History 433 Spring 2004 Graded Writing
Bring in a 2-page paper (double-spaced, typed) for your assigned text on each of the following days (20%). The task: analyze how this primary source is evidence for something we are studying (relate it to issues in the textbook or from class discussion).
The other 10% will be based on in-class writing assigments, usually a paragraph responding to a primary sources.
- 2/05 Saints
- 2/26 Missionaries and Monasteries
- 3/16 Painted Labyrinth
- 4/15 Power of Words
- 4/22 Beowulf
Instead of the research paper, submit a series of 5 2-3 page papers on texts read in sections III and IV of Mitchell. You choose which texts and submit the paper a week after we discuss that text. For each, analyze how the language reveals aspects of the culture and history in ways not visible in a modern English translation. In this track, students should also pay attention to the role of language in the other Writing Assignments as well.
- Step 1: Pick one of the primary sources assigned in the syllabus—text or artifact—and examine the whole of it to find a theme or issue to address. Due 2/10
- Step 2: Research the issue to find secondary materials on the topic and the source: 3-5 books and 5-7 articles you will be using as resources. Submit an annotated bibliography. 10% Due 3/2
- Step 3: Write a 10-12 page, double-spaced and typed, paper analyzing the topic and the primary source. To get full credit, the first draft must be complete--10-12 pages that reaches a conclusion. 15% Due 3/30
- Step 4: Rewrite the paper for final submission. This means honing your argument and reorganizing the paper to make it tighter. 25% Due 5/4
Grading of all papers will be based on the following criteria:
- clear thesis and argumentation, indicated in the introduction and in the organization of the paper
- adept analysis of primary source as evidence
- vigorous, readable prose style free of grammar and syntax errors