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Intermediate History Essay Option 1 (min 1,000 words)
Purpose
This assignment asks you to demonstrate the course competencies 1-3 by examining how two pieces of scholarly work relate to a common topic and to each other. You will analyze two secondary sources to distill different interpretations of the past and evaluate historical arguments. This is a fundamental component of a historian’s job, but the skills of evaluating arguments and the use of evidence is necessary for being able to function as an informed citizen. This assignment provides you with another opportunity to practice critical reading, summarization and paraphrasing skills. The ability to appreciate, critique, and reconstruct an argument is critical for successful communication in many careers today.
Learning Objectives
The purpose of this assignment is to help you practice the following skills that are essential to your success in this course / in school / in this field / in professional life beyond school:
- Interpret and evaluate secondary sources to explain the authors’ arguments and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
- Write an argumentative, thesis-driven and evidence-based paper
- Organize a paper to present a clear and compelling argument
- Cite evidence using proper formatting
Instructions
Since its passing, the New Deal has remained a topic of substantial controversy and debate among historians and the general public alike. For this assignment, you will read two different perspectives on the New Deal by major U.S. historians David M. Kennedy and Burton Folsom. Using both articles, the textbook, and any other readings, discussions, or lecture materials in the course, explain which view of President F.D.R. and the New Deal you find more compelling.
Assume that you are writing this paper for an undergraduate conference on the New Deal. Assume that your audience has NOT read this assignment and will attend your talk because you hooked them with an interesting title. Your paper should be approximately 1,250 words. This is approximately 5 double-spaced pages.
Which argument do you find more compelling and why? The answer to this question will provide you with a thesis statement on which to build out your analysis and argument. You will have space in this paper to write a proper introduction paragraph. Start broadly by introducing the topic and the problem at hand. Then narrow down your focus to the crux of each author’s viewpoint. End your introduction with your thesis statement. Each body paragraph should contain a topic sentence and examples from the article. Avoid quoting at length and make sure to engage in proper paraphrasing when necessary – do not simply change words around. End with a conclusion paragraph that succinctly restates your thesis and main points.
While you will be presenting your own argument on this topic, you will nonetheless want to practice speaking in an authoritative tone that allows your written arguments to do the job of persuading your readers. This means that you should avoid writing in first person. Do not use “I think” or “I believe” statements, as these tend to weaken your case by making it sound opinionated and subjective.
The link to the two articles is below:
Criteria
Submit your paper to this assignment box.
Include a proper cover sheet with a catchy title.
These papers will be evaluated based on the attached rubric.
Important(!): This is not a research paper; it is an analysis of secondary sources already collected for you. You are not allowed to use any other source material other than those found in this course for this assignment. Cite all your sources.
See attached rubric for precise assessment scoring guidelines.
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