HIST 1493 Paper Assignment
This paper will help you develop research, critical thinking, and writing skills. This should enhance both analytical and communication skills as well as demonstrate how to examine evidence and write an argument. You will write a short essay using only the sources that I have provided.
1. Excerpts from the Black Codes of Mississippi (1865)
2. Jourdan Anderson to his old master (1865)
3. Fredrick Douglass, What the Black Man Wants (1865)
4. Testimony on the Ku Klux Klan in Congressional Hearing (1872)
5. Booker T. Washington, Boley: A Black Town in Oklahoma (1908)
Based on these sources: What was freedom like for the African Americans in the South following the Civil War?
Assignment
1. Read all the documents.
2. Select three of the above sources for your paper.
3. Your paper should be 2-3 pages of text, not including the cover page.
a. Cover page
i. Name
ii. Course Number and class time
iii. Title
b. 12-point Times New Roman font
c. Double spaced
d. 1-inch margins
4. Your title must reflect the argument you are trying to make.
5. You must also include footnotes and a bibliography in Chicago Manual of Style, see the included Citation Guide.
6. Proofread your paper, avoid grammatical and spelling mistakes.
Writing the Essay
Writing the Essay Success in this assignment will depend on careful reading and clear writing.
1. Clearly stated and arguable thesis:
The writer has developed a claim that can be supported with evidence from the sources provided. The thesis statement needs to appear in your introduction.
2. Development of the argument:
After a clear introduction with a thesis, each paragraph begins with a topic sentence and uses evidence to support the larger claim. The essay ends with a summary paragraph that demonstrates a deeper understanding of the topic, created by the argument of the paper.
3. Use of evidence:
Most of your history essay should be evidence based. The essay should use evidence from at least three and up to all the primary sources provided. The essay uses both quotes and summary of sources appropriately.
4. Writing Style:
Sentences are clear, organized, and efficient. Quotes and evidence are smoothly integrated into sentences and paragraphs. Spelling and grammar are correct
5. Citation Style:
Cites the three primary sources correctly using footnotes in Chicago style when the sources are quoted.
