American History Assignment
Option A: Essay
Your project should follow the traditional essay format:
• Begin with an introductory paragraph in which you briefly summarize your topic. In one or a few sentences, express a thesis, or point of view. Your thesis will be a personal response to the question you are answering. You will express a personal view about a historic issue.
• Body paragraphs will make up the bulk of your essay. Use the body paragraphs to support and defend your thesis. Remember that each body paragraph should include a topic sentence. Other sentences in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.
• Finish your essay with a concluding paragraph. Summarize what you have said in the essay and boldly recap your ideas. Do NOT simply restate your thesis.
• If you use any direct quotations, be sure to cite them correctly. Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which may be accessed online or in many libraries.
Using your textbook and course materials, write an essay of at least 900 words (three typed, double-spaced pages) in which you answer the following question:
Did religious or economic factors have a greater impact on English colonization in North America? Consider the effects of both religion and economics in your answer.
There are one hundred possible points on this project. In your essay, you should:
• Present a clear thesis. In your introduction, you must clearly express an opinion about the question. Either view is correct, as long as you defend it logically with evidence from your course materials.
• Provide examples of how religion encouraged the formation of new colonies and led to colonial growth.
• Evaluate the effects of the Great Awakening on the colonies.
• Provide examples of how economic concerns encouraged the formation of new colonies and led to colonial growth.
• Discuss the role of the colonies in mercantilism and triangular trade.
• Explain why you believe either religious beliefs or economics were more important, noting their impact on colonial life and including examples and evidence from your course materials.
• Use essay format. Follow the introduction-body paragraphs-concluding paragraph style. Your paper should read smoothly, and your word choice should reflect your ideas and beliefs.
• Use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Option B: Creative Option
Imagine that you are living in colonial Virginia, colonial Pennsylvania, or colonial Massachusetts. You may imagine yourself as a white settler, a Native American, or an African American. Write a 900 word (three typed, double-spaced pages) letter to someone you know in England describing your situation. You may imagine yourself to be anyone in colonial society.
For this option, you must use at least one source in addition to your textbook and course materials. Provide a bibliographic entry for the source at the end of your project. (Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which may be accessed online or in many libraries.)
There are one hundred possible points on this project. In your letter, you should:
• Note the time and colony in which you live, as well as your situation.
• Explain the main concerns in the colony at this time.
• Describe the nature of government in the colony.
• Summarize religious beliefs in the colony.
• Analyze economic and agricultural practices in the colony.
• Explore social conditions in the colony.
• Offer a personal reaction to what you encounter in the colony (hope, pride, frustration, uncertainty, etc.).
• Use your outside source to provide information about the colony.
• Avoid errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be 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.