Need study help !!!
you have been given the assignment directions in a word file and have been told that there are also screenshots of a book included to help answer the questions, you will need to read all of the attachments in order to complete the assignment. It is important to carefully read and follow the instructions provided in the assignment directions, as well as refer to the provided screenshots of the book as needed in order to answer the questions correctly. Make sure to allocate sufficient time to read through all of the attachments and complete the assignment to the best of your ability.
INSTRUCTIONS
Your writing must be formal. should be in full-text, not attachments.
An introduction, body, and
conclusion are expected minimum 5 paragraph essay. DO NOT exceed the word limit. You must cite any information in your
500–1000-word response limit that is not common knowledge
. Only course materials may be cited.
You are required to cite the textbook within the essay–please follow your quote or reference with the page number, for example (409) or location number if you are using a digital copy of the textbook, for example, (Location 1828). I recommend a maximum of two direct quotes for essays of this length. Only course materials may be cited. You must use quotation marks around any statements copied from the text (along with the page number, cited) in order to avoid committing plagiarism. Failure to properly cite information will result in a substantial
loss of points.
Answer ONE of the following essay questions:
1. Compare and contrast the lives of Native America, African (American), and white colonial women.
2. Compare and contrast the threat posed by Anne Hutchinson and the witches of Salem to Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Please note: Compare and contrast requires an analysis of both similarities and differences.
The screenshots are the book the pages are at the bottom so you can site it this is the book the screenshots are for :Through Women’s Eyes: An American History With Documents 5th Edition
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Writing Historical Essays: A Guide for Undergraduates adapted from the Rutgers University History Department:
Section 1: What Is Historical Writing?
Elements
The basic elements of academic essay writing are two: a thesis and evidence, divided into three parts: an introduction, the systematic development of an argument, and a conclusion. All scholarly writing, from the most concise paper to the longest book, follows these basic guidelines.
Thesis
Historical essay writing is based upon the thesis. A thesis is a statement, an argument which will be presented by the writer. The thesis is in effect, your position, your particular interpretation, your way of seeing a problem. Resist the temptation, which many students have, to think of a thesis as simply “restating” an instructor’s question. The writer should demonstrate originality and critical thinking by showing what the question is asking, and why it is important rather than merely repeating it. Your own informed perspective is what matters. Many first-year students ask whether the “thesis” is not just their “opinion” of a historical question. A thesis is indeed a “point of view,” or “perspective,” but of a particular sort: it is based not only on belief, but on a logical and systematic argument supported by evidence. The truism that we each have “our own” opinions misses the point. A good critical essay acknowledges that many perspectives are possible on any question, yet demonstrates the validity or correctness of the writer’s own view.
Thesis and Evidence
To make a good argument you must have both a strong central thesis and plausible evidence; the two are interdependent and support each other. Some historians have compared the historian’s craft to assembling and presenting a case before a jury. A strong statement of thesis needs evidence or it will convince no one. Equally, quotes, dates, and lists of details mean nothing by themselves. Your task is both to select the important “facts” and to present them in a reasonable, persuasive, and systematic manner which defends your position. To support your argument, you should also be competent in correct citation.
Historical Writing
Be aware also that “historical” writing is not exactly the same as writing in other social sciences, in literature, or in the natural sciences. Though all follow the general thesis and evidence model, historical writing also depends a great deal on situating evidence and arguments correctly in time and space in narratives about the past. Historians are particularly sensitive to errors of anachronism—that is, putting events in an “incorrect” order, or having historical characters speak, think, and act in ways inappropriate for the time in which they were living. Reading the past principally in terms of your own present experience can also create problems in your arguments. Avoid grand statements about humanity in general, and be careful of theories which fit all cases. Make a point of using evidence with attention to specificity of time and place, i.e. “context.”
Section 2: Steps in Preparing an Historical Essay
1. Understand the question being asked.
Pay attention to the way it is worded and presented. Be aware, for example, that “evaluate” does not mean the same thing as “describe,” and neither is the same as “compare/contrast,” or “analyze.” What are the key words? Can you properly define them? What sort of evidence is required to respond effectively?
2. Prepare the material.
Begin reading (or re-reading) your texts or documents. Students often ask: “How can I give you a thesis (or write an introduction) before I have done all the reading?” Obviously, you cannot write a good paper if you haven’t done the readings, so be sure to keep up. Remember, however, that merely “reading everything” doesn’t guarantee you’ll do good writing. Some students rush through assignments, others highlight every line, both thinking that by counting pages or words they are doing well. As you read the important point is to identify critical arguments in the texts. Don’t just read for “information.” Do a “strong reading” of your materials—critically examine or reexamine your sources with questions in mind. What is the author saying? What are his or her stated and unstated assumptions? What kind of evidence supports the arguments and how is it used? What do particular documents or texts tell you about the time in which they were written? Your questions will be the beginning of your own thesis.
3. First Draft
As noted above, all serious writing is done in drafts, and not the night before. Even if you are pressed for time (as, of course, you will be) give yourself enough time to review and revise your own writing. Students will sometimes turn in papers they have never actually read themselves; this is a mistake which shows. Think of the first or “preliminary” draft as a detailed outline. Establish your thesis and see how it looks in writing. Is it too general or specific? Does it address the questions asked by the instructor? Because the thesis is so critical, small changes in it will have a big impact. Don’t be afraid to refine it as often as necessary as you continue reading and writing.
As you write, pay attention to the following points:
· Organize your ideas on paper. Order your arguments and connect them to the relevant supporting evidence. If the evidence contradicts your thesis, you will have to rethink your thesis. Obviously, you must not alter the evidence, but always look for some citation or text which makes your point better, clearer, more precise, more persuasive. Avoid needlessly long quotes which only fill up space, and be sure what you select actually makes the point you think it does. All citations must be integrated logically and systematically into your argument. Remember that no quote “speaks for itself.” Your job is not only to select evidence, but to explain and analyze what you cite, to demonstrate the meaning and importance of what you choose.
· Be attentive to paragraph construction and order. Paragraphs should have strong topic sentences and be at least five sentences long. Try to show development in your argument. Point one should lead logically to point two in paragraph after paragraph, section after section. Avoid simply listing and detailing your arguments in the order which they occur to you. Though there may be no absolutely correct sequence in presenting an argument, a thoughtful ordering and systematic development of points is more convincing than ideas randomly thrown together.
· Pay attention to transitions: when you switch to a new argument, let the reader know with a new topic sentence. Resist the temptation of thinking, “they’ll know what I mean.” Don’t make your reader guess where you are going or what you are trying to say; the purpose of an essay is to communicate and to convince.
· Take time with your conclusion, which should close and summarize your arguments. Remember that conclusions can have a big impact on the reader, as closing statements do to a jury. You are of course not being judged, but—as part of the scholarly process—your work is being evaluated, so try to make the best presentation possible.
4. Drafts and Final Draft
Now you have completed your draft. Return to your introduction. Is the thesis clearly stated? Have you established the argument and evidence you will present? Rephrase your thesis if necessary. You may not even be clear about the final thesis until you have written much of the paper itself and seen how the argument holds together. Add examples or delete non-relevant materials and make sure paragraphs connect with transitions and topic sentences. Proofread the work: set it aside for some time and come back to it, or try reading it aloud to yourself. Whenever possible try to have someone else read your work and comment on it. Finally, check for sense, grammar, spelling, and mechanical and typographical errors.
Section 3: Grading, Originality & General Observations
A Note on Grading
Every professor or instructor has his or her own standards for excellent, good, average, and unacceptable work. “Standards” means that some papers will receive higher marks than others. A common grading misunderstanding arises from a student belief that answering a question “correctly” in essay form means an automatic “A.” From an instructor’s point of view, you do not get credit for excellence by doing what you are supposed to be able to do: write coherently and intelligently with a thesis, introduction, argument, and conclusion. This is only “competent” work. How well you write is what makes the difference. Do you detail your arguments, define terms, make logical connections, expand points, develop ideas, read sources in original and imaginative ways? The difference between competent and excellent work is difficult to define. Read your own work critically. Are you making the easy points most students would make? Are you really citing and examining the texts? Have you given careful thought to argument and presentation, and the logic of your conclusions? Excellent work begins when you challenge yourself.
Originality and Plagiarism
Students are sometimes overwhelmed when asked to produce original, critical work. What could they say which has not already been said by an expert? No one asks you to be an expert. Your originality lies in your talent as a critical reader and a thoughtful writer. Whether you are studying many sources for a research paper or a few passages from one text, what matters is how you select, present, and interpret materials. “Originality” means speaking in your own words. You must at all costs avoid plagiarism, which is a crime and means automatic failure. Plagiarism means taking credit for work which is not your own, and can involve: 1) copying directly or paraphrasing without acknowledgment from published sources; 2) purchasing essays and term papers; 3) having someone else do the assignment for you; 4) turning in a paper previously submitted for another (or the same) class. Pay attention to point 1: changing the wording of a passage is still plagiarism if you don’t credit the author for the ideas you are borrowing. Points 2-4 are obvious cases of cheating. A strict definition of plagiarism is as follows:
“The appropriation of ideas, language, or work of another without sufficient acknowledgment that the material is not one’s own. Although it is generally recognized that everything an individual has thought has probably been influenced to some degree by the previously expressed thoughts and actions of others, such influences are general. Plagiarism involves the deliberate taking of specific words and ideas of others without proper acknowledgment.”
Avoid plagiarism by preparing well, relying on your own words and judgments, and—when citing evidence—use proper citation. Attention to plagiarism should not discourage you from using sources to the fullest; on the contrary it should challenge you to think critically about how you make ideas your own, what debts you owe to others, and how you put the two together to do intellectually honest and original writing.