History 361: Paper #1
Your choices for the first
essay are Paine�s Common Sense, Tocqueville�s Democracy in America
(either volume 1 or volume 2) [just added!], Thoreau�s Walden, or
Stowe�s Uncle Tom�s Cabin.�
Whichever one you choose, you need to begin by reading (or re-reading)
the entire text, including those parts that we didn�t read for class.� The purpose of the paper is to situate the
text within its intellectual context; i.e., what did this text add to the
intellectual conversation of the period?�
You might ask some or all of the following questions: What sort of
debate was the author responding to?�
What contributions did he or she make to that debate?� How does he or she develop the arguments in
the text?� What sorts of techniques are
employed to persuade the reader to adopt the author�s position? �Who was the author writing for and how were
others likely to respond to the author�s contentions?� What kinds of response did the text receive and why?
In answering these or any
other questions you set for yourself, it is essential that you articulate a clear
position and defend it carefully and thoroughly. The more focused and specific,
the better the essay will be.� Do NOT,
repeat, do NOT, simply do a book report on the text.� I know you can tell me what it says; what I want you to do is to
tell me what you think it means.� For
example, I could imagine someone writing an essay on Tocqueville, vol. 1, where
the task posed was to explore the ways in which Tocqueville�s ideas about
equality drew on republican theory, and the ways in which they challenged or
altered that theory.� Having decided
that this is the issue, our hypothetical student would then have to develop
some particular thesis that he/she wanted to argue about that topic, and would
then have to come up with evidence to support his/her position and ways of
dealing with elements in the text that don�t fit the argument.� The critical step is to construct an
argument that you want to make and feel is interesting.� Articulate that in your introduction, and
then use it to guide the rest of the paper.
1.� Develop an argument, don�t just provide a collection of true
observations about the material
2.� Make sure to provide evidence, as concrete as possible, for your
argument(s)
3.� Be critical of what you read�don�t just take the surface, but
push to understand what it�s implications are and what�s really going on
underneath
4.� Make clear in your introduction what you are going to argue and
why it�s worth arguing that point
5.� Be sure each paragraph in the body of the paper is related to the
preceding one and to the argument of the paper as a whole
Be sure to ask yourself the
following questions:
�Do
I answer the question?�� This might seem obvious, but
it�s worth asking.� No matter how
intriguing or dazzling, a thesis that doesn�t answer the question is not a good
thesis!� If you are being asked to �take
a stand,� do you?� If you are being
asked �what�s the most important event of the 20th century,� do
you just state why your selection is important, or do you state why you think
it�s the most important when compared to other important events?� Re-reading the question prompt after
constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the
focus of the question.
�Have
I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose?�� If not, then you probably do not have a strong argument.� Theses that are too vague often have this
problem.� If your thesis contains vague
words like �good� or �successful,� see if you could be more specific: why is
something �good�; what makes something �successful�?
�Does
my thesis pass the �So What?� test?�� Also known
as the �What�s the Big Deal?� test, the �So What?� test asks whether your
thesis presents a position or an interpretation worth pursuing.� If a reader�s first response is, �So what?�
then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger
issue.� Once a reader says, �Gee, this
argument has the potential to broaden my understanding of the significance of
this topic,� then you have successfully passed this test.
�Does
my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering?�� Just as a thesis that doesn�t answer the question ultimately
fails, so does a thesis that isn�t properly supported with evidence and
reasoning.� If your thesis and the body
of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change.� Generally, this means revising your thesis
to capture more precisely the argument in your paper.� Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.