Assignment
Directions
This paper is an essay that articulates a critical, analytical response to Darlene Clark Hine and Katherine Thompson, A Shining Thread of Hope: The History of Black Women in America (2009) book.
Your paper should make an interesting argument, and must support that argument with evidence from the book. When you use evidence from the book, you must cite the source of that evidence. Usually, historians prefer footnotes or endnotes. For this paper, you may use parenthetical notation, in which you simply cite the page number like this (53). A well-written and well-argued paper will attempt to connect other course readings and discussion to the book. This paper is not a summary of the book!
You should demonstrate a good grasp of the issues you are writing about and your writing should be clear, concise, and well-organized - good grammar, proper punctuation, and correct spelling is important. I am not looking for one right way of understanding the book and I might disagree with your conclusion but that will not impact the grade as long as you do a good job of arguing your conclusion.
I will ask the following questions when reviewing your paper:
1. What theme or topic from the book do you address in your paper? Do you clearly state what your main thesis is?
2. Do you offer supporting arguments for the claims you make? Is it obvious to the reader what these arguments are?
3. Do you illustrate your claims with good examples from the book?
4. J What did you learn from the book? Was it informative? Clear? Interesting?
5. How does the book connect with what you have learned in class so far?
6. J Is your prose simple, easy to read, and easy to understand?
7. J Do you say exactly what you mean?
TRY TO ANTICIPATE THESE COMMENTS AND AVOID THE NEED FOR THEM:
- Explain this claim /I don't understand what you're saying here/What do you mean by this?
- This passage is unclear (or awkward, or otherwise hard to read)/Too complicated/Too hard to follow/Simplify
- This needs more support/Why do you think this? Why should we believe this?
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be three pages, typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.