History Essay Assignment
Main point: How are the French arguments and actions aimed at keeping Algiers perceived by the Algerians? Do Algerians (feel free to undermine this term if it is a problem), the French Algerians (pieds-noir) and the French who identify primarily with European France (mostly those who live on the continent, but not exclusively) see the struggle for independence in similar terms?
Requirement: Your paper should be no less than 1000 words (excluding footnotes). It should engage a minimum of evidence from 6 documents (see the attached documents. Each file may have more than one more document inside).
Reaction papers are graded on a numerical scale from 1 to 30. There are several points I look at in grading your responses to the various questions:
First, how do you engage the documents in a meaningful manner driven by your thesis? The purpose is not to summarize documents, and you want to avoid this. The purpose is to analyze the documents - engage their content using it to drive forward your point. This means being aware of the context in which they were produced, whose point of view they represent, and being aware of evidence in the documents that contradicts as well as supports your point.
Second, do you "closely read" the texts? Not just the information in the text, but a "close reading" of the phrases, terms, approaches of the author? What is the context of the authors of the texts? What were their goals, assumptions, or strategies in writing it? What information would be available to them? In short, how well do you engage the author?
Third, what's "the point" of your reaction paper? E.g., while this is a reaction to documents, it should be a focused reaction that argues or attempts to advance a discrete point or thesis.
Fourth, does your writing serve to communicate your ideas effectively?
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.