“Song of the Great Blizzard 1888 ‘Thirteen Were Saved’ or ‘Nebraska’s Fearless Maid’ Song and Chorus by Wm. Vincent, published by Lyon & Healy, Chicago”
Read the selection in Portrait of America, by David Laskin, entitled, “Death on the Prairies: The Murderous Blizzard of 1888” on pages 39-49.
Write a well-reasoned essay addressing the following topic:
What factors that day made the death toll from the blizzard higher than would normally be expected for a blizzard?
Your paper must have three distinct parts.
Introduction
In this section, you introduce the reader to the topic being addressed.
This section contains your thesis statement. You must have a clear thesis statement. This is a one-sentence summary of your main point. It is key to
providing structure for the paper.
In this section you should formulate and present a thesis that addresses the assigned topic, do not just restate the assigned topic.
Body
This section contains the information to support your thesis. Evaluate the reading selection and answer the topic, but do not include a summary of the
general knowledge in the entire reading.
Conclusion
This section is a summary of what you have written.
It should be well developed and roughly the same length as your introduction. It should summarize the points you have included in your paper and restate
your thesis. Do not transition into your conclusion with the phrase, “In conclusion,….”
INFORMATION YOU ARE REQUIRED TO CITE
Whenever you use someone’s idea or ideas, whether you use their words or not, you must cite that information to its source. There is no need to cite general
information that can be found in many sources. If you are in doubt, cite the material. There is no problem with over-citing compared to the problem of
plagiarism that occurs when information is not properly cited.
When you use someone else’s words, you must not only cite the information, but you must place the direct quotation in quotation marks.
INFORMATION YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO CITE
You do not need to cite general information. This is information that can be cited in many different sources. For example, the fact that Southwest Tennessee
Community College is located in Memphis, Tennessee would not need to be cited. Another example, the fact that George Washington was the first President
of the United States would not need to be cited. You can find this information, along with other general knowledge, in a large number of sources.
How to Cite Information in your Writing Assignments
Since you are only using one source in this paper, the reading from Portrait of America, when you cite the information all you need to use is the author’s
name, and the appropriate page number(s).
Examples of proper citations for your paper
Direct Quotation
The author wrote, “Here is a good example of a sentence with a direct quotation.” (Jones, 98) Then you begin your next sentence without any punctuation
following the citation.
Indirect Quotation: If you are citing an idea, but are not using the author’s words because you are paraphrasing the material, you should follow the above
example, but the quotation marks are not required.
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