Assignment: Competing Viewpoints Paper Guidelines
As historians, we are constantly engaged in an ongoing intellectual conversation stretching back generations. The purpose of this assignment is for you to enter this conversation by reading, analyzing, and critiquing the arguments presented by historians with differing positions on an important topic or theme. Each chapter in Major Problems in the Early Repubilc contains such essays, and each student is to select one SET of essays listed in the syllabus and write a short paper summarizing, analyzing, and evaluating their arguments. For some tips on reading historical scholarship and writing analytical reviews, see the relevant handouts posted in the Writing Resources folder on our class Blackboard site.
Task: In a well-organized, thesis-driven paper of 4-6 pages, students will:
• Briefly summarize the central argument of each piece
• Discuss the methods or sources used by the authors
• Explain how the pieces relate to each other and to other shared readings from the course
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each piece
• Do you agree or disagree strongly with one author? Why?
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.