A good essay should answer the question directly, display a complex knowledge of African American history, and
provide specific evidence from a variety of secondary and primary sources.
You should plan on writing at least four pages for each answer. Use a normal font, normal margins, and double-
spacing. You don’t need a title page. Just write your name, the date, and the essay number in an upper corner.
Essay Guidelines
A good essay should answer the question directly, display a complex knowledge of African American history, and
provide specific evidence from a variety of secondary and primary sources.
You should plan on writing at least four pages for each answer. Use a normal font, normal margins, and double-
spacing. You don’t need a title page. Just write your name, the date, and the essay number in an upper corner.
You must use a blend of multiple primary and secondary sources for each essay. It is absolutely critical to use
these sources as evidence. You should be reading this evidence critically and placing your various Sources In
conversauon
Make sure that each essay displays a logical organization.
Your first paragraph should contain your thesis statement. The thesis statement IS one, two, or even three
sentences that answer the question as specifcally as possible.
Your body paragraphs should be organized by subject. A good topie sentence helps clue your reader about
the subject of that paragraph, and it allows the reader to follow your logic as you answer the whole
auestion.
In those body paragraphs, you should provide evidence from the essays in Four Hundred Souls and from
the primary source documents that best help you answer the question.
Your conclusion paragraph should restate your argument and reinforce the connections that you have made
throughout the essay.
Cite your sources in your essay.
After vou use a quotation or cite a specific idea from either a secondarv or primarv source, cite it with a
tootnote (On Microsoft Word, go to “References” and then click “Insert Footnote”).
You can cite it just as it is listed in the syllabus, For example:
Kai Wright, “The Virginia Slave Codes,” 77-81
Rose Davis court records from 1715, Canvas
If you are really and truly unable to use footnotes, you can use parenthetical citations. But we will judge
you for it..
Pay attention to issues of writing style. Write clearly!
Avoid self-referential constructions such as: “I believe that DuBois….” or “This essay will prove that
DuBois…
* Instead, write it directly.
Avoid sentence fragments, run-on sentences, or slangy or informal language. A void any sentence that does
not sound correct when read aloud.
Avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is the use of another person’s words without using quotations and citing and the sources
Option B: In the early part of the 20* century, in the era of Jim Crow and the Great Migration, how did
African Americans put forth different strategies for Black advancement? Accounting for different political
ideas, cultural viewpoints, and regional variations, explain how African Americans defined their freedom.
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