Each student will select an interest group or National Governmental Organization (NGO) to do a short analysis. Discuss how a constitutional amendment supports or diminishes the group’s mission. Provide at least three present-day examples to support the claim. Only two students may write about the interest group or NGO. A detailed Rubric will be posted later in the semester.
The essay portion must be 4-5 pages in length, double-spaced, numbered, include 1 inch margins, use 12 point Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman font.
Your essay must include a Works Cited page. The citation style of the Works Cited page may be either Chicago, APA, or MLA. The selected citations must be appropriate to the exam topic and the citations must support the assertions made in the exam.
Your essay will include three main parts—the Thesis/Introduction, Argument, and Conclusion.
The Introduction section should clearly state the thesis within the first 1-2 paragraphs. The thesis must be relevant and appropriate to the argument and demonstrate an accurate and complete understanding of the question. This section should make it clear which question you are answering, but it should do more than restate the question by offering a brief response and it should be free of grammar and spelling errors.
The Argument section (3-4 pages) should incorporate pertinent details from the assigned readings but you may also use outside readings. The section must provide relevant historical evidence to support the thesis and the key claims made in the argument as needed. It should maintain focus and avoid sidetracking. It should present your answer to the question clearly and concisely in an organized manner and it should be free of grammar and spelling errors.
The Conclusion section should be in the last part of your essay exam within the last 1-2 paragraphs. It should briefly restate the thesis and summarize the main points of the argument. It should also demonstrate insight and understanding regarding the question asked and it should be free of grammar and spelling errors.
Paragraph: Let me begin with the most basic component of essay—paragraph. The
length of paragraphs could be varied but please avoid using excessively
lengthy ones (say, more than 400-500 words). If your essay consists of
lengthy paragraphs, readers might feel difficult to follow your
discussion.
Topic Sentence: You are recommended to place
a topic sentence at the top of every paragraph; that is, the first
sentence of each paragraph should be its topic sentence. A topic sentence
must contain
and convey the central message—what you want to say—in the paragraph following
it. This may help readers easy to follow your discussion.
With the topic sentences, readers could understand the contour of your essay even if she or he read only the first sentence (topic sentence)
of every paragraph.
Sentences: I recommend you
not to use inordinately lengthy or unnecessarily complicated sentences. Short
and simple sentences are okay; long and elaborated sentences are okay as
well. But do not make your sentences something of a labyrinth. Sentences
must be clean and clear. * a quick advice for those who want to write in Korean:
지나치게긴문장을사용하지마세요. 특히주어앞에긴삽입구를넣는것은지양하세요. (나쁜문장의예시: 이화여자대학교에서주제사수업을수강하고있는사학과 21학번학생이자평소서양사를비롯한모든역사에아무런관심이없었던이화연은오늘도저지겨운수업을들으니죽을맛이었다. → 수정예시: 이화연은이화여자대학교사학과 21학번학생으로주제사수업을수강하고있었다. 그는평소서양사를비롯한모든역사에아무런관심이없었기때문에오늘도저지겨운수업을들으니죽을맛이었다.)
Main
Argument: through
the book, the author presents many arguments. Since your
essay is short—shorter, at least, than the book of your choice—you, as a
reviewer, will not be able to discuss all the arguments. The primary task of book review is to summarize and assess the book’s MAIN ARGUMENT—the
argument that the author ultimately wants to say through her or his book.
Summary
& Assessment: A
book review consists of two parts; 1) a summary of the book’s main points—topic(s),
argument(s), theme(s), and main narrative and 2) the review’s assessment
of them. As for the portion of each part, there’s no such a thing as a
golden rule. The summary part could be longer or shorter than the
assessment part—or vice versa. Generally speaking, the summary and assessment
are equally divided in many book reviews or the assessment is a little longer
than the summary (say, the assessment two-thirds of a book review verses the
summary one-third). But either way is fine. It’s up to you!
Assessment: you may want to assess the
various features of the book. Please keep in mind the following principles
Balanced
& Fair-minded: Try to assess both strengths(merits) and
weaknesses(limitations). Be critical but not too captious or
fault-finding. Praise good things in the book while criticizing bad
things.
Low-level
assessment: In your essay, you
can talk about such basic things as sentences, paragraphs, graphs, etc. For example,
you can say like “One of this book’s merits is its sentences, which are
generally clear and easy to follow.” Or, “Despite many of its virtues, the
book is not free of criticism. The author discusses the U.S. West Coast while
not providing a map. At times this makes readers hard to follow his
discussion.”
Criticism
of the book’s main argument: Such low-level assessment is good but not enough. A good review essay must contain criticism of the book’s main argument. Try to find
some weaknesses or limitations or exaggerations or overstatement or
incoherencies in the book’s main argument.
Criticism should be grounded: try to make your assessment
and criticism persuasive and convincing. To do so, your assessment and
criticism should be solidly based on evidence. If you want to criticize
the book this ways: “One of the most serious weaknesses of this book is that
it does not give an adequate attention to the experiences of women.” Then
you must give some concrete examples: “For example, in Chapter 3 that
discusses X, the author focuses almost exclusively on such male figures as
A and B, while largely ignoring those women who engaged with X.”
Structure: a book review consists of introductory part (one or two paragraphs), main body, and conclusion (one or
two paragraphs). The goal of introductory part is to INTRODUCE the author
and book (as if you introduce someone to others): e.g. In his book
entitled The Party of Hope, Ilnyun Kim, the scholar of the modern
U.S. History and professor at Ewha Womans University argues that …; In the main
body, you summarize, analyze, and criticize the book. And
in conclusion, you briefly summarize what you have been saying above and provide some
implications for today.
Quotations: try to find some good
quotes from the book of your choice and use them in your review. Follow such format: Justin
Hart claims that “McCarthy’s barrage delivered the final blow to the
public diplomacy shop at the State Department(5).” / This book explores “the
philosophical assumptions about foreign relations” that led to the creation
of a national security state(66).
Title: think about an
attractive title that contains the core message of your book review.
respond in a clear persuasive paragraph to 5 of the questions below.
1. What was one of the several new social programs pushed by Lyndon Johnson in the mid-1960s? What was its intended effect? What foreign policy event soon overshadowed his efforts to create a “Great Society” at home?
5. What were two of the successful tactics and strategies of the various groups seeking equal Civil Rights? In other words, how did marginalized groups bring their issues to the public’s attention and/or get legal changes accomplished?
6. What do you think was the most important achievement of the Women’s Movement of the 1960s and 1970s? What was the most controversial policy or event of his two-term presidency? Why do you think so?
7. Briefly compare the results of the Gulf War of 1991 and the Iraq War of 2003. Which conflict do you think was more successful in terms of U.S. policy goals? Which war most closely adhered to the “Powell Doctrine”?
9. What, in your opinion, were the two most powerful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic at its initial onset in 2020? Which effect do you think reveals the most about the current state of our American society?
. In no less than 1000 words, give a short overview of your topic. Use your own words, no direct quotes. Include citations for sources that you may have referenced for information at the end. Use professionally edited and published secondary sources by named authors with specific publication dates, no videos, no encyclopedias, no Wikipedia, no History.com. Primary sources you find on the web/through the library are fine (these must be first hand sources/eyewitness accounts).
Format: Include name, date, course, instructor, title. Times New Roman font, 12 point, 1000 words min., Word compatible file or text box entry. No direct quotes. Citations in MLA for sources referenced in research.
For Cause and Comrades by James M. McPherson: you have a choice between two different questions. Each question will require you to provide examples from the novel using correct citations in Chicago formatting. You may use other sources in addition to the book, but you MUST use the book to answer your question.
Your work must be a minimum of 500 words in Chicago style and formatting, including a Chicago Manual of Style title page. Keep in mind, 500 words is a minimum, but this may not be enough for you to truly answer the question. Use the Chicago Manual of Style for style and citation. Use “Notes and Bibliography” style citations, with footnotes, not endnotes.
Footnotes need to have pages.
Choice #1: The Civil War was an arduous fight. Men were surrounded by death and lacked basic necessities for long periods of time. Yet, men continued to stay and fight. Discuss the sustaining forces behind the continued service of men during the Civil War. You must have at least 3 examples from the book to support your discussion. (Definition of discuss: to consider or examine by argument, comment, etc.; talk over or write about, especially to explore solutions; debate)
Choice #2: Just because a man has enlisted does not necessarily mean that he is willing to fight and possibly die. Evaluate the motivations men had during the Civil War to actually engage in battle according to McPherson. You must include at least 3 examples from the book to support your evaluation. (Definition of evaluate: to judge or determine the significance, worth, or quality of; assess)
