Guidelines for Final Essay
History 174, Fall 2010
Paper Due Date: Monday, December 13, 2010, 9:45 a.m.
Description from Syllabus
Write a chapter for an imaginary book titled Assessing the Revolution. You will take a position
on the following question and provide sufficient evidence to defend it: Was the Revolution
radical? For whom, where, and when? No outside reading is required to write this paper.
Detailed Description and format
Use as many primary and secondary sources as required to write the paper.
Assume that your interpretive essay will be the last chapter of a large volume that includes
Major Problems, Water from the Rock, Minutemen and Their World, and Birth of the Republic.
Assume your reader has also read the same books and essays.
Part I. Read the first three essays (by Gordon Wood, Barbara Clark Smith, and T. H. Breen) in
Major Problems to remember the debates around the meanings of the Revolution.
You will situate what you mean by “radical” in relation to at least two of these historians. Your
voice will add to the larger debate about the meaning of the Revolution. Identify aspects of the
essays (Wood, Smith, or Breen) that will enable you to make your own interpretation.
Part II. Below are some possibilities to help you address this question of the “radicalism” of the
Revolution:
You can write a comparative paper assessing the impact of the “social” revolution in
relation to the “political” revolution. You can read Gross (or Frey) and Morgan very
carefully to develop this paper. What are their beginning and end points? What events
matter to each historian? What would they say about the impact of the revolution?
You can write a comparative paper assessing the impact of the “social” revolution in
Concord and the “social” revolution in slave societies of the South. You can look at the
“before” and “after” in each of these societies.
You can write a paper situating the world of the loyalists: the black loyalists, the white
loyalists and Native Americans. You have sources to do all three in Major Problems and
Water from the Rock. If you take this route, I would recommend you read Robert M.
Calhoon’s essay in Chapter 7.
You can write a paper situating gender and citizenship in the new republic. What did the
“natural rights” mean for women? Frey argues that the Declaration of Independence
further established the separation between whites and blacks. What impact did the
revolution have on women? If you take this route, I would recommend you read Linda K.
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Kerber and Jan Lewis in Chapter 9.
Select the sources that will best make your case. Consider carefully the order in which you will
discuss each source in your paper. Make sure you properly introduce each source within a
larger framework.
Format
4-5 pages
Times, 12
One-inch margins on all sides
One-sided
Double-spaced
Specify a title for the paper
Underline the sentence(s) that states the argument in the first paragraph of your paper
Citing Sources
After the sentence that incorporates the source, note the author’s last name and page number
in parentheses (Author, 25). Since the paper is based only on our class readings, you do not have
to include footnotes or endnotes.
Do not use multi-sentence quotes from any source. As much as possible, use your own words
and quote phrases which would otherwise be hard to paraphrase. As a general rule, cite directly
from each source just once and no more than twice in your essay.
Rough Drafts
I am more than happy to look at multiple rough drafts via email or in person but you need to
give me a week to provide feedback. You may send me an excerpt from your paper, the
introductory paragraph, or you may ask about the best way to incorporate your source.
Late Paper Policy
Note that this paper is due the last time we meet. If you don’t submit a paper, you will receive a
zero for this assignment.
Final Grade
I expect the paper to have no typos or grammatical errors. In addition, the sequence of
paragraphs should be logical, coherent, and persuasive. Each paragraph should have a topic
sentence which prepares the reader for the argument to follow. Your introduction should set up
your argument and your conclusion should clinch it. The conclusion should not repeat the points
made in the introduction but provide the reader with new insights.
You will be graded on the clarity and depth of your argument as well as your careful use of the
three primary sources to build your paper. Make sure you introduce each source (provide the
full name, the date, and the setting for the source) and use it in the proper context.
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Grading Criteria
Qualities of an “A” Assignment
Content and Organization (Argument)
-fulfills all the requirements of the assignment
- presents a recognizable, strong thesis or argument
-contains unified paragraphs that support recognizable topic sentences
- makes sure that the topic sentence of each paragraph relates to the thesis or argument in
some way
- presents accurate information, with generalizations supported by facts, examples, or
analysis
-displays original thought
-defines terms if necessary
-is clearly organized with an appropriate essay structure
-has an effective introduction and conclusion
-contains effective transitions between sentences and between paragraphs
Clarity and Correctness (Logistics)
-uses sentences that are easy to understand on a first reading
-includes a variety of sentence constructions
-uses document design to enhance readability
-has no serious errors of diction, syntax, grammar, punctuation, or spelling
-shows evidence of careful editing
Qualities of a “B” Assignment
Content and Organization (Argument)
-fulfills most of the requirements of assignment
-presents accurate information, with generalizations supported by facts, examples, or
analysis
-argues logically
-defines terms if necessary
-has a recognizable thesis or subject line
-has appropriate organization
-contains unified paragraphs that support recognizable topic sentences
-has appropriate introduction and conclusion
-contains transitions
Clarity and Organization (Logistics)
-uses sentences that are easy to understand on a first reading
-includes a variety of sentence constructions
-uses some document design elements
-has very few errors of diction, syntax, grammar, punctuation, or spelling. The
errors do not prevent comprehension.
-shows evidence of editing.
Qualities of a “C” Assignment
Content and Organization (Argument)
-fulfills the main parts of the assignment
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-supports generalizations with some detail
-defines terms if necessary
-has a recognizable thesis or subject line
-uses appropriate organization
-contains unified paragraphs with topic sentences
-has an introduction and conclusion
Clarity and Correctness (Logistics)
-uses understandable sentences
-shows some variety in sentence construction
-has some elements of document design
-has a few errors of diction, syntax, grammar, punctuation, or spelling. Errors
occasionally prevent comprehension
-shows an understanding of the conventions of written English
Qualities of a “D” or “F” Assignment
Content and Organization (Argument)
-fails to fulfill main parts of the assignment
-provides scant information and little support
-has a barely recognizable thesis or subject line
-has poor organization
-contains some paragraphs with topic sentences
Clarity and Correctness (Logistics)
-many sentences are not understandable upon first reading
-shows little variety in sentence construction
-has many errors of diction, syntax, grammar, punctuation, or spelling. The errors often
prevent comprehension
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