Paper Assignment - Santiago Canyon College



Historical Essay-History 120

Due Tuesday April 26th at 4PM

Materials to draw from: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass , A People and A Nation, lecture notes from History 120.

Question: The compelling autobiography of an extraordinary man born into slavery, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is also a powerful inquiry into the question of what it means to be human, and how humanity is related to freedom of both the mind and body.

Please write a 4-5 page historical essay explaining the relationship between knowledge and freedom in Douglass’ narrative.

To defend your interpretation (thesis) you must offer evidence in the form of historical facts from lecture and the text and specific examples from Douglass’ narrative. Issues raised in the book that might be useful include but are not limited to:

• The circumstances surrounding Douglass’ birth

• How ignorance is used by slaveholders

• What role violence plays in maintaining slavery

• Family relations in slavery

• Labor

• Literacy

• The effects of slavery on both slaves and slaveholders

The Basics (or "Tips for Writing a Good History Essay")

Introduction: Every paper has an intro that introduces the reader to what the paper is about. This is where you will include any relevant background info from text and or lecture. The best way to get a reader's attention is to have a good "hook" right at the start - a compelling fact, statistic, or historical anecdote or account - something that tells the reader the essence of what your paper is about.

Thesis (part of the introduction): Every paper has a thesis that says in one sentence what your paper intends to argue. Having a thesis that holds your essay together is vital, otherwise, it is just a number of disparate paragraphs that make no sense and seemingly have no purpose. This thesis must make a statement defining for your readers the relationship between knowledge and freedom. 

Body: Within the body of the paper, you will support your thesis with specific examples (evidence) that support that argument. Remember that each paragraph has a topic sentence (a mini-thesis) that states what the paragraph will discuss. When you are ready to discuss a different point, start a new paragraph. In each body paragraph you will offer quotes from the narrative that back up the claim you are making in that paragraph. Every quote must be immediately followed by analysis. This is where you explain for the reader why it is important and how it relates to your thesis. You must cite the page number in parenthesis after the quote.

Conclusion: Your final paragraph should restate the thesis and summarize the main points in the essay. Never bring in new evidence in a conclusion. But, similar to an introduction, you can end with some sort of historical anecdote or account that sums up the paper and leaves the reader to ponder the powerful argument you have made.

Sources: You must cite specific examples from the assigned readings in Douglass' document (not the introduction or preface by the editor of the book), and you must use a citation when offering evidence. Citations can be footnotes, endnotes, or indication of Douglass in parentheses [example: (Douglass, p. 31)]. But don't fill your paper with a lot of quotes (this is the lazy way to write a paper and results in a low grade). Rather than use long quotes, paraphrase the quote in your own words and put a citation with the page #.

Plagiarism - Please do not attempt to plagiarize this paper. It is very easy for me to discover and YOU WILL RECEIVE AN "F" FOR THE COURSE. Plagiarism is intellectual theft. Using passages from the book without quotation marks and/or a citation is considered plagiarism.

Page Length: This report should be at least 4 full pages, with font no larger than 12pt. and double-spaced with 1" margins. PROOFREAD and "spell check" your work as spelling and grammatical errors will affect the overall presentation of your essay - and thus your overall grade. Attempting to write your paper in one sitting, running a spell check and turning it in will absolutely result in a lower grade. Give yourself several days to write and revise, thus improving your essay.

DUE DATE:  Tuesday April 26th at the beginning of class. Late policy: Papers are marked down 1/3 of a grade each day (including Saturday and Sunday) that they are late. Late papers are defined as those which reach me after class begins on the due date.

Points: 250

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