Response Paper Guidelines
This semester I will be posting four different videos under the Course Content tab. You will be responsible for watching two of the four posted videos and writing a full 2 page response. Your responses will be due in class according to the dates posted on the course calendar. No electronic or late papers will be accepted. These are the following videos that you will choose to watch:
Slavery By Another Name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcCxsLDma2o
Your response to these documentaries must go beyond the standard summarization. Make sure that you are taking notes as you are watching the documentaries and take some time to consider the subject matter before responding. Your paper must follow the standard essay format, but you can write your response from a first person perspective. Remember that you are responding to the subject matter presented, so you may want to keep the following questions in mind:
- How has this documentary shaped or challenged your understanding of the topic or the time period in question?
- What is the historical context? (What is happening and how do events and historical processes influence the audience?)
- What did you learn from watching the documentary?
- Do you agree/disagree with the way in which the historical narrative was told? Why/why not?
- What questions did the documentary raise regarding the standard view of this point in history?
- What questions do you have about the subject matter?
- Was anything left out of this particular historical interpretation?
- What did you learn about the topic that was previously unknown to you?
- What did you find most surprising about the information presented in the documentary?
- What connections can you make from the time period in question to events or discussions related to the present?
Presentation
- Papers must be typed and double-spaced (with standard margins and 12 point font).
- Spell-check and proofread your paper. (Be aware that it helps to either read your paper aloud and/or have another person read your paper to check for grammar and spelling).
- Include evidence – Use specific examples from the documentary to help strengthen and prove your point.
- Do not use contractions (“don’t”) and avoid informal writing (text message or colloquial language).
- Refer to the Tips of Writing posted to avoid other common writing mistakes.
Please contact me with any questions!
