The Industrial Revolution in England.
This paper should be 2-3 pages in length, with an introduction, body and conclusion, printed with Times New Roman size 12 font in WORD format.
ASSIGNMENT TASKS – use ONLY the primary and secondary sources assigned with this paper:
1) Develop a thesis around the question: Was the legislation passed by the British Parliament adequate to resolve the worker’s situation or was the Marxist view a better alternative? [2 points]
2) Place the question under consideration in its historical context – the political and economic ideas & issues of Industrial England in the late 18th & early 19th centuries. [2 points]
3) Discuss at least four (4) the problems and/or conditions the working class of that era had to endure. [4 points]
4) Explain the response by the British government; What issues were addressed? [2 points]
5) Explain the alternate response advocated by Socialist thinkers like Karl Marx. [2 points]
***You may cite your sources by putting the author’s last name or document title in parenthesis at the end of the quote or paraphrase.
6) Don’t forget a conclusion paragraph: have you carried your thesis/argument throughout? Will it convince the reader of your position? [2 points]
7) Proofread your paper: ??? grammatical errors, spelling, capitalization, italics, slang words, sentence & paragraph structure, and above all – does the paper reflect your ability to write a cohesive and coherent college-level essay. [3 points]
GENERAL INSTRUCTION FOR ALL THREE WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS:
1.) Directions for Submitting your DBQ-based Essay: Compose your response to the assignment in the WORD document format. Do not use PDF – I cannot make comments about your paper in that format. My comments are intended to be constructive to help you improve any essay-writing you do in the future. WORD allows me to do that. FYI: Late papers will be penalized.
2.) 2-3 pages in length; include your Name, Course and CRN #; Date; Instructor’s Name and Paper’s title on first page. [top left corner, single spaced.]
3.) 1-inch margins; Double-spaced; Size-12 Times New Roman font
*** Give your paper a descriptive title (something other than “Paper #1”)
I. Introduction paragraph: Here you will introduce, in broad terms, the issue being discussed. The ideal introduction opens with a sentence that grabs your reader’s attention. Your introduction will become more specific as you build toward the last sentence of your opening paragraph, which is the thesis. The thesis is your argument —a debatable claim that you will then proceed to support in the body of your paper. The best way to formulate a strong thesis is to come up with a series of thought-provoking questions as you are reading the documents supplied. Your thesis will be the answer to the assignment task. A good thesis will pique your reader’s interest and require evidence to support it. (You may also refer to, and cite, your text, but you should focus on the primary documents assigned.)
II. Historical Context: After explaining your topic and your argument in the introduction, your next task will be to place the topic in its historical context – discuss the period of time and what was the overall situation in which the subject of your paper took place. [can be included in introduction paragraph.]
III. Building your argument: (several paragraphs making up the bulk of your paper): In the next several paragraphs you will support your thesis using evidence from the documents provided. In the process, you should make clear what the two or various subjects/individuals said about the issue you are considering, and you should make clear what you want to say. A single paragraph should cover a single subtopic, then transition to the next paragraph (and subtopic). Each paragraph should be structured in this way:
…………………….. Topic sentence: This is a sort of mini-thesis for this paragraph, in which you introduce the subtopic this paragraph will cover. Keep in mind here and throughout your writing process that everything in the paper should connect back to your main thesis.
…………………….. Evidence: Your topic sentence will be followed by a few sentences with which you marshal evidence in support of your claim. The strongest evidence is a quotation from the reading. (Be sure to cite your source.) Keep in mind, though, that simply quoting is not enough. It is important to discuss the quotations and explain how they support your own ideas. In addition, carefully select the extent of the quote – too lengthy quotes detract from the point you are making.
……………………… Transition sentence: Here you wrap up the paragraph and shift smoothly to the next paragraph (and subtopic).
IV. Conclusion: Do more here than simply restate your thesis. The conclusion is where you discuss the implications of the debate you have just covered, and make clear the significance of your argument. In other words, you explain to the reader why your paper matters, and why it was worth reading.