Click here to get an A+ paper at a Discount
the New South Dream
Discussion 1 Assignment
In this group discussion, you will utilize the group discussion board to work together to outline an essay, using the Rule of Three, according to the following prompt:
Do you believe the New South Dream was possible in the aftermath of the Civil War?
Follow the steps below to complete the assignment.
“Overview
This Reaction assignment uses the basic skills you learned in Discussion 1 to practice writing for a history class. You will use the skills learned from both of these
assignments in the longer reactions you will do later in this course. This is a one paragraph length assignment over the topic of the prompt below. You will upload the
assignment through the link at the bottom of this page. Worth up to 100 points.
This is an individual assignment – do not work on it with others
Assignment Prompt
I propose that Reconstruction was a missed opportunity. Do you agree or disagree with this proposition? Be sure to give plenty of specific support/examples to back up
your reasoning.
THE “RULE OF THREE”
You will need to use an analytical writing style in this class. The basic form of analytical writing utilizes the “Rule of Three.” Simply, there should be at least
three key points/pieces of evidence in a piece of writing introduced by a strong clear thesis.
In a paragraph length writing (like this exercise) your FIRST sentence would be the thesis statement. The thesis statement is the roadmap for the rest of the paper,
telling the reader where you are going. There should be a minimum of three key points to a thesis.
In this exercise, your thesis could simply be “Reconstruction was/was not a missed opportunity because of X, Y, and Z.” Where X, Y, and Z are the key points you will
be developing with your evidence (see rubric below for more on evidence).
“How the Assignment is Graded
The assignment is worth up to 100 points. The following factors are taken into account when I grade:
THESIS – Do you have a well thought out and clear thesis?
EVIDENCE – You must have solid evidence for each point you raise in the thesis. Evidence is not simply a statement, there must be an explanation of how that evidence
supports the thesis statement. You must provide a MINIMUM of THREE pieces of evidence in support of your argument.
Example: If you were writing a paragraph on the causes of the Cold War, you might use the Baruch Plan as an example. Simply writing “the Baruch Plan was a cause of the
Cold War” in your paragraph would not be enough to earn a point. However, the following sentences would earn a point:
“One cause of the Cold War was the failure of the United States and the Soviet Union to agree upon a plan for nuclear disarmament after World War II. The Baruch Plan,
presented by the US, would maintain the American atomic weapon advantage for the foreseeable future. This played into Stalin’s suspicions of the Americans’ true
motivations toward the USSR.”
You should have a minimum of three pieces of evidence in support of your thesis (each point of the thesis needs at least one piece of evidence in support). There are
three possible points here, one for each piece of evidence.
HISTORICAL ACCURACY, CLARITY, AND LOGIC
Is your argument clear and does it make sense? Is it historically accurate? Does your evidence prove your point?
PROPER CITATION
Have you properly cited? Have you used the format required in this course (modified Turabian). You must also FOOTNOTE (see information about creating a footnote in
Word given at the beginning of the course). Parenthetical cites are NOT allowed. No research allowed, so no outside sources.
GRAMMAR AND SPELLING
Is the journal entry up to college standards for grammar and spelling?
“Secondary v. Primary Sources
PRIMARY sources are materials produced AT THE TIME UNDER STUDY. So, if you are studying the American Revolution some primary sources might be the Declaration of
Independence, letters between John and Abigail Adams, the archaeology of Yorktown, a popular song during the war, broad side accounts, a diary of a soldier, etc.
SECONDARY sources are materials produced about that time by later historians and writers. Examples include your textbook, a documentary, a book by David McCullough
about the revolution, etc.
In this course, you MAY NOT directly quote from your textbooks or any other secondary source. You can rewrite the ideas into your own words and then footnote and cite
the textbook.
You MAY provide a brief quote from a PRIMARY source, as long as you immediately analyze what that quote means and how it relates to your thesis.”
