In addition to the two course contacts, the student must take all fourteen (14) quizzes, all five (5) exams, and:

• earn a total course average of 80% on the 14 quizzes, the 5 exams, and one (1) completed analytical Book Review

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 (10 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 book review are calculated in the total course average.

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

NOTE:  You do NOT have to complete the Book Review AND the Oral History Report to qualify for an A in the course. You do the Book Review for a B OR the Oral History Report for an A.

In addition to the two course contacts, the student must complete all fourteen (14) quizzes, take all five (5) exams, and:

•  earn a total course average of 80% (20 out of 25 questions) on the 14 quizzes, the 4 exams, and a completed Book Review for a B;
  

OR

• earn a total course average of 90% (22.5 out of 25) on the 14 quizzes, 5 exams, and a completed Oral History Report for an A.

REMINDER:

• Failure to take all all fifteen (15) Chapter Quizzes and all (5) Unit Exams will result in a F in the course.
• The highest grade you can earn in the course without a completed Book Review is a C.

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

The analytical book review will critically examine an important scholarly book covering some aspect of United States History since 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) in this course, but rather approach the Book Review 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 the Book Review 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 since 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 Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History, vol. 2. and two additional secondary sources 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:

• briefly summarize the work;
• describe the author's argument, or thesis;
• analyze the evidence;
• compare the information in the book to the presentation provided in three secondary sources including Give Me Liberty!; and
• give your reaction to the book.

Go to the Outline link and then review the Outline format.  Copy and paste the Outline format to a Word document.  Then, insert all of your quotes from the Book and the three secondary sources, update the format, and insert all 25 endnotes and add a bibliography:

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:

• where to insert the superscript endnote number in the text;
  
• what content goes into the notes at the end of the document; and
• the difference between note format and bibliography format.

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.

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.

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:

• Submit via your ACC e-mail as a Word or PDF attachment;
  NOTE: Do NOT submit as a link and do NOT submit as a Google.Doc.
  Google.docs is limited and makes it very difficult to complete the format reqs or insert endnotes.
• Page numbers -- top right; 1 Point
• Title -- Top, center, page 1; 1 Point
• Name -- Center; below title with appropriate spacing (see below); 1 Point
• Text -- Begins right below the name on page 1, with appropriate spacing (see below): 1 Point
• Spacing -- TRIPLE spaced, typed; 1 Point
• Margins -- one (1) inch from the edge of the page on the:  top, left, right, and bottom; 1 Point
• Pitch -- 12; 1 Point
• Font --  Times New Roman; 1 Point
• Length -- [There is no length requirement for the Outline]
  The Final Draft must be 7 pp. or you will have 4.5 Points deducted from your Final Draft score
• End notes -- place at the end of your document;  [Not counted in the length.  See Documentation below.] 2 Points
  If you include notes but do not use the correct font size and type and spacing -- see above --
  and the correct format and indents according to CMS or Turabian below, then you lose 1 point
  
• Bibliography -- on a separate page.  [Not counted in the length.  See Documentation below.] 2 Points
  If you include notes but do not use the correct font size and type and spacing -- see above --
  and the correct format and indents according to CMS or Turabian below, then you lose 1 point
• DEADLINE:  70% See the Course Schedule for the date the Outline and the Final Draft are due.
  If the the Outline and/or the Final Draft are received after the 11:59 pm deadline on the date listed on the Course Schedule,
  the highest grade you can receive on the assignment will be 70%, or 7/10 points for the Outline 10.5/15 points for the Final Draft.
• Outlines submitted more than one day after the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will NOT be accepted.
• Final Drafts 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
• Students may submit the Book choice, the Outline, and the Final Draft via your ACC e-mail as a Word or PDF document NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM on the deadline listed in the Course Schedule.

Please:

DO NOT BOLDFACE; or
DO NOT ITALICIZE; or
DO    NOT         JUSTIFY

your text.

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

Please:

Do NOT use folders or other such binders; and
You do NOT need a cover sheet.

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:

• endnotes; and
• bibliography

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 appropriate formatting (see 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. 

• where to insert the endnotes in your text;
• what details go into the notes at the end of your document;
• the use of Ibid. when you have the same source in consecutive notes;
• how to shorten a cite when you use it again later in your notes; and
• the difference between note format and bibliography format.

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).

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

Grading Policy

The Outline (10 Points)

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

• clearly explain who did what and why in each topic sentence and the thesis statement
• provide a variety of quotes in each section -- including the Comparison section
• identify three appropriate secondary sources
  
• follow the format directions (see above)
• document your work correctly (see above)

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.

• If the Outline receives a grade of "NOT ACCEPTED" then the student will NOT be permitted to submit the Final Draft.

• clearly explain who did what and why in each the thesis statement and each topic and concluding sentence
• weave short quotes from each of the quotes listed on the Outline into sentences where you explain who did what and why
• explain how the three appropriate secondary sources do or do not support the argument of your book
  
• follow the format directions (see above)
• document your work correctly (see above)

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 AN OUTLINE OR A FINAL DRAFT;

and

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

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT TURN IN AN OUTLINE  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 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, 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED