The Myth of the American Identity of the Democratic and Capable Individual: An Analysis of its Impac

The Definition of the American Democratic and Capable Individual Identity

White Rage Writing Assignment Is the American Identity of the “democratic and capable individual” a myth and how d id this truth/myth affect American society? Period parameters to over: 1865 to 1920. Start with a definition of this identity (what does democratic and capable individual mean?). Whom does the “American individua l” represent? Here are the sources I want to see in your essay: White Rage, Lectures, Readings. I want to see a thesis statement (underlined!!!) that asserts an opinion about the American experience (and in particular, the African - American experience) .

 

I n your e ssay, I want to see you bring in the first two chapters of the Anderson book . There should be a lot of citing (since anything that is not made up by you should be cited. Use Chicago Style footnotes (notice I didn’t say end notes or in - text citation ). This is a formal paper, you need to bring in that formality in your language, as well as in your citation. The only quotes you are allowed to use are from primary sources , no secondary source quotes. Anderson’s book is a secondary source. My lectures a nd the readings are secondary sources. Primary Sources are the pieces of evidence (things from the place and time of topic).

 

Here is one way to approach this essay. Start with a simple “no - duh” thesis (take a look at writing advice under thesis if you don ’t know what I’m referring to) . You could say something like “The traditional view of the American identity as democratic and free is a myth.” Then ask yourself why you think it is a myth (or why it’s not a myth) and start looking for historical evidence t o prove your position. Start brain storming all the historical contextual explanations and analysis that you can bring to this essay. Another way to do this is to look over all your notes, and pull out the most important issues for each chapter and see if you can’t shape and organize your essay into a focused argument. Be forewarned, I am NOT looking for a summary of the book.

 

If I get: chapter one says this, and chapter two is about this ... and an important issue in this reading is.... (that is not an essay, and will not get a passing grade). I always found this second way (look at my notes, and see what I can come up with what I have) worked better for me personally. But both approaches are valid. Here is a rubric of what I’ll be looking for

The Impact of the American Identity on American Society, 1865-1920

• Completeness: All of the sources as directed are used to support a coherent argument.

• Thesis statement : Strong thesis statement (logical and relevant, and addresses the question) . Remember a thesis statement is not an introductory paragraph, it is not your purpose, it i s not a subject. It is an argument/position that you’re going to prove in your paper.

• Critical thinking: causal linkages made in writing (tracing and explaining origins and ramifications)

• Focus: Make sure you focus on the period of this class. For this pap er, that means post 1865 to about 1930s (no later than this period). But this should be obvious since the sources that you’ve covered so far is within this period.

• Depth: Strong explanations about the historical context (brought out from the book)

• Objective content: Lots of historic al facts and evidence (from sources ) to support your arguments.

.• Original writing: No quotes except primary sources , seriously, quotes from secondary sources will be penalized.

 

No more than 5 words for each quote, and no more than 10 percent of your paper. Also, since you will be turning in this essay into turnitin link provided, you need to know that there must be no plagiarism whatsoever. Remember, you cite everything that is not made up by you. That means lots and lots of citati on, and you’ll be able to see your report before I grade. So use that to fix any and all problems. See academic honesty policy in your syllabus and in the student code of conduct in your MJC catalog.

• Form: A focused essay, clear and concise writing, no gr ammatical mistakes ( in fact, turnitin warns you of bad grammar. Use it to fix the problems in your essay so I don’t ding your grade for these mistakes). Read “Presentation” in my writing advice blog about why this is important.

• Length: minimum of 1200 word s. Most students who want an A write between 1500 - 1700, but the absolute minimum is 1200 for the essay portion .

• Submission: turn in to the turnitin link provided in Canvas . Notice that this is a fairly open ended question which will allow you to focus mor e on the issues that interests you. However, don’t ignore big important issues brought up in the book to write about a few specific ones. In the end, remember, all assignments are for you to show your facility with the material of this course. You want to show me how much of the book you understand. It’s ok to do extra research, but never to replace the material provided.

 

(I know most students know this, but for the few who don’t, it is NOT ok to use Wikipedia and W ebster in place of Anderson Essays, Lectures , me and other sources provide d in this class. Just don’t use the social media types of information. Few are vetted properly. ) Due date posted in your schedule. Mistakes to be avoided (mistakes that have been made by students that led to them not passing this exam):

1. Didn’t focus on using the sources of this class

2. Wrote on topic outside the period and/or subject

3. Didn’t cite, or barely cited, or only cited quotes.