American Republic

Whitaker, 9/15/10

Summer Reading Assignment

Over the summer, in preparation for an exciting year of U.S. history, you were
assigned the task of selecting a book to read from among the following titles; Slavery
By Another Name by Douglas Blackmon, Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine
Drinker Bowen, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, Autobiography of Malcom X by Alex
Haley, Growing Up Ethnic in America by editors Maria Mazzioti & Jennifer Gillian,
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick or The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. Lucky you!

Now it is time for you to share your thoughts with me.

As the books made available to you are all very different, it is difficult for me to pose
an overarching question for you to consider…therefore I will turn that responsibility
over to you.

Here is your challenge—to answer a question so definitively that you need not write
the question at the top of your page. I should be able to determine what you are
answering from the argument you make in your thesis. In other words, I do NOT
wish to read a “book report,” a mere summary of your reading. Ask something
meaningful of your experience.

Please construct an essay that is no more than one page, as I will not read anything
beyond that. Writing a concise essay is a learned skill. An essay is typically 3-5
paragraphs, the first paragraph serving as an introduction and the final as a
conclusion. Please include your thesis statement in your first paragraph (it does not
need to be the opening line, but should be strong enough that it is evidently your
thesis and discernible as such). Include topic sentences to help your transitions
between paragraphs.

This assignment is serving as both a testament to the completion of your summer

reading and as an initial evaluation of your competency as a writer. I expect you will
pay attention to diction, syntax, spelling and grammar.

Due Monday September 20th. Review your blue expectations hand out if you have
any questions about due date policies!