Paper (Part 2)

This is part two of the paper you are developing over the quarter. As explained in the syllabus, you are to work with my feedback on the first part of the paper and expand upon it by incorporating additional concepts and sources. The prompt has not changed:

Prompt: Choose one of the course understanding goals and explain how it helps us understand the early North American West.

Directions & Hints

• Your finished paper should include portions of Paper (Part 1): these will need to be revised as per my feedback and to accommodate any changes you may make to your argument. Pay special attention to the advice I gave you about the argument in the first iteration of this paper -- many of you have to revise this not only to accommodate the new documents and examples, but also in order to frame a more significant argument that addresses a "so what?" issue.
• Your final paper should include examples drawn from at least three different sources assigned in this course. In addition to drawing from Resendez's Land So Strange (i.e., the source you worked with for the first part of the paper), you need to draw in sources from the following list:
  • Turner, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History"
  • Saunt, West of the Revolution
  • Documents from the Lewis & Clark Expedition
  • Burlend, A True Picture of Emigration - (you are reading this now -- discussed in Week 8)
  • US-Mexico War Documents (you will be reading it later this week -- discussed in Week 8)
  • Clappe, Shirley Letters (already available -- discussed in Week 9)
• Organize your paper around a clear and effective argument. Underline your argument. In order to accommodate the additional sources, you may need to revise (or even radically change) your argument.
• Include several quotations from Reséndez and the other source(s) you are using. You do not need to look beyond the assigned readings for this paper -- stick with what I have given you in class and assigned.
• Be judicious in including quotations. Only include effective, powerful ones that support your argument -- avoid ones that simply describe. You should probably keep your quotations to a minimum; most students will include five to nine quotations.
• Use footnotes to cite the quotations following the formatting rules outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style Links to an external site.. Also, review the feedback I gave you on the citations in the first version of this paper.
• For this final version of your paper, you should write from 2,000 to 2,500 words. Include a word count (not including footnotes).
• Format: double-space, 12 point font, Times New Roman. Upload your finished essay as a Word document.
• Write clearly with correct grammar and an appropriate analytical style: review the Proofreading Checklist Download Proofreading Checklist and my feedback on the previous paper. You should also check the grading rubric to see how I am evaluating your paper.
• Please note that there is a new "Improvement" category on the rubric. At the end of your paper, please note the three to five improvements you worked on in this paper. You should draw these from the recommendations I made on your previous assignments.
• Be sure to seek my help as you develop/revise your argument and main points -- there is plenty of assistance I can provide. Don't forget that the History Writing Center Links to an external site. can provide some valuable assistance, too. Please review my feedback on your previous paper. My expectation is that you are learning from my comments and applying them to your subsequent work.

This assignment is due by 10 PM, Sunday, Mar. 5.