I. The Assignment
These days, news of horrendous natural disasters, earth shaking political events, or salacious scandals is instantaneously available. Yet these events also have a limited news life that can be measured in hours. Who is thinking now about the 2010 Haitian earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people and devastated the country’s infrastructure? It is difficult to think of our own lives as part of the historical process. Yet, we are all experiencing history and living it every moment of our lives. This assignment is designed to increase your awareness and curiosity about how you and your life fit into the global historical process. For many people, their lives are formed by asking the question of where they were when a major historical event took place. (For baby boomers the question is: where were you when President Kennedy was shot? For baby boomers’ children it is: where were you when the World Trade Center towers fell on 9/11/2001?) In this paper, you are to look at who or what was making “history” when you were entering this world.
Specifically, you are to write an essay that answers the following question:
- What
was the most important global event
or development that was happening on the day you were born?
- This could be the invention of something new; a war; a technological or medical breakthrough; an environmental disaster; the negotiation of a world-changing peace treaty; the death of a major figure, etc. (You are allowed to “fudge” the actual day you were born by researching a time close to the day you were born, within a reasonable time framework after the day of your birth. This might be days only, or even within a month or so after your birth.)
- NOTE: “global” for the purposes of this paper means something that affects the world outside your home country and/or that took place outside of the United States or your home country.
To answer this question, your paper should:
- Explain the event: what is it? when and where did it happen?
- Explain why the event is important globally and historically. How did it change global history? This idea should be briefly stated in a thesis statement (see below) at the end of your introductory paragraph.
- Provide the evidence (from your sources) for why this event is globally and historically important (i.e. Justify your thesis). You should consider why you decided this was the most important event happening on or around your birthday.
Make sure you write an introduction that includes your thesis statement or argument; then provide your support and analysis, and then finish with a conclusion.
II. Sources
You must use the following sources (3 types.):
- A major, respected newspaper of national or international stature that covers global affairs (or used to, back at the time when you were born). Some examples include (but are not limited to): The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times.
- A newspaper from outside of the United States. This might be more difficult than the above, but at the least you should be able to use a British newspaper, such as The Times of London, or The Manchester Guardian. Or try to find an English language newspaper from a foreign country. (You might be able to find ones in countries that used to be colonized by the English, such as India, Kenya, Pakistan, Egypt or Nigeria, to give a few examples.) Many countries have English language newspapers. I can help you with this.
- A weekly newsmagazine such as The Economist, Time, Life, Newsweek, US News and World Reports.
You may use additional sources. You do not have to use the exact newspaper sources listed above, but you have to use ones equivalent to them. Check with me during the research process.
You may have to actually go to the library and find hard copies of some of these sources. Some of them are available online, but it will be most efficient to determine the most important event if you actually go to the library. Ask for help from the reference librarians.
III. Tips for doing well
- This
paper is an argument with a clearly defined thesis (position) supported by
evidence. A thesis is a sentence in which you state an argument about a topic
and then describe, briefly, how you will prove your argument in the body of the
paper.
- This is an argument, but not yet a thesis: “The movie ‘JFK’ inaccurately portrays President Kennedy.”
- This is a thesis: “The move ‘JFK’ inaccurately portrays President Kennedy because of the way it ignores Kennedy’s youth, his relationship with his father, and the findings of the Warren Commission.”
- The main thrust of your argument should be condensed in a thesis statement in your introductory paragraph. A thesis makes a specific statement to the reader about what you will be trying to argue in your paper. This thesis statement is then supported with evidence. In this case, the evidence comes from the sources listed above. It is a good idea to be aware of all the claims that you make and to verify that all of them are, in fact, supported. Underlining your claims in a draft of the paper may be a useful exercise.
- The entire paper should follow a coherent, consistent, logical structure and use formal language. This means do not use contractions (e.g. can’t) or colloquial expressions (e.g., using the word “mom” for mother, etc.)
- Seek clarity. Since your paper is an argument, you are trying to convince your readers of something. You cannot convince your reader if the reader cannot understand your argument. The reader cannot understand your argument if you do not understand it. Think it through carefully (perhaps through free-writing about the question), and revise your paper often so that it is as clear as possible.
- Reading and writing arguments are inverse processes. Most writers cite evidence and then draw conclusions, but readers want to know your argument from the beginning. This makes revisions particularly important. Highlight your paper’s argument with a thesis statement and the thrust of each paragraph with a topic sentence. Similarly, make sure that your thesis statement continues to reflect the argument of your paper even when you are done writing.
- Use the “Format and what to turn in” section as a checklist to make sure your paper is formatted properly.
- If you do not understand the assignment or material, please talk to me, either in class or in private. Other students may be confused so this will clarify it for everyone.
- Get help from the reference librarians at Roesch. They are extremely knowledgeable and helpful about research resources.
IV. Format and what to turn in
- Your topic idea is due Feb. 11: turn in to me a short description of your topic that includes: what it is, the date when it occurred, and why you have chosen it (giving a rough idea of your thesis).
- The paper should be at around 1500-1600 full double-spaced pages with 1-inch margins, in 12 point, black font. Cover page and works cited pages do not count as part of your page totals.
- You must NUMBER your pages.
- You must staple your pages.
- Provide a cover page with the title of the paper, your name, the date and your section number (78)
- Provide a works cited page. For how to format it and the notes for citations, go to this link and use the “Notes and Bibliography Style” in the box on the left: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
- You must submit the paper in Word format as an electronic attachment on the assignment page in Isidore AND in hard copy to me in class. In the electronic attachment, the file name should be your last name and the name of the assignment. Example: Fleischmann-Paper 1.
Citing your sources:
- You must cite your sources in footnotes at the bottom of the page. Use quotations. The citation format should be as follows below. Include URL’S. We will go over this in class.
[1]Tatlow, D.K. “Wife of Detained Chinese Rights Lawyer Seeks Angela Merkel’s Help.” The New York Times, Jan. 19, 2017.
V. How you will be evaluated:
- the formulation of a thesis/theses
- the clarity of your responses
- the quality of your writing (clear, grammatically correct)
- your specific use of sources for evidence to support your analysis/argument
- the quality of your sources (relevant, appropriate, sound)
- following instructions, including format
- the discernible effort you expend
VI. A partial list of pet peeves of mine to avoid. See also Pet Peeves in Isidore Resource page
- Using apostrophes in plurals.
- Not quoting from the book properly by using quotation marks.
- Using capitalization where it is not necessary.
- Use of contractions (e.g. can’t)
RUBRIC
Paper #1: On the Day You Were Born
Name:
| Criteria | Not/ partially done 0-11 | Needs improvement 12-14 | Decent 15-16 | Very good 17-18 | Excellent 19-20 |
| Formulation of thesis: why event/ person/thing is globally important | |||||
| The clarity of your response | |||||
| Sources: quality, use of, correct categories | |||||
| Effort/following instructions (format, length, etc.) | |||||
| Writing: grammar, spelling, italics, capitalization, verb usage, run-ons, etc. | 25+ errors | 18-24 errors | 12-17 errors | 6-11 errors | 0-5 errors |
| Total: |
Grade:
Comments:
