Assignment Question
The evaluation will be limited to two pages. Normal page margins (1-inch) will be used and text size will be 12-pt., double-spaced. Only include your name at the top of the page. 2) The evaluation will include three sections: a. Author’s argument b. Support for Argument c. Evaluation and conclusion 3) The author’s argument should encompass the overall argument of the book. Why did the author write the book? What major point was the author trying to make to the reader? The author’s argument should be stated in broad terms. 4) When writing the Support for Argument section, the student should be very concise in their writing. Take the author’s argument and explain how the author supported that argument in the book. Don’t retell parts of the book. This section requires you to look at the big picture and determine the author’s overall approach to convincing the reader of their argument. Also make sure to include information relating to the primary and secondary source materials the author used to write the book. Did he/she use other books? Documents? Newspapers? Personal papers/diaries? Understanding the author’s sources helps to determine the author’s point of view or bias. 5) The final section, Evaluation and Conclusion, requires the student to evaluate whether or not the author’s writing convinced you of their argument. This section should be brief, concise, and leave no doubt in a reader’s mind as to the value of the book. Is it a valuable book for a college or high school history class? Is it appropriate for someone who wanted a greater understanding about a particular topic? The written book evaluation should be limited to two pages. If, after writing your paper, it is longer than two pages, you must edit the paper to tighten the narrative and limit the writing to your strongest arguments and statements. In order to fully complete the assignment, your paper should not be shorter than one page. Keys to writing a good evaluation: 1) Write in an objective tone and avoid using the first person (I, me, my, etc.) 2) Talk about the historical significance of the writing and not the literary nature of the writing. In other words, avoid talking about the author’s “tone” or “word choice.” 3) Make sure you look at the materials that the author used to write the book. That means look at the footnotes/endnotes. There is often a list of the primary and secondary sources used by the author placed at the end of the book. Are those sources credible? Did the author use more primary sources (diaries, letters, newspapers, official documents, etc.) than secondary sources (books written by someone else on the topic)? 4) Make sure to write using paragraphs. If you struggle writing, run your paper through Grammerly or some other software program that checks your spelling and grammar. If you don’t have access to some type of writing software, ask someone to read your paper and point out any places where your writing doesn’t make sense or creates questions in the reader’s mind. 5) This isn’t a personal reflection paper. Imagine that you are reading the book and giving your thoughts to a professor as to whether or not the book is a good read for a history course. Where does it fit in the course? What are the book’s strengths? What are it’s weaknesses?
