To put a wrap on this fifth and final unit, I’d like you to respond to the following prompt in an essay (containing a clear thesis, organization, and conclusion) of roughly 500-750 words:We have looked at only a small selection of literary works from the first 250 years of America, from the early colonization to the founding of the nation right on through the Civil War. These primary texts–these poems, essays, journals, and stories–often provide a glimpse of the lives, minds, and hearts of people that are lost or obscured in broader historical study.What I’d like to see from you is evidence that what we have read has in some way affected your perspective, view, or understanding of early American history. This is a very broad topic, and you will need to narrow it down and be specific. Perhaps you have a new appreciation for Puritan settlers after reading the narrative of Mary Rowlandson; perhaps you have a better sense of the importance of the land to American identity, having read Emerson; or maybe you have a sense for the fear people oftenfelt in a largely undiscovered country from reading the stories of Irving and Hawthorn. Whatever it is, try to explain it using a few passages from at least two (but probably no more than three) of the texts we read. I’m looking to see how well you can discuss fine details of these works, as well as how you broadly view them as representative of the American experience.Hopefully this is a natural extension of the discussions we have been having all semester.Remember, I am looking for evidence that you have done the reading and given it serious thought. This means that you are required to support your response with at least two brief direct quotes—preferably from a combination of sources (the assigned reading, your textbook introductory material and notes, the lectures). This needs to be done skillfully and in MLA format. Here are the other criteria I will be assessing in your essay. Keep these handy while writing:I have done all of the reading, so I don’t need background information. Your introduction should be short–make sure you give me a clear thesis and indicate which sources you will be using. I expect clean, college level academic prose. This means that you should have good spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. You should also keep this in a formal, third person (no “I” or “you” pronouns). Make sure you follow MLA documentation, including introducing your sources, providing signal phrases before quotes and parenthetical citations after quotes. Include sources on your works cited page. Format your paper in an 11 or 12pt font, double spaced, with clear paragraph indents–and a title! Try to avoid opening or closing paragraphs with quotes–you should have topic sentences to open paragraphs and discussion to close. Make sure your essay has a conclusion. You are trying to convince me that you understood the material, so use direct references to the material. I do NOT expect you to do additional research. I do NOT want you to reference stupid websites in your essay. You MUST attach your essay as a PDF–no other file types are guaranteed to be viewable in Blackboard. Failure to submit a PDF could result in a score of zero!
