David M. Lauderback, Ph.D.
Professor of History

ANALYTICAL BOOK REVIEW
U.S. HISTORY I — ONLine
B & A-LEVEL OBJECTIVE

http://www.austincc.edu/dlauderb

For the grade of B
In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all fifteen (15) quizzes, all five (5) exams, and:
Failure to take all all fifteen (15) Chapter Quizzes and all (5) Unit Exams will result in a F in the course.

NOTE: The highest grade you can earn in the course without a completed Book Review is a C.

To complete one B-Level objective, see the analytical Book Review page for details on how to:

a.) submit your choice for the analytical book review;
b.) submit your completed Outline (15 points) for the analytical book review; and
c.) turn in the completed
Final Draft of the book review (15 points).
NOTE:  You must complete all parts of a book review by the deadlines listed in the Course Schedule for the assignment to factor in to your final average and your final grade. You may not earn "partial credit." The points on the outlines and final drafts are not extra credit.

Instead, like the quizzes and exams, the points on the completed book review is calculated in the total course average.


Failure to take all all fifteen (15) Chapter Quizzes and all (5) Unit Exams will result in a F in the course.

See the Course Schedule for the quiz, exam, contact, and book review deadlines.

REMINDER: The highest grade you can earn in the course without a completed Book Review is a C.
For the grade of A
In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all fifteen (15) quizzes, all five (5) exams, complete two Book Reviews, and:
Failure to take all all fifteen (15) Chapter Quizzes and all (5) Unit Exams will result in a F in the course.

NOTE
: The highest grade you can earn in the course without a completed Book Review is a C.

To complete the A-Level objective see the analytical Book Review page for details on how to:
a.) submit your choices for the two (2) analytical book reviews;
b.) submit your completed Outlines (15 points) for the analytical book reviews; and
c.) turn in the completed
Final Drafts of the book reviews (15 points)
NOTE:  You must complete all parts of the book reviews by the deadlines listed in the Course Schedule for the assignments to factor in to your final average and your final grade. You may not earn "partial credit." The points on the outlines and final drafts are not extra credit.

Instead, like the quizzes and exams, the points on the completed book reviews are calculated in the total course average.


Failure to take all all fifteen (15) Chapter Quizzes and all (5) Unit Exams will result in a F in the course.

See the Course Schedule for the quiz, exam, contact, and book review deadlines.

Remember, in addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all fifteen (15) quizzes, all five (5) exams, and:
OR

REMINDER: The highest grade you can earn in the course without a completed Book Review is a C.

See the Course Schedule for the quiz, exam, contact, and book review deadlines.

Rationale

The analytical book review will critically examine an important scholarly book covering some aspect of United States History up to 1877.  The purpose of the review is twofold:  first, to acquaint the student with a classic volume of historical scholarship and second, to allow the student to think critically about an important facet of American history and then to organize your thoughts in clear, cogent prose.  You should not view this simply as a hurdle which you must overcome in order to earn a grade of 'B' (Option #2) or two reviews for an 'A' in the course, but rather approach it as an opportunity to expand your creativity in thinking and writing, two very important aspects of any individual's necessary life skills.  Therefore, be advised that I consider this a VERY important aspect of this course and your reviews will be read and graded VERY carefully.

Selecting a Book

The book will be chosen in consultation with the instructor.  Take advantage of the search tools at the ACC Library to find a book.  As you search, remember that you want a work by a single author that examines some moment of America's past from 1492-1877, and does so at a university level.  Do not choose novels, edited volumes, or illustrated books.  Students MUST confirm their choice by e-mail with the instructor.  See your Course Schedule for the date by which you must:  select a book, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Final Draft.

Completing a Book Review

This is not a book report but a critical review of a professional work that demonstrates a student's ability to write clearly, use good grammar and punctuation, analyze the material in a concise manner, and offer their thoughts on the validity of the work.  Students completing a book review will also be asked to give some comparison of what they learned from their book with the material contained in Give Me Liberty! vol. 1 as appropriate.

There are a few important things to consider when you write the book review.  To begin with you must:

READ THE ENTIRE BOOK.

Authors do not always accomplish the task they set out to do, so you cannot rely on the preface or introduction.  Part of your task is to evaluate how well the author proves his/her point.  So read the entire text.

NEVER ASSUME.

When you write this review, DO NOT ASSUME that you can leave critical information out because you know that I have read the book.

Instead, you must tell me the:

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION

so that I will clearly understand your analysis of the book's argument, the evidence the author presents, and your reaction to the work as a whole.

DO NOT REWRITE THE BOOK.

One of your tasks in this assignment is to show that you can digest an entire book, and then distill it down to its essence.  You simply do not have the space to repeat everything.  So, do not waste time and effort trying to rewrite the book.

Students are expected to accomplish five tasks in the critical book review:

To assist you in developing your final draft, students will be required to complete an Outline of their proposed book review history.  Please see the Outline page for the requirements for the outline.

Completing the Outline (15 Points)

Once students have read the Book chosen for the review, the next step is to organize the pertinent information from the Book and the secondary sources into a detailed Outline. The Outline serves as crucial preparation for writing the Final Draft. Students will use the structure provided on the Outline page to evaluate the details provided in the Book and the secondary sources so that you can organize the relevant portions into a coherent whole. Students will be expected to include at least five quotes in each of the five evidence paragraphs in the body of the outline. And students will be expected to keep the same number of quotes in the Final Draft that they presented in the Outline documented by endnotes. The details in the Outline will become the basis for the Final Draft, so the time and effort you spend on the Outline will have a direct effect on the likelihood that you will be able to complete an "acceptable" Final Draft.

Please see use the ACC Library link below to Turabian for details on where to insert endnotes in your text, what content goes into the notes, and the difference between note format and bibliography format.

See the Outline page for details on completing the assignment. See the Course Schedule for the date the Outline is due.

Writing the Final Draft (15 pts)

The Final Draft must be seven paragraphs in seven pages, no more and no less. Do not include a title page; just put the title and your name at the top of the first page, with appropriate spacing. The endnotes and bibliography do not count in the length.

Use the completed Outline as the template for your Final Draft. Refine your purpose in the thesis, topic, and concluding sentences you wrote for the Outline. Because the Final Draft must be seven paragraphs in seven pages, you likely will not have room to use all of the words in the quotes that you have from the Outline. And students will be expected to keep the same number of sentences with quotes in the Final Draft that they presented in the Outline documented by endnotes. So students will often have to trim the quotes presented in the outline before including them in sentences in the Final Draft. Extract the key information from the quotes you collated for the Outline. Then, weave in selected portions of the quotes into sentences you create. Use the sentences with quotes to serve as the body of your evidence paragraphs. Again, be sure that you keep the same number of sentences with quotes and endnotes from the Outline in the Final Draft. Please see use the ACC Library link below to Turabian for details on:

The Final Draft must demonstrate the student's ability to write clearly, use good grammar and punctuation, analyze the material in a concise manner, and offer thoughts on the period, themes, and the book in question.  Students completing an Final Draft will also be asked to give some comparison of what they learned from their Book with the material contained in the secondary sources and in Give Me Liberty! as appropriate.

Some tips on writing

There are a few important things to consider when you write the Final Draft.  To begin with you must:

NEVER ASSUME

When you write your findings, DO NOT ASSUME that you can leave out critical information because you know that I am familiar with the time period.
Instead, you must tell me the:

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION

so that I will clearly understand your interviewee’s life, your analysis of their experiences, and your reaction to the interview as a whole.

DO NOT REWRITE THE INTERVIEW

One of your tasks in this assignment is to show that you can digest an entire interview of a person’s life, and then distill it down to its essence.  You simply do not have the space to repeat everything.  So, do not waste time and effort trying to rewrite their life history.

Some directions on content

Each paragraph in the Final Draft should be at least thirteen (13), but NOT more than seventeen (17), lines long -- NOT sentences, but lines on the page.  Each paragraph is a mini-paper.  Make the first sentence of each paragraph an introduction to that paragraph.  Tell your reader what to expect in the paragraph.  This is called the topic sentence.  Summarize your point at the end of the paragraph, like the conclusion of a paper.  In between, give lots of evidence to prove your point.

Begin each paragraph in the Final Draft with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader who did what and why it matters. History is first and foremost about people, so your review will evaluate a life history that recounts some aspect of life in America.  When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you tell your reader who did what and then explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that explains who did what and why.

Make your sentences active.  Fill your review with verbs that move the reader along from point to point.  Writing that relies on the verb "to be" -- is, was, are, etc. -- quickly becomes repetitious and will NOT convince your reader.  If you cannot eliminate the verb "to be" entirely,  come very close. Again, explain who did what and why they did it.  Make sure that each sentence has an historical actor performing some action for some reason; tell me who did what and why.

Students will be expected to keep the same number of sentences with quotes in the Final Draft that they presented in the Outline documented by endnotes.

Quotes help spice up a paper by giving the reader the flavor of the book. So, include quotations where appropriate to illustrate your points.  Using quotes helps to establish your understanding of the key themes, events, person, etc., in your interview.  Hence, the use of quotes constitutes a substantial portion of your Final Draft grade. Use the quotes from the outline as the basis for your evidence, argument, and overall purpose. Use your words to present the selected portions of quotes in order to bring your respondent's experiences to life. And students will be expected to keep the same number of sentences with quotes in the Final Draft that they presented in the Outline documented by endnotes.

See the Course Schedule for the date the Final Draft is due.

Again, be sure that you keep the same number of quotes and endnotes from the Outline in the Final Draft. Please see use the ACC Library link below to Turabian for details on where to insert endnotes in your text, what content goes into the notes, and the difference between note format and bibliography format.

Format Requirements

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- OUTLINE AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY OUTLINE OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL LOSE POINTS:

The format requirements for the completed Outline and Final Draft are:

Please:

DO NOT BOLDFACE; or
DO    NOT         JUSTIFY

your text.

Only ITALICIZE: the titles of books, journals, websites, and newspapers.

You do NOT need a cover sheet.


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

Documentation

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- OUTLINE AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY OUTLINE OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The documentation requirements for the completed Outline and Final Draft are:

To ensure that you give credit where credit is due, please refer to the source from which you extracted information with an endnote and a bibliography using the spacing, font size and type requirements listed above.  For the correct style, start with 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 an excellent link to Turabian. You can also use the The Chicago Manual of Style Online. Both the Chicago Manual of Style and the Turabian guides can be found at the ACC Library

Please do NOT use reference style where you put the author's name and page number at the end of the sentence. (Lauderback 2013, 1) Instead, be sure to insert an endnote in your text to tell your reader you have details that come from a source that is not you. Go to Microsoft Word Help and enter 'endnote' for how to insert notes. See the ACC Turabian link for:

The ACC Librarians have put together a remarkable page with all kinds of details and examples for you to follow. And, a link for asking questions! Check out Turabian. Please use the appropriate formatting -- including margins, font size and type, and spacing (see above).

Both the Outline and Final Draft require a bibliography. Include the bibliography in a separate document (with no page numbers).  Here you provide a complete citation for each source cited. A bibliography is NOT the same as a Works Cited. And, a bibliography is NOT the same as the endnotes. And while a bibliography includes most of the same information as the notes, there are important differences, e.g., the order of the author's names, the use of commas, periods, parentheses, and page numbers. Please use the appropriate formatting -- including margins, font size and type, and spacing (see above). 

And, please, do NOT ask if you can use MLA. Use Turabian. Thank you!

Grading Policy

The Outline (15 Points)

See the Outline link for a detailed instructions including content, format, and documentation.

Your grade on the outline will be based on how well you:

Recognize that an Outline rife with misspellings and format, documentation, and grammatical errors will not be considered acceptable. Any Outline that does not conform to the format requirements above will NOT be accepted. If you submit your Outline before the deadline date in the Course Schedule and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED" you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date. Outlines submitted more than one day after the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will NOT be accepted.

The Final Draft (15 Points)

Your grade on the Final Draft will be based on how well you:
Recognize that a Final Draft rife with misspellings and grammatical errors will not be considered acceptable. Any Final Draft that does not conform to the format requirements above will NOT be accepted. If you submit your Final Draft before the deadline date in the Course Schedule and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED" you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date. Any Final Draft submitted submitted more than one day after the deadline listed in the Course Schedule OR after the last day of the semester will NOT be accepted.

See your Course Schedule for the date by which you must:  select a Book, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Final Draft.

Deadlines

ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SELECT A BOOK BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

ONLY OUTLINES and FINAL DRAFTS SUBMITTED BY 11:59 PM ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE CAN RECEIVE FULL CREDIT;

and

ANY 
OUTLINE THAT IS NOT SUBMITTED BY 11:59 PM ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL  RECEIVE A MAXIMUM OF 70% CREDIT;

and

ANY OUTLINE THAT IS SUBMITTED MORE THAN ONE DAY AFTER THE THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT TURN IN AN OUTLINE  WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT.

and

STUDENTS WHO TURN IN AN OUTLINE THAT IS "NOT ACCEPTED" WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT.

and

ANY FINAL DRAFT THAT IS NOT SUBMITTED BY 11:59 PM ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL  RECEIVE 70% MAXIMUM CREDIT;

and

ANY FINAL DRAFT SUBMITTED MORE THAN ONE DAY AFTER THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE OR AFTER THE SEMESTER ENDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Students may submit the Book choice, the Outline, and the Final Draft via ACC e-mail as a Word or PDF attachment NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM on the deadline listed in the Course Schedule.

See your Course Schedule for the date by which you must:  select a Book, turn in a preliminary Outline, and turn in the Final Draft.

© David Marcus Lauderback, 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED