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Essay Assignment Prompt – Huntington – WOH 2001
This being our first assignment, it will be relatively straight forward and more descriptive than argumentative in nature. Having read “The Clash of Civilizations?” what you will need to do for this essay is the following:
First, you will need to locate and describe Huntington’s main thesis clearly. Place this in the introduction where you would otherwise have a thesis statement. To make this a well-rounded introduction make sure you acknowledge that there are critiques of his argument. You will want to include a few words upfront to introduce Huntington and a few words when appropriate to introduce David Brooks. That is the only thing you are allowed to use outside sources for. Keep the introductions to these figures very short (a few relevant words) and be sure to cite your source. *Please note, that if I see references to the arguments in Huntington’s book by the same title, rather than the article I assigned, I will deduct significant points even if you can prove that you read the book!
Second, give your reader a sense of how the author defines a civilization and the number and type of (as in what sort of) “civilizations” he sees the world being divided into. I recommend you do this in the first paragraph on the body.
Third, you will need to locate and describe all of Huntington’s sub-arguments which are used to support his main argument.
Fourth, to accurately assess Huntington’s argument, I have assigned a short article (2 pages) by David Brooks titled “Huntington’s Clash Revisited.” Take a paragraph to discuss Brooks’ most salient criticisms of Huntington’s argument (where he thinks Huntington erred.)
Fifth, mention in a short paragraph your own thoughts on Huntington’s argument
Finally, revisit the big argument Huntington makes, acknowledge lack of universal acceptance, and give a final judgement.
Things to keep in mind:
I do not require you to include a bibliography as we are dealing with two shared sources and the online sources you need to introduce Huntington and Brook. However, I do want you to use footnotes for citation in Turabian style and include page numbers (first reference to material must be a full citation.)
Essay length should be between four and five pages.
Use 12 pt. easily readable print-style fonts (like courier for example but choice is yours), double space sentences, and utilize normal (Word default) 1-inch margins.
Read the material, including prompt, very carefully. Be sure to contact us early with any questions you might have so that we can help guide you.
Recall you can ask for assistance from me and from your TA. Let me also urge you to use the history tutors’ services available for free and through the FIU history department. History tutoring also offers virtual appointments.
Rather than grading you on your original thesis statement in the Introduction, you will be graded on how well you have summarized and described Huntington’s main argument/thesis and acknowledged presence of critiques. I advise you keep your introduction short. The challenge is designing a concise but comprehensive thesis statement that covers the essence of Huntington’s argument and acknowledging voice like
You will then be graded on how well you describe each successive sub-argument presented by Huntington to support his main argument. Points will be deducted for each missed or badly explained sub-argument. You must clearly explain each of those sub-arguments and explain and how they connect/support his main argument. As always, quality of writing (grammar: spelling, word choice, syntax…) will affect the grade. We will certainly consider whether quote the article and cite it (in Turabian/Chicago style) as necessary.
If you are unfamiliar with the Turabian/Chicago style, please refer to the guide provided by our library.
http://libguides.fiu.edu/c.php?g=159885&p=1048013Links to an external site. and the “style guide” I included in Module 3
Essays will be Assessed on the Following Criteria:
1) Quality of introduction and thesis statement which you craft in response to the question: A thesis statement as you should be aware, is a succinct statement that usually comes at the very end of your introduction and posits your argument. Basically, you will be assessed on how well you explain the argument you are presenting in your paper, or in some cases how well you describe the arguments in the reading or readings you have been assigned (depending on directions in prompt)
2) Quality of supporting evidence: You will be assessed on how well you use relevant quotations and appropriate material from assigned readings, text, and lectures to support your argument; and on whether you cite that material properly. In this class we will be using what is known as the Chicago or Turabian style in order to format our citations. NOTE: Failure to use assigned material will result in vert poor or failing grade all other things considered.
3) Organization of Paper: You will be assessed on how well you organize your narrative in support of your argument. In short, does your narrative progress logically and in a way that supports your thesis/argument and leaves the reader convinced of how right you are!
4) Quality of writing. YES, quality of writing is crucial. Recall this is not a literature composition but an analytical essay. Write clearly and succinctly. Doing otherwise could result in failure!
Quality of Intro and Thesis Statement
a- Is there a clear and succinct thesis statement the presents Huntington’s ‘hypothesis’ and acknowledges that there are critiques.
b-Is thesis positioned correctly in introduction (at the end)
c-Does any part of introduction create ambiguity as to what Huntington’s main argument is and as to what the prompt has asked them to discuss.
Quality of Supporting Evidence
a- Student engages both articles – (only partial credit given for superficial engage)
b- Student quotes and uses where appropriate the most relevant of what we could describe as ‘technical’ terminology utilized by authors (phrases such as ‘clash of civilizations,’ ‘civilization consciousness,’ ‘identity commitment,’ ‘fundamental attribution error’….)
c- Student appropriately uses quotation marks and understands the need to integrate quotes in sentence and paragraph.
d- Student demonstrates understanding of what they are quoting.
e- Student cites material appropriately using Turabian style in the footnotes (
Organization of Paper
a- Student addresses every part of prompt.
b- Student uses paragraphs to appropriately organize the narrative and clearly delineates the topic of each paragraph (topic statement) and retains clarity throughout
c- Student transitions smoothly between paragraphs (using transitional statements where necessary) and not leave reader wondering ‘why are we discussing this sub-topic here?’
d- Student has a proper conclusion that revisits thesis and expounds on it (6pts)
Quality of Writing
a- Word Choice (words used in appropriate context)
b- Grammatical mistakes (verb usage, preposition usage, possessive usage…)
c-Sentence Clarity! Are words and phrases well-arranged (proper syntax) do they create a well-formed sentence?
d-Sufficient Original Content
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