Critical Reviews — 40%

Students will complete five (5) Critical Reviews. The lowest grade of the five (5) reviews will be dropped. Each review will examine the assigned reading for that day. Students will determine the success of authors in proving their thesis as they evaluate the reading in light of other works and important course themes. Please see the Course Schedule for the dates by which you must submit your Critical Reviews.

Students will submit their reviews electronically via e-maill as a Word or PDF document to dlauderb@austincc.edu. Reviews are due at 10:00 am on the date due. Each review will count ten (10) points. Combined, the critical reviews will constitute 40% of your course grade.

In each critical review, you will:

• identify the each author’s thesis;
• critically examine the evidence each author presents;
• place each author in coversation with the other works examined that week; and
• evaluate each work in light of significant course themes.

Students must also follow the Format and Documentation guidelines below in producing their reviews.

Format Requirements 

ALL CRITICAL REVIEWS MUST CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY CRITICAL REVIEW THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The format requirements for the completed take-home exam are:

The above particulars are designed to ensure that all students complete works of similar length.

Please:

Documentation

ALL CRITICAL REVIEWS MUST CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY CRITICAL REVIEW THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The documentation requirements for the completed Critical Review are:

• endnotes; and
• bibliography

To ensure that you give credit where credit is due, please refer to the source from which you extracted information. Please use end notes to document your sources using the appropriate formatting (see above). For the correct style, see John Grossman, ed., The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005). You can also use an abbreviated version by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). The ACC Library has a link to Turabian.  The ACC link is useful but at times limited. Both guides can be found at the ACC Library. Include a Bibliography on a separate page (with no page number), at the end of your Critical Review. Here you provide a complete citation for each work cited. Please use the appropriate formatting (see above).  And, please, do NOT ask if you can use MLA. Use the Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian.

Students will submit their reviews electronically via e-maill as a Word or PDF document to dlauderb@austincc.edu. Reviews are due at 10:00 am on the date due. Each review will count ten (10) points. Combined, the critical reviews will constitute 40% of your course grade.

Completed Reviews for Examination

UNIT 1: “Progress” — 1865-1920

UNIT 2:  “Modern America” — 1920-1945

UNIT 3: “The Cold War” — 1945-1989

© David Marcus Lauderback, 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED