Writing+Tips

To succeed on writing assignments and papers for this course you should: When proofreading your work follow these rules: All papers must be submitted in Times New Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins all around, and double-spaced. Pages must be numbered and stapled in order. Quotes over four lines long should be indented one inch on the left, one-half inch on the right and must be single-spaced. Papers that fail to follow these instructions will be graded down by 1/3rd of a letter grade, i.e. from a B+ to a B. Ideas are not independent of their expression. Until you master these rules and customs your writing will be less clear and less persuasive than it should be. Clarity and expression will be evaluated along with the quality of your ideas and evidence in all writing assignments for this course. Failure to follow these writing guidelines will result in a lower grade. Remember, we will work and learn together. This, however, does not mean you are not held accountable for completing your assignments. Allen, Michael. “The Vietnam War: HI 451/599V paper addendum.” 2006. //Microsoft Word// file. // The Purdue OWL //. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2008. Web. 27 Dec. 2008.
 * African American Studies: Helpful hints **
 * ** Make an argument. ** Develop an answer to the question. You should be able to articulate the answer in a single thesis sentence. Answer the question in your thesis; do not simply restate it.
 * ** Argue from evidence. ** Prove your argument with details and quotations from course readings. Build your argument from evidence and provide only the best evidence to back up the claims you make.
 * ** Always footnote ** all ideas, evidence and words that are not your own in order to avoid plagiarism and to show those reading your work the source of your information. **//Plagiarism will not be tolerated.//** When in doubt about whether to footnote, always footnote!
 * ** Cite your Sources. ** Historians use Chicago Style; therefore, as aspiring historians, we will use Chicago. Visit the following site for assistance [].
 * ** Omit needless words. ** Wordiness is confusing. This does not mean your sentences should be short, but make certain every word you use is necessary.
 * ** Use active verbs. ** Active verbs make sentences direct and clarify meaning. “The Republicans nominated George Bush in 2004” is clearer than “In 2004, George Bush was nominated by the Republican party.”
 * ** Write in the past tense. ** When describing events that took place in the past, you should always use past tense.
 * ** Avoid personification. ** Never discuss nations or social groups as if they were a single entity. For instance, “African Americans hoped for…” suggests that every African American felt the same way regarding a specific event, which is never true. Instead, identify specific persons or groups as historical actors, i.e. “laborers” or “women” or “sharecroppers.”
 * ** Avoid the indefinite “you.” ** Never use the pronoun “you” to refer to your reader or to humanity in general in formal writing.
 * ** Avoid the editorial and patriotic “we.” ** You were not alive during most of the periods we will discuss in class, therefore, it is incorrect to use “we” when discussing past actions of other Americans.
 * ** Avoid contractions. ** Contractions are not proper in formal prose.
 * Formatting: **
 * Why: **