Final Essay In this assignment you will research and produce a polished argumentative essay. The essay must be about the period we are studying (American history from the Ancient period to 1877). The goal of this paper is not for you to describe a historical event to me, but to show how well you can create a thesis, support it with evidence, and reach a logical conclusion. DO NOT just retell events, stories, or lives of important people. INSTEAD, you need to argue something about American history. The essay is worth 20% of your overall grade. You will be graded on the following criteria: Content: 50% - this includes your thesis, supporting evidence, understanding of the past, and how well you are able to create a historical paper. Writing Style 25% - this includes your grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and how well your paper flows. Organization 15% - this includes your essay’s organization, the structure of your paragraphs, and the inclusion of an introduction and conclusion paragraphs, topic sentences, and transitions. Citations 10% - this includes having correct citations in an accepted format. Essay Guidelines: 1. The essay should be 5-7 pages typed, double spaced with one inch margins all around. Use a standard font (Times New Roman or Calibri) size 11 or 12. 2. Avoid using personal, emotional judgements or statements like: In my opinion…, I believe…, or I think… 3. This is not a research paper; you do not have to look at any primary sources. Instead, you only have to find a historical argument and either support or argue against it. You must use secondary sources from a credible source to support your thesis. 4. Keep your paragraphs to a reasonable length; more than five sentences, less than one page. 5. Do not use contractions in a formal paper; for example “won’t,” “isn’t,” and “didn’t” need to be completely spelled out. 6. Check and recheck your spelling and grammar before submitting your paper. Spell check does not cover everything. 7. Direct quotations in your paper must always have quotation marks and must be credited with a proper citation. Quotations should not be an entire sentence or stand alone. You need to introduce your quotations, a good example would look like this: In his political campaign, Barack Obama argues, “Jon McCain votes with President Bush 90% of the time.” (author, page #) 8. Include a works cited page at the end of your paper. You can use Turabian (Chicago Style) footnotes if you know how, otherwise use MLA format. 9. Do not use a folder or plastic report cover. You may use a title page if you so choose, but you must include your title, course title, and name. 10. You have plenty of time to complete this assignment, so late papers will be penalized if they are turned in any time after class on the due date. 11. Make sure you have a topic sentence that connects your paragraph to your thesis. All examples and paragraphs must support your thesis. Any plagiarism will result in an automatic failing grade on the assignment and further action may be taken.