Question description
Take-home Writing
Assignment
How did the activists of the 1960s try to change America? That is one of the
major questions that this course has been designed to answer. In the final
exam assignment, you will write a brief answer to that question. First, you will
choose one of the movements (Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, Anti-
Vietnam War, Counterculture, and Feminism) to work on. Second, take notes
on what grievances, problems, and issues the movement was trying to work on.
Third, choose a document to illustrate the way that the movement worked on
that issue. Use any of the sources that we have used in the class, including
the excerpt from Van Gosse; do not use any other sources to write this
assignment.
Here are a few more things to think about as you write this exam. Keep in
mind Gosse’s concept of rights and dignity. These are two key ways of thinking
about what the activists sought in these movements. Remember to use the
historians’ articles from Blackboard to define what the grievances, problems,
and issues were. Many of the documents work well for this purpose as well.
Also bear in mind that describing a problem, dramatizing an injustice, or
explaining a grievance is a way of working on an issue. Passing legislation and
winning court cases are not the only way to work on these issues. Remember
to use topic sentences and the evidence sandwich technique because this exam
is as much about how you make an argument as it is about the answer itself.
Your paper will be two paragraphs in length and follow this outline:
First Paragraph: This one will be an introduction for the reader to the
problems, issues, and grievances that the activists were working to fix.
Write a page paper – Describe the movement briefly as well as be specific about what the issues
were. The last sentence of the paragraph should summarize your answer to
the question:
How did the activists of the movement you are analyzing try to change
America?
Second Paragraph: This one will analyze one document that we read from
Takin’ It to the Streets as an illustration of your answer. Your topic sentence
will summarize your point about the document. The rest of the paragraph will
show how the specific ideas, insights, and statements in the document show
the truth of your answer to the question. If the document tells of people’s
actions, these actions can also be used to show the ways that activists worked
on issues, as well. This paragraph is about what people said and did to argue
that things had to change.
Type up your two paragraphs and be sure that they conform to these rules:
They must be typed, double-spaced, with your name at the top of the
first page.
They must be written entirely in your own words. USE NO
QUOTATIONS.
They must not include any information taken from any source other than
those assigned in the class. USE NO INTERNET SOURCES TO WRITE
THIS ASSIGNMENT.
You must submit your paper on Blackboard:
The paper is due by 4:00 p.m. on December 14. Please note that this is
the first assignment that is not due at 11:00 p.m.
Submit your paper in a format compatible with Microsoft Word for Mac
2011. Note: Rich Text Format is a common format that is compatible
with this standard. Please avoid using PDF or Apple Pages formats if you
possibly can.
The link for submitting it is under the Writing Assignments section in a
folder labeled “Final Exam.” In that folder is a link labeled “Submit the
Final Exam Take-home Writing Assignment.”
If something goes wrong submitting it on Blackboard, e-mail me a copy
as an MS Word file before the deadline. Problems with Blackboard are
not an excuse to submit the paper late.
This paper will be graded on a 100-point scale.
The grades of all late papers will be lowered two full letter grades (for
example, an A paper becomes a C paper if it is late). And I will not
accept the papers after December 16.
Papers that include passages plagiarized from the Internet, another
student’s paper, or any other source will receive a zero (no credit).
Papers that use information from the Internet will receive a 20 point
penalty.
black.pdf Isserman-Kazin-Why Vietnam War.pdf
