The scratch of a pen
For your first paper, you will write a five-page essay addressing the following question from The Scratch of a Pen:
In 1763, what new factors pushed Indigenous peoples to join Pan-Indian movements such as Pontiac’s War (consider issues such as the “Middle Ground” in your answer)? What new factors pushed Indigenous peoples into new wars against one another (consider the westward movement of Indian Nations as well as events in Louisiana)? Why didn’t the Pan-Indian efforts succeed?
Your paper should include an introduction with a thesis statement, detailed evidence from the book, and a conclusion. When quoting from the book, be sure to use quotation marks and cite the page number in parenthesis. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade and possibly a “0” on the paper.
Your essays must be typed, double-spaced, and carefully proofread. Please use one-inch margins and 12 pt., Times New Roman font. You will not need a title page. The final papers you turn in should be polished essays, not rough drafts. They should be thoughtfully organized and free of basic grammatical and spelling errors.
Your essay will be graded holistically based upon the following rubric:
A: The essay exceeds expectations and demonstrates an exceptional understanding of the book, The Scratch of a Pen, and other relevant course material. The content of the essay is historically accurate and reveals an excellent understanding of the themes, topics, and events covered by the course and of historical concepts such as change over time, chronological thinking, and cause and effect. The essay effectively answers all components of the question using specific examples (evidence) from The Scratch of a Pen. It is well organized: the introduction clearly states the thesis, topic sentences refer back to the overall argument and provide transition between paragraphs, and the conclusion explores the significance of the topic. The argument is compelling, offers original insight, and is strongly supported by evidence from the book. The essay is polished and free of grammatical and spelling errors.
B: The essay exceeds expectations and demonstrates a very good understanding of the book, The Scratch of a Pen, and other relevant course material. The content of the essay is historically accurate and reveals a capable understanding of the themes, topics, and events covered by the course and of historical concepts such as change over time, chronological thinking, and cause and effect. The essay effectively answers all components of the question using specific examples (evidence) from The Scratch of a Pen. It is well organized: the introduction states the thesis, topic sentences refer back to the overall argument and provide transition between paragraphs, and the conclusion explores the significance of the topic. The examples from the book effectively support the argument. The essay is well written and free of grammatical and spelling errors.
C: The essay meets expectations and demonstrates an adequate understanding of the book, The Scratch of a Pen, and the relevant course material. The content of the essay is historically accurate, with few errors, and reveals a competent understanding of the themes, topics, and events covered by the course and of historical concepts such as change over time, chronological thinking, and cause and effect. The essay answers all components of the question using at least some examples (evidence) from The Scratch of a Pen. It has an introduction that states the thesis and an identifiable conclusion. The examples from the book support the argument. The paper is nicely written and contains few grammatical mistakes.
D: The essay is below expectations and demonstrates an inadequate understanding of the book, The Scratch of a Pen, and the relevant course material. It displays little understanding of historical concepts such as change over time, chronological thinking, and cause and effect, and it contains significant historical inaccuracies. The essay fails to address the question in its entirety and includes no specific examples from the book. Furthermore, it is not well organized: it lacks either an introduction or a conclusion, and the paragraphs are not organized under topic sentences that logically flow from one to the next. The paper is not grammatically correct and needs to be edited.
F: The essay is unacceptable and shows little understanding of the book, The Scratch of a Pen, and the relevant course material. Historical concepts such as change over time, chronological thinking, and cause and effect are missing from the paper, which also contains major historical inaccuracies. It fails to address the question on even a basic level and includes no specific examples from the book. The essay has no argument and lacks structure. It is not grammatically correct and needs to be edited.
Points will be determined by the following rubric:
Content – 50/100 points (The content of the essay is historically accurate and demonstrates an excellent understanding of the themes, topics, and events covered by the course and of historical concepts such as change over time, chronological thinking, and cause and effect. The argument is convincing and supported by appropriate evidence.)
Organization – 30/100 points (The introduction has a strong thesis statement, and topic sentences refer back to the argument and provide transition between paragraphs. The conclusion answers the “so what?” question.)
Editing – 20/100 points (The essay is polished and free of grammatical and spelling errors.)
