- 16 Mar, 2021
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- 4 Mins Read
Analyze the content of the chapter
Pick a chapter from chapter 4 to chapter 10 and do a review. PLEASE USE PARENTHESES ” ” WHEN QUOTING THE BOOK. THE ONLY SOURCE YOU CAN USE IS THE BOOK. To get to the book go to midmichbookstore.redshelf.com username is ghorn@midmich.edu password is student623
This assignment is to write a paper reviewing ONE of the textbook chapters. Each of the three prompts explained below should form the basis of your review.
1)Analyze the content of the chapter. What are the most important historical ideas, trends, processes, movements, events, and/or individuals being discussed? First, think broadly here. The chapter likely contains a plethora of the above, but what are the major, most important, broad topics noted in the chapter? Second, delve a bit deeper into the content, while not getting bogged down in every single detail. For example, if one of the major topics of the chapter is the ratification of the Constitution, what do the authors state about that topic? Although there is no science in determining the exact length or breadth of your analysis of each major topic, a fine benchmark could be one solid paragraph per topic. Headings and sub-headings throughout the chapter might help you in crafting in written form a detailed, but not overly tedious assessment of each chapter topic. In sum, a major focus of your review must address the chapter content.
2)Analyze the format/layout/resources of the chapter. Is the chapter simply a bunch of pages of written text narrating past events? Or are there images and maps? Primary sources, i.e. firsthand accounts of history from someone who witnessed the events stated by the textbook authors? Are there terms, review questions, summaries, or other resources to facilitate your learning? In sum, this part of your review should address the chapter in terms of the ways in which it presents opportunities for your learning.
3)Analyze the quality of the chapter. In your view, is the content presented clearly? Are the modes of learning provided helpful? Try to go beyond simply stating “the chapter was boring,” which is a childish criticism, unworthy of an educated person. It is okay to not be interested in the chapter content, but evaluate the content based on how it is presented, not merely on your biases.
The main piece of advice for this kind of assignment is to note that you are writing a review, not a summary. If it is helpful, think of this review like you would a film review. In such a case, you would not merely summarize the film, you would hopefully critically analyze it. Did you like the film? Love it? Not like it? Why? This is essentially what you are expected to do for the chapter reviews, using the three prompts provided in the instructions as the basis for crafting the content of your review paper.
Here’s an important difference between a summary and a review, especially when addressing the first prompt. Let’s assume I am writing on the American Revolution. A SUMMARY would read like this: “The American Revolution was caused by long and short term conflicts between the British government and the English colonists in North America. Examples of long term conflicts are… Examples of short term conflicts are…”; a REVIEW should read like this: “Chapter X devotes significant coverage to the causes of the American Revolution. The authors argue that long and short term conflicts between the British government and the English colonists in North America contributed to the American Revolution. The chapter discusses several long term conflicts, such as… The chapter also discusses short term conflicts, such as…” See the difference? A review includes summarizing as part of its content, but is not the entirety of the content, as it should also refer explicitly to the textbook chapter.
You choose which textbook chapter you will review for each review paper. The only restrictions are that, obviously, you cannot review the same chapter twice, and that Chapter 1 is not an option. I also recommend reviewing a chapter you covered in a recent discussion post, for familiarity’s sake. However, the chapter choices for the reviews are yours. Hopefully this will allow you to evaluate chapters that you are interested in.
Although your work will be evaluated primarily on its content, it will also be evaluated on its “form,” i.e. its grammar, clarity, organization, and formatting. Your review should be 500-1200 words, typed, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-pt font, in Times New Roman, and be submitted in Google docs, Word, or PDF format. It is important that your review is proofread and organized; I don’t have a preference regarding how you organize your review, as long as it is organized. Do not write one 4-page paragraph.
Citations are needed only when you paraphrase or use direct quotes from the chapter. When you do so, please use a parenthetical citation, which means including the page number(s) in parentheses at the end of the sentence you are paraphrasing or direct quoting.
Example: “blah, blah, blah (77).”
No title page, Works Cited page, or footnotes are necessary. No outside sources are permitted; using any outside sources will result in a 0 on the review. If you use an outside source on multiple assignments, I will strongly consider failing you in the course.