explain the topic of the article as well as the author’s main argument or focus.

United States History M.M. Daggett

San Jacinto College

 

History Signature Assignment

What is it all about? You select a scholarly journal article pertaining to the historical period covered in this course from a scholarly periodical either in print or through the database JSTOR. Your historical period for History 1301 would begin with the early colonial period in the English colonies (1580s) and conclude with the end of Reconstruction (1877).

How much does it count? It counts 10% of your grade.

Where are the articles I can use? There is a separate handout with pre-approved articles. If you want to use another article, you will have to ask me in a separate email with the article attached. I have found over many years of doing this assignment, that at least 30% of the students do not choose an appropriate article.

How do I access the articles? You can find the articles in print or online in a database.

Go to the Library tab on your Blackboard (upper right), go to Complete List of Databases and scroll down to General Research. Click and scroll down to JSTOR. Click on Advanced Search and then type in your topic.

 

 

Content

A. What do I write about?

1. Thesis – Explain the topic of the article as well as the author’s main argument or focus.

2. Evidence – Analyze the evidence that the author uses to support his/her thesis. Does the evidence support his/her thesis? Identify any primary sources used. Primary sources are sources that were contemporary for the period discussed. Typically, an historical journal article uses newspaper articles and magazine articles of the era. Other primary sources would be essays written in that time period such as autobiographies, pamphlets, letters, diaries, and legal documents. Here’s a few examples: Harper’s Weekly (a popular magazine in the 1800s), The New York Times (published in the time period discussed), The Federalist Papers (a collection of essays written by James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, written in 1787), “Common Sense” (a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776), letters from John Adams to Abigail Adams, and the diary of Mary Chestnut which was written during the Civil War. Secondary sources are typically textbooks, history books, biographies, and scholarly journal articles.

 

 

Use this format for citing pages of your article in the Common Assignment: (56). You do not need to write the name of the article.

Ø This is not a research paper. Do not use Wikipedia. Do not copy/past from the Internet.

 

3. Conclusion – How did the article change your knowledge of that historical topic. How does your background affect your reading of this topic?

 

4. Connection to the present You should make a connection to whatever you read to the present day. Example: Coxey’s Army (1894) was a march to Washington in which the marchers demanded jobs from the federal government. It foreshadows some modern-day Washington marches such as the 2017 Women’s March.

 

5. Provide comments and/or criticisms of the work. You can use direct quotes but be sure you use quotation marks. Avoid long quotes (more than three lines). You do not use any other sources.

Ø You are limited to two quotes. If you do use more than two, I will dock points. If you do use a long quote, I will dock points.

 

B. Style

1. How long does it have to be? It should be at least 550 words. It can be longer.

2. Format – The essay should be double-spaced (except for the citation). The font should be Times New Roman, 12 point.

3. Citation – Your citation should use the correct Chicago Style which is used by historians. You can use the citations that most databases use. You can copy the citation to the clipboard on Word.

4. If must be in Word.

 

Submission – You must submit your essay on Turnitin AND Blackboard by ­­­­­________________________ ­­­­­­­­­­­­­at 11:59 pm CST. This is the due date. You can submit it late, but you will be docked ten points for each calendar day. There is a limit of two late days.

Ø If you just submit under Blackboard and not on Turnitin, I will dock 15 points.

The last late date is ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________________________.

What is the rubric for grading? You will get five points for meeting the deadline to select an article. The selected article should be same one you write about. Your deadline for selecting an article is ________________________________ at 11:59 pm on Blackboard.

See the document ARTICLE CHOICE for more information. You can use one of the preselected articles OR you can select your own article. You must include the author(s), the title of the article, the name of the scholarly journal in italics, date of publication, and the number or range of pages.

Here’s an example of a correct Chicago citation (this is different from MLA):

Mabee, Carleton. “Sojourner Truth and President Lincoln.” The New England Quarterly 61, no.

4 (1988): 519-29.

 

ü Read the article and make annotations as you read.

ü Write an outline and then a first draft.

ü DO NOT WRITE ONE LONG PARAGRAPH. It is extremely difficult for a reader to follow the logic of your essay if there are no breaks in your narrative.

ü Write your essay, then print it and check for mistakes. You should also read your essay aloud to find mistakes. Do not assume that spell check will find every error.

ü Use your rubric to see if you have included all of the needed elements in your essay.

ü Nationalities are capitalized: Mexican, British, American, French, etc.

ü DO NOT COPY/PASTE INTERNET SOURCES. This is plagiarism, and it will show up on Turnitin. Plagiarism will result in all or most of your points being docked.

ü Essays will be graded in the order that I receive them on Blackboard.

ü This is an individual assignment, not a group assignment.

ü Look under the content button “Signature Assig” for this handout, an example of an essay, and the Turnitin icon and the Blackboard icon for submission.

ü Be careful with your language. If you are not sure about a particular word or expression, it is probably not appropriate for a college essay.

ü 1900s or 1800s, not 1900’s or 1800’s.

 

 

_______________________________ _______________

NAME CLASS

History Signature Assignment

Article Title: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________________________________________________________________

Author: _______________________________________________________________________

 

Max Points Your Score

Article Title submitted on time and the same article 5 __________

Correct length (550 or more words) 10 __________

Correct citation – Chicago Style (at the beginning of the essay) 10 __________

Format/grammar/spelling 15 __________

Analysis of Primary Documents 10 __________

Explanation of the article’s topic 10 __________

General criticism of the article 20 __________

Conclusion (a summary and how this article affected your 10 __________ knowledge of the subject)

Connection with current events or global problem 10 __________

Points off for late paper

Date you submitted it on Turnitin __________

Ten points off for each calendar day after due date <________>

Other points off _____________________________ <________>

TOTAL/LETTER GRADE ________

 

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