture & course readings, with particular emphasis on primary documents. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that advances your argument and is supported, in the body of the paragraph, by at least one primary source. 4) A concluding paragraph that restates your argument and explains its significance. No bibliography is needed. However, please cite readings in the body of your paper by indicating the editor or author’s name and page number in the following format: (Taylor, 65). Please proofread your paper before submitting it. Papers will be checked for plagiarism. So PLEASE do not use sources from outside the course readings. Thesis (and Introduction)

20 pts Analysis of primary source evidence on goals of civil rights movement

35 pts

Analysis of primary source evidence on characteristics of civil rights movement 35 pts

Organization, clarity, writing conventions 10 pts

Total Points: 100

EX

1. Thesis: Although Washington and DuBois shared the goal of social equality between African Americans and whites, Washington’s ideas were better suited for the conditions of the time.

vs. Although both men envisioned eventual equality, Washington’s ideas were safer, and therefore better responses to the discriminatory legislation and violence against African Americans after the Reconstruction era.

or Although both men envisioned eventual equality, W.E.B. DuBois’ philosophies were better suited to the historical times because only legal action could curtail social discrimination.

2. Quotes: 1. QUOTE – Introduce quote in your own prose and use brackets and

ellipses to alter quotation. 2. CITE – Follow the provided guidelines.

3. EXPLAIN – Quotes do not speak for themselves. Paraphrase, call the reader’s attention to specific words/images/phrases, and make the interpretation/meaning explicit in the text. 3. Topic sentences:

The first sentence of every paragraph should offer the paragraph’s main idea, which you defend with evidence in the next several sentences.

Example: Besides weighing in on the subject of educational priorities, DuBois

was a far stronger proponent of civil rights for African Americans than Washington was. In 1905, he and his educated compatriots called, in an essay announcing their “Niagara Movement,” for the fulfillment of the rights guaranteed to all Americans in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments...

4. Grammatical Errors: 1. Tense shift – Verb tenses must match. Historians usually write in the past tense.

Ex: Washington says that African Americans were having to accommodate white supremacy. He also said...

2. Comma splice – Commas cannot separate two independent clauses (clauses that could stand alone as sentences).

Ex: Washington has a better handle on how to speak to different demographics of the area, he was about easing the idea of assimilation into the fabrics of the South rather than forcing it... 3. W/W = wrong word. Befriend the Dictionary. (“Idealistic”)

5. General Improvements: 1. Be explicit and specific! 2. PROOFREAD

3. Don’t generalize or pass judgment where you’re not asked to