Response essay
I’m working on a History exercise and need support.
You must write a 2 page response to a document from the Major Problemstextbook, before we have discussed it in class.
The first part of your paper should be a candid response to the document.Did you enjoy this document, did you find it overly long, or difficult to understand?Why did you choose this document to respond to?Did something about it stick out as familiar or surprising?Was there something you found interesting or intriguing?
The second part of the paper should be a textual analysis focused on why the document was created in the way it was.What type of document is it (an article, a speech, a letter, etc)?Who was intended to read it? What did the author want to accomplish or say through the work, and just as importantly- were they successful in their aims? Why or why not? What choices did they make that allowed the work to achieve that aim (or not)?Does your analysis of the document relate to your earlier reaction to the document (is it suitable that you didn’t find a supreme court case to be very exciting, or that a political speech was written in clear accessible language)?Remember to be specific and use examples from the text (with citations) to describe your ideas.
You may choose when to complete these, and which readings to focus on, but this first paper is due 4 December. The papers should contain citations for the information you use and the evidence you provide to support your ideas as well as a bibliographical reference.