African American Studies Essays
Please read the attachment and rubric carefully and let me know if you have any questions!
AASP 201 – African American History and Culture – Fall 2020 Test 2
Part One: Identifications (10 points each; 100 points total)
This section requires you to write short answers to each identification question. There are 20 identification questions from which you will choose ten to do for this test. Each response is worth 10 points each. Each answer must address the 5 areas listed below. Answers should be no more than one paragraph in length (5-6 sentences):
a) Identify the individual named, the author, the instigator, the event, and/or other key groups of people (2 points)
b) Discuss what the identification term or name is about (2 points)
c) Describe when the identification term occurred (2 points)
d) Describe where it occurred (2 points)
e) Explain why it affected the lives of African Americans (2 points)
From this list, pick TEN items to identify:
1. The Thirteenth Amendment
2. The Fourteenth Amendment
3. The Fifteenth Amendment
4. The Freedmen’s Bureau
5. Atlanta Compromise Speech (1895)
6. “The Red Record”
7. The Souls of Black Folk
8. Tuskegee Institute
9. Plessy v. Ferguson
10. Bill of Rights
11. Paul Laurence Dunbar
12. Jim Crow imagery: The Brute
13. Fisk University Singers
14. The Mis-Education of the Negro
15. “Red Summer”
16. The Great Migration
17. “The Upward Path”
18. NAACP Response to “Birth of a Nation”
19. “The New Negro”
20. “Let America Be America Again”
(Test Continues on Next Page)
Part Two: Essay (100 points)
Students are required to answer one out of two essay questions. The essay portion must be 4 pages in length, double-spaced, numbered, include 1-inch margins, and use 12-point Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman font. Aim for 1,000-1,200 words.
Use MLA, APA, or Chicago citation style throughout the essay, ending with a Works Cited, References, or Bibliography page. Indicate at the start of your essay which style you are using.
Select one of these two topics for your essay:
1) From the end of the Civil War until 1935, African Americans faced many challenges in getting an education.
A) What were the main challenges and how did educational leaders in the African American community find ways to circumvent them?
B) What would you claim are the three most long-lasting or significant advancements of African American education between 1865-1935.
2) The dominant white culture set up negative stereotypes about African Americans that permeated every aspect of black people’s creative and social lives (see https://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/). Nevertheless, African Americans began to develop their own styles, voices, and messages through music, literature, film, dance and the visual arts.
A) What made that cultural development possible between 1865-1935?
B) What did people like W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, Carter G. Woodson, Langston Hughes, and Alain Locke do and write to support “Negro Arts”?
C) What creative efforts would you claim exemplify the development of a black cultural world view?
The essay will include three main parts: Thesis/Introduction, Examples and Evidence, and a Conclusion.
The Introduction section should clearly state the thesis within the first 1-2 paragraphs. The thesis must be relevant and appropriate to the argument and demonstrate an accurate and complete understanding of the question. This section should make it clear which question you are answering, and it should be free of grammar and spelling errors.
The Examples and Evidence section (2-3 pages) should incorporate pertinent details from Week 3 and 4 readings, but you may also use outside readings from appropriate and academic sources. The section must provide relevant historical evidence to support the thesis. It should maintain focus and avoid sidetracking. It should present and develop your answer to the question clearly and concisely in an organized manner and it should be free of grammar and spelling errors.
The Conclusion section should be in the last part of your essay within the last 1-2 paragraphs. It should briefly restate the thesis and summarize the main points, and also demonstrate insight and historical understanding. The conclusion should be free of grammar and spelling errors.
Page with full citations of the resources used in the essay.
Scoring rubric for the essay portion:
Criteria
Mechanics – 10 points (5 criteria):
4 double-spaced pages in length; pages are numbered; 1-inch margins included; 12-point Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman font used; a cover page with identifying information included
All 5 criteria are present with 0-1 error = 9-10 points
4 of 5 criteria are present OR all 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors = 8 points
3 of 5 criteria are present OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors = 7 points
2 of 5 criteria are present OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors = 6 points
0 or 1 of 5 criteria are present OR 2 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with more than 7 errors = 5 points
Citations – 10 points (5 criteria):
In-text & Works Cited page included; MLA-style used; selected sources are appropriate to the topic; citations support assertions made in the essay; footnotes/endnotes used in each instance where detailed explanations would distract from the argument
All 5 criteria are present with 0-1 error = 9-10 points
4 of 5 criteria are present OR all 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors = 8 points
3 of 5 criteria are present OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors = 7 points
2 of 5 criteria are present OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors = 6 points
0 or 1 of 5 criteria are present OR 2 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with more than 7 errors = 5 points
Thesis/Introduction – 10 points (5 criteria):
Clearly stated within the first 1-2 paragraphs; relevant & appropriate to the argument; demonstrated an accurate & complete understanding of the question(s); did more than restate the question(s) & offer a brief response; free of grammar & spelling errors
All 5 criteria are present with 0-1 error = 9-10 points
4 of 5 criteria are present OR all 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors = 8 points
3 of 5 criteria are present OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors = 7 points
2 of 5 criteria are present OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors = 6 points
0 or 1 of 5 criteria are present OR 2 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with more than 7 errors = 5 points
Argument – 60 points (5 criteria)
Incorporated pertinent details from assigned coursework & outside readings when permitted; provided relevant historical evidence to support the thesis & key claims in the argument as needed; maintained focus & avoided being sidetracked; presented answer clearly & concisely in an organized manner; 2-3 pages in length and free of grammar and spelling errors
All 5 criteria are present with 0-1 error = 54-60 points
4 of 5 criteria are present OR all 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors = 48-53 points
3 of 5 criteria are present OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors = 42-47 points
2 of 5 criteria are present OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors = 36-41 points
0 or 1 of 5 criteria are present OR 2 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with more than 7 errors = 35 points
Conclusion – 10 points (5 criteria)
Clearly stated within the last 1-2 paragraphs; briefly restated the thesis; summarized the main points of the argument; demonstrated insight & understanding regarding the question(s); free of grammar & spelling errors
All 5 criteria are present with 0-1 error = 9-10 points
4 of 5 criteria are present OR all 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors = 8 points
3 of 5 criteria are present OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors = 7 points
2 of 5 criteria are present OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors = 6 points
0 or 1 of 5 criteria are present OR 2 of 5 criteria are present with 2-3 errors OR 3 of 5 criteria are present with 4-5 errors OR 4 of 5 criteria are present with 6-7 errors OR all 5 criteria are present with more than 7 errors = 5 points