For this assignment you are required to write a paper exploring the history of developmental disabilities using the website:“Parallels in Time: A History of Developmental Disabilities” http://mn.g

City College of New York

US Civil Rights Movement, AKA: The Sixties are Just Sexier –

The Modern Civil Rights Movement and Its Legacies

Analytical Essay Guidelines

4 pages, doubled spaced, 12pt font, 1-inch margins

Hard copies due in class on Thursday, 7 March 2019

Choose one of the assigned texts we have covered and select a theme, question, argument, passage, or idea from the text and teach it to me. You should have a clear, arguable (not descriptive) thesis that you support with textual evidence. Responding to your question is a perfectly fine way to begin, especially if nothing is jumping out at you. You may approach the text from one of the points of view we discuss, or you may go at it from another angle. A part of this assignment is determining your own workable approach. You should introduce the topic and thesis (in a short paper, your thesis needs to be in your opening paragraph), support your argument in the body of your essay, and then wrap it up and consider the ramifications of your ideas in the conclusion. The overall idea is to explore and explain your engagement with the text.

A thesis – both in analytical and research papers – should point both the writer and the reader in a definite direction. That is, it should be the clearest, most obvious and unequivocal sign on the proverbial road map. Key words establish the controlling idea of the essay, which limit the focus. The thesis of a research paper should be a general argument, not a fact – which cannot not be substantiated by reasons or evidence (i.e. a description) – that is not too broad or vague. For an analytical essay, your thesis should be a clear, assertive summary of your interpretation of the text. A compelling thesis guides your essay toward the broad goals of academic/expository writing: to illuminate, argue, clarify, solve or challenge ideas, points, insights, problems and/or theories respectively. A strong, focused thesis that makes the main point of your essay – your argument – is the most important sentence in your introduction. Think about the question I asked you of Lee: What is the most important idea that he wants you to understand/take away? Now pose that question of yourself: What is the most important idea I should understand/take away from the text you have selected?

I would prefer you not to do any outside research for this assignment, but if you do, please cite it correctly. You should include a bibliographic entry at the end of your essay and foot- or endnotes whenever you cite the text. If you only include references from the assigned text, after the first citation (the foot- or endnote), in subsequent citations you may just cite the page number (still as a foot- or endnote). If you use multiple texts, after the first citation of each text, in subsequent citations you may cite the author’s last name and the page number. If you have any questions, ask me or consult the Purdue OWL.

ON-LINE WRITING LAB: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

Remember to run spellcheck and proofread. One of the most effective ways of proofreading is having someone (friend, colleague, coworker, family member, significant other) read your essay aloud to you. Be mindful of tense slippages.

Email me ([email protected]) if you have any questions, thoughts, problems, or dramas.