HIS 20
Order Description
Paper #2: Harriet Noble, “A Woman in the Westward Movement.”
For the second document analysis assignment please read “A Woman in the Westward Movement” By Harriet Noble (1824) in Voices of Freedom, pp.172-175. This is an account by Harriet Noble of the hardships that she faced when she and her family of pioneers made their way from New York to Michigan not long after the War of 1812.
In your analysis and interpretation please answer the following questions::
What motivates Harriet Noble to express her view of the hardships she and her family endured in their journey from New York to Michigan? What is her message? Who is her intended audience?
What kinds of hardships does Harriet describe during their journey, especially for the women? In what ways does the experience of a pioneer woman in the West challenge traditional American gender roles established in the Eastern states? In other words, what does she mean when she writes that her experiences have placed her outside of the “legitimate sphere” of women in early nineteenth-century America? Does her experience represent a positive change for women? Why or why not?
The paper must include the following:
A title.
A thesis statement and an argument. Do not simply summarize or describe the document. Provide an analysis of its meaning and significance. In other words, form an interpretation of the document.
Evidence from the text to support your thesis statement, the evidence must come from the text itself.
Citations, in-text or footnotes or endnotes
A bibliography containing references to texts that you used specifically in your paper, and also texts that you consulted but did not necessarily use or refer to in your paper.
In addition, your paper must have the following format:
single-sided, 500-750 words (a minimum of 2 pages, roughly, 2-3 pages).
10 or 12-point readable font
double-spaced
1? margins
Page numbers must appear on every page except for the first
Include your name, course and section number, and date on the first page (or title page).
Include your name in the header of each page.
STAPLE all of your pages together.
The paper will be graded according to the following rubric:
Conceptual (interpretation, comprehension, understanding) 15%
Thesis Statement (arguable, manageable, concise, specific) 20%
Development (argument, evidence, logic, persuasiveness) 20%
Structure (paragraph organization, transitions) 5%
Language (clarity, vocabulary, spelling, grammar) 5%
Citations (appropriate, correct style, accurate) 15%
Bibliography (correct style, accurate) 10%
Format (page length, single-sided, double-spaced, 1? margins, page numbers, 10-12 pt. font) 10%
Total 100%
It is absolutely imperative that your paper contains citations of the sources used and that the citations are correct. Even though citations are worth 15% of the total grade of the paper, any paper without citations will earn an automatic grade of ?F? for the assignment. You must cite your sources.
Other tips:
Start your paper early. Don?t wait until the night before the paper is due to begin writing.
Always write more than one rough draft. The more drafts you write, the better your paper will be.
Always proofread your paper one final time after you have run a spell check in your word processor.
Make sure that you have a reliable printer available, and that you give yourself plenty of time to print before the paper is due. That way you can handle any techincal problems that you may encounter (no ink, no paper, etc.)
