History 112, Fall 09, Pennock

Midterm Study Guide

The midterm is on Monday, Oct. 26 in your regular classroom at your regular class time. You will have the entire class period to take the exam.

Please bring a blank bluebook in which you will write your 3 essays. Bluebooks are on sale at the bookstore and in many campus vending machines (also available free at the Student Activities Office). You may use pen or pencil, as long as it is legible to me.

The midterm consists of two parts: 1. Two Primary Source analyses (2 short essays) 15 points each X 2 = 30 points

2. 1 long essay, 70 points

Part 1: Primary Source Analysis essays (two)

I will choose two primary sources from assigned readings (between Sept. 14 and Oct. 21), and place them (or excerpts from them) on the exam. I will ask a question about each source that allows you to explain its meaning in a short essay (one to two paragraphs) for each. Just to make sure it’s clear: I will choose sources that you should have already read for class. Sources can include documents or images. You will actually see the words and/or picture of the source, not just the title. You will write two short essays, one about each source. (note: an ellipses ( . . . ) indicates that words from the original text have been withdrawn.)

Example: What does this excerpt from Jacob Riis’s 1890 book How The Other Half Lives reveal about immigrant life in American cities and about Jacob Riis’s perspective and purpose when writing this? [this document is from AJ p. 506]

“Look into any of these houses, everywhere the same piles of rags, of malodorous bones and musty paper all of which the sanitary police flatter themselves they have banished . . . . Here is a “parlor” and two pitch-dark coops called bedrooms. Truly, the bed is all there is room for. . . . The closeness and smell are appalling . . . .

A message came one day last spring summoning me to a Mott Street [New York City] tenement in which lay a child dying from some unknown disease. With the ‘charity doctor’ I found the patient on the top floor, stretched upon two chairs in a dreadfully stifling room. . . . The whole family, father, mother, and four ragged children, sat around looking on with the stony resignation of helpless despair that had long since given up the fight against fate as useless. ‘Improper nourishment’ said the doctor, which translated to suit the place, meant starvation. The father’s hands were crippled from lead poisoning. He had not been able to work for a year. A contagious disease of the eyes had made the mother and one of the boys nearly blind. For months the family had subsisted on two dollars a week from the priest, and a few loaves and a piece of corned beef which the sisters sent them on Saturday….”

Part 2: One long essay.

One and only one of the following essay questions will appear, verbatim, on the exam. You will answer it in a well-organized essay that features an introduction paragraph with a thesis, and uses specific evidence in the main body paragraphs to support the main points related to your thesis. The essay should be several paragraphs -- more than 5 paragraphs -- long (I’m afraid I can’t give you a more definite page or word length.)

1. In the turn-of-the-century era (roughly 1890s-1920s), for peoples who were not middle-class WASPs: did they mostly experience America as a land of plenty, freedom of opportunity, and tolerance? If not, then how did these peoples cope with and/or confront their problematic situations? In your thesis and supporting evidence, focus on the material we have concentrated on in class: African Americans (North & South) and working-class immigrants.

2. Some refer to the 1920s as “the Roaring Twenties” or “the Jazz Age.” In what ways are these phrases an accurate description, and in what ways do these slogans simplify the complexity of the era? (you are encouraged to incorporate material from Arc of Justice as well as primary sources in this essay)

3. To what extent was the New Deal a “revolution” in America? What changed and what did not change in American politics, economy, and social relations (e.g. social class, race, gender)?

LONG ESSAY - MY EXPECTATIONS

Every essay should start with an introduction paragraph that contains a thesis. I caution you not to spend too much time on a flowery introduction. What’s most important is your thesis – your argument. The thesis should address all major parts of the question and provide your reader with a clear idea of what your essay will cover. Think of your thesis as an itinerary for the journey that your essay will take; it needs to indicate all the major stops that you’ll make. Strive to be thorough but concise (that advice goes for your whole essay), but remember that a thesis does not have to be contained in one sentence. An essay without a clear thesis cannot earn higher than a grade of C. (If you're pressed for time, a conclusion isn't as crucial as the introduction and the thesis.)

Example Question: Evaluate the following statement: “The 1950s was characterized by a culture of conformity.”

A weak thesis: In this essay, I will show why the 1950s in America was not really an era of conformity.

A better thesis: In the 1950s, America appeared to be a culture of conformity and consensus, but in reality it was characterized by conflict. [this thesis could use more specificity]

A strong thesis: The assumption that America in the 1950s was a culture of consensus ignores very serious problems Americans faced in that era, including racism, the Cold War, and the anxieties that “complacent” white middle class people endured.

[The strong thesis not only gives the reader a clearer idea of the student’s argument but also indicates the major points the essay will discuss to support that argument: racism, Cold War, middle class anxiety.]

Through the essay, you need to address and support your thesis by presenting evidence (including what you’ve learned from primary documents.) This evidence should be mixed with your analysis/interpretation. For instance, present a piece of evidence (say, the Ku Klux Klan) and then explain why it is significant to the larger point you’re making in that paragraph and/or to the whole point of the essay (encapsulated in your thesis.) For each piece of evidence you present, you should be able to answer: “how does this relate to my thesis?” Your essay should not be just a stringing together of facts, nor should it be all generalities and analysis without any specifics. It needs a balance.

Furthermore, you need to pay attention to logically developing your argument and to writing good paragraphs. A paragraph should develop one main idea. Craft solid topic sentences that serve both as transitions between paragraphs and introduce the main point in the paragraph so that it is clear how it relates to the thesis. Develop your evidence in the main body of the paragraph. End the paragraph with a concluding sentence that is more analytical, explaining the significance of the evidence you have just presented in the paragraph.

Half the battle in preparing these essay answers is figuring out how to organize your thoughts and evidence (what to include and where to include it), and by doing that, constructing your overall argument.

Tips for studying:

Read the possible essay questions carefully. Think about all parts of the question.

Go through your lecture notes and readings (including primary documents) and highlight things you might include in each essay.

Engage in some critical thinking about your arguments, and craft your theses.

Make a detailed outline for each possible essay, and think carefully about the organization of your ideas and how they relate to your theses.

Learn your outlines. Practice reciting or writing them.

You are welcome to come see me and have me look over your outlines.

Your aim is to write your essay as quickly and efficiently as possible when you get to the timed exam. Because I have given you the questions in advance, all of your preparation and "thinking" work (your "rehearsals") for the long essay should have been done prior to the exam. Once at the exam, you will "perform." For in-class essays, I do not factor writing mechanics (grammar, spelling, etc.) into your grade, but it should be clear enough so that I can understand your ideas. I do pay attention to how you organize and develop your ideas in writing. This includes good paragraph structure.

Grading Rubric:

"E" essay: completely off the mark; a bomb

"D" essay: Shows a glimmer of knowledge of the topic. Lacks a thesis. Poor

organization. Factual errors. Lacks detail.

"C" essay: Demonstrates an understanding of the basic ideas, but has a weak thesis,

has organizational problems, and contains factual errors. Vague support.

"B" essay: Good thesis, provides analysis, masters the main ideas, more supporting detail, including primary documents.

Well-organized. Very few factual errors.

"A" essay: a "B essay" plus more sophistication in thought and analysis. Strong thesis.