Brown v Board of Education

HIS 200 Project 2 Guidelines and Rubric

Overview History is for human self-knowledge . . . the only clue to what man can do is what man has done. The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has

done and thus what man is. —R. G. Collingwood

Historical awareness informs various aspects of our lives. We live in a time of rapid change, and we often think more about the future than the past. However, studying history can help us better understand our own lives in the context of the places we live and society in general. In America, specifically, the government is informed by its citizens. If the ideals of society shift, that shift will eventually move throughout the different levels of government, effecting widespread change.

For the projects in this course, you will select a historical event that has impacted American society in some way. You may select an event that was discussed in the course, or you may select your own event, with instructor approval. You may consider using the event you chose to work on in your Perspectives in History class, if that event is something you wish to investigate further through this assessment.

In Project 1, you will develop a plan for an essay on this historical event. The plan will include a brief description of the selected historical event and the resources you will use in your research. In addition, you will identify an audience for your essay and decide how to communicate your information to this audience. In Project 2, you will write an essay analyzing the historical event you selected, examining its impact on society as well as its impact on you personally.

Project 2 addresses the following course outcomes:

 Illustrate the impact of historical thinking on personal and professional experiences  Select appropriate and relevant primary and secondary sources in investigating foundational historic events  Communicate effectively to specific audiences in examining fundamental aspects of human history  Utilize historical evidence in drawing conclusions about the impact of historic events on American society  Apply key approaches to studying history in addressing critical questions related to historical narratives and perspectives

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Prompt Your historical analysis essay should answer the following prompt: Analyze the historical event you selected, using your writing plan as the basis for your analysis. The following critical elements will be assessed in a 4- to 6-page word processing document.

I. Introduction: In this section of your essay, you will introduce your readers to the historical event you selected. Specifically, you should: A. Provide a brief overview of your historical event. For instance, what background information or context does the reader of your essay need? B. Based on your research question, develop a thesis statement that states your claim about the historical event you selected. Your thesis

statement should be clear, specific, and arguable, as it will give direction to the rest of your essay.

II. Body: You will use this section of your essay to provide further detail about your historical event while supporting the claim you made in your thesis statement. Make sure to cite your sources. Specifically, you should:

A. Describe the causes of the historical event. In other words, what were the underlying factors that led to the historical event? Were there any immediate causes that precipitated the event?

B. Illustrate the course of your historical event. In other words, tell the story or narrative of your event. Who were the important participants? What did they do? Why? How do the perspectives of the key participants differ?

C. Describe the immediate and long-term consequences of the historical event for American society. In other words, how did the event impact American society?

D. Discuss the historical evidence that supports your conclusions about the impact of the event on American society. Support your response with specific examples from your sources.

III. Conclusion: In this section of your essay, you will discuss the impact of historical thinking. Specifically, you should: A. Explain why this historical event is important to you personally. In other words, why did you select this event to research? B. Illustrate how your research of the historical event impacted the way you thought about the event. In other words, how did thinking like a

historian change the lens through which you viewed the event? Support your response with specific examples. C. Explain how a historian would pursue further study of your thesis statement. In other words, if a historian were to continue researching your

thesis statement, what would be the future directions or next steps?

IV. Provide a reference list that includes all of the primary and secondary sources you used to investigate your historical event and support your thesis statement. Ensure that your list is formatted according to current APA guidelines (or another format, with instructor permission).

V. Communicate your message in a way that is tailored to your specific audience. For instance, you could consider your vocabulary, your audience’s potential current knowledge of historical events, or lack thereof, and what is specifically important to the audience.

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Project 2 Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Your historical analysis essay should adhere to the following formatting requirements: 4–6 pages, double-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font and one-inch margins. You should use current APA-style guidelines (or another format approved by your instructor) for your citations and reference list.

Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value

Introduction: Overview

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and response expertly balances necessary detail with brevity (100%)

Provides brief overview of historical event (85%)

Provides brief overview of historical event, but with gaps in detail or clarity (55%)

Does not provide brief overview of historical event (0%)

8.6

Introduction: Thesis Statement

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and response demonstrates keen insight into historical event (100%)

Develops clear, specific, and arguable thesis statement that states claim about historical event based on research question (85%)

Develops thesis statement that states claim about historical event, but thesis statement is not based on research question or lacks clarity or specificity or is not arguable (55%)

Does not develop thesis statement that states claim about historical event (0%)

8.6

Body: Causes Meets “Proficient” criteria, and response demonstrates insight into key approaches to studying history (100%)

Describes the causes of historical event, citing source(s) (85%)

Describes the causes of historical event, but with gaps in detail, accuracy, clarity, or citation (55%)

Does not describe the causes of historical event (0%)

8.6

Body: Course Meets “Proficient” criteria, and response demonstrates insight into key approaches to studying history (100%)

Illustrates course of historical event, citing source(s) (85%)

Illustrates course of historical event, but with gaps in detail, accuracy, clarity, or citation (55%)

Does not illustrate course of historical event (0%)

8.6

Body: Consequences Meets “Proficient” criteria, and response demonstrates insight into relationship between historical event and American society (100%)

Describes immediate and long- term consequences of historical event for American society, citing source(s) (85%)

Describes immediate and long- term consequences of historical event for American society, but with gaps in detail, accuracy, clarity, or citation (55%)

Does not describe immediate and long-term consequences of historical event for American society (0%)

8.6

Body: Evidence Meets “Proficient” criteria, and response demonstrates strong understanding of how to use historical evidence in drawing conclusions about the impact of historic events on American society (100%)

Discusses historical evidence that supports conclusions about impact of event on American society, citing source(s) and providing specific examples (85%)

Discusses historical evidence that supports conclusions about impact of event on American society, but with gaps in detail, support, or citation (55%)

Does not discuss historical evidence that supports conclusions about impact of event on American society (0%)

8.6

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Conclusion: Personally

Meets “Proficient” criteria, and explanation demonstrates keen insight into impact of history on personal experiences (100%)

Explains why historical event is important personally (85%)

Explains why historical event is important personally, but with gaps in clarity or detail (55%)

Does not explain why historical event is important personally (0%)

8.6

Conclusion: Research Meets “Proficient” criteria, and response demonstrates insight into relationship between event and historical thinking (100%)

Illustrates how research of historical event impacted thinking about event, supporting response with specific examples (85%)

Illustrates how research of historical event impacted thinking about event, but response has gaps in clarity, detail, or support (55%)

Does not illustrate how research of historical event impacted thinking about event (0%)

8.6

Conclusion: Historian Meets “Proficient” criteria, and response demonstrates understanding of historical thinking (100%)

Explains how a historian would pursue further study of thesis statement (85%)

Explains how a historian would pursue further study of thesis statement but with gaps in clarity, detail, or logic (55%)

Does not explain how a historian would pursue further study of thesis statement (0%)

8.6

Reference List Provides reference list that includes all primary and secondary sources used to investigate historical event and support thesis statement, formatting list according to current APA guidelines (100%)

Provides reference list that includes all primary and secondary sources used to investigate historical event and support thesis statement, but list has gaps in adherence to current APA formatting guidelines (55%)

Does not provide reference list that includes all primary and secondary sources used to investigate historical event and support thesis statement (0%)

8.6

Message Meets “Proficient” criteria, and presentation demonstrates understanding of effectively communicating with specific audiences (100%)

Communicates message effectively in a way that is tailored to specific audience (85%)

Communicates message to audience, but communication is not effective or is not tailored to specific audience (55%)

Does not communicate message to audience (0%)

8.6

Articulation of Response

Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format (100%)

Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization (85%)

Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas (55%)

Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas (0%)

5.4

Total 100%

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