EXAM PREPARATION
(for the midterm and final in-class bluebook exams as well as the take-home essay assignment)

In today’s world there is a premium placed on writers who can develop sound arguments and make persuasive cases through the written word.  In the academic world argumentative essay writing is among the most common of assignments, and mastering the art of the persuasive argument will make you a more successful student. The argumentative essay means taking a position on a matter in a well structured, well reasoned, and well supported essay. 

Related Links:  The Three Parts of a History Paper    Writing an argumentative essay   Grading Rubric   Greater (lesser) truth    Class note taking

GUIDELINES
__ Please use a PEN (simply cross-out mistakes) and BLUEBOOK (write on front & back; don't skip lines; leave margins & inside cover empty for comments; don't tear out pages).
__ You are allowed ONE SHEET (two pages) OF NOTES [8 & 1/2 x 11 inch sheet] for the exam based on class note taking and your comprehension & use of key points from the assigned reading.  If you CHEAT beyond this be prepared for the consequences.  
__ Answer ONE from the two choices following the Grading Rubric guidelines where you will be evaluated based on form/style (e.g., thesis statement, grammar & spelling, etc.) and content/substance (e.g., depth of analysis, use of your assigned reading, etc.)
__ The instructor reserves a TWO WEEK RETURN period from when you turned in your work to return it (I too get to have a life). 

First line of your essay:  The "greater truth" of the ______ debate is ... [this way there is immediate clarity for the writer & reader what this argumentative essay is about]

<< Structure your essay metaphorically speaking in the shape of an hourglass that has three parts (Three Parts of a History Paper), with your introduction presenting the larger picture; the middle paragraphs for specifics from class & your assigned reading, and the conclusion again returning to the larger context of the debate. 

The introduction of your argumentative essay requires the following items:
> Define the concept of greater (lesser) truth (so it makes sense to an outsider reader)
> What are the key defining issues of this debate (most debates involve various issues or perspectives--whether you want to meld these together or address them in separate parts is up to you--so familiarize the reader with the broader issues involved in the debate).  Having introduced aspects of the debate your position now makes sense in context.
> General introduction of assigned sources you will use to make your case (author's names not book titles or such until later).
WRITING IS THE MIRROR OF THE MIND.  When you want to see what you look like, you look in the mirror.  But where do you look to see what is in your mind? A reflection of what is in your mind, visible to yourself and others, is what you write. 

If your writing is clear, then it shows that your thinking is clear; the converse is also true as unclear writing reveals unclear thinking. 

Writing is the means of clarifying and refining our thinking. The mere process of writing out our thoughts compels us to have to clarify and structure our thinking.  That is why the Department of History requires that a majority of your grade be based on essay exams with the overall intent to clarify our thinking on historical issues specifically and improving our thinking skills generally.

Why essay exams?  They are a useful tool for finding out if you can sort through a large body of information, figure out what is important, and explain why it is important. Essay exams challenge you to come up with key course ideas and put them in your own words and to use the interpretive or analytical skills you've practiced in the course.  Instructors want to see whether:
> You understand concepts that provide the basis for the course
> You can use those concepts to interpret specific materials
> You can make connections, see relationships, draw comparisons and contrasts
> You can synthesize diverse information in support of an original assertion
> You can justify your own evaluations based on appropriate criteria
> You can argue your own opinions with convincing evidence
> You can think critically and analytically about a subject

For more about how to write an effective essay, click on Argumentative essay

DR. Y's TEACHING APPROACH

THE FACTOID & INQUIRY APPROACHES TO HISTORY.  I understand that how I have chosen to approach this course is problematical for some students.  Briefly, there are two ways to approach the teaching of history:  the factoid and inquiry approaches.  The factoid is about finding the answers, whereas the inquiry is about ascertaining the facts but going beyond that to learn how to ask questions. I proceed with the premise that BOTH are necessary.  Nevertheless, some students misconstrue my position as revealed in student comments that state "you seem to be quite against teaching "any" fact-based history?" or Dr. Y "doesn't teach facts, but how to learn, so it's kinda lame." 

I follow the sentiment voiced by James Loewen who declares that "history is not a fixed story students have to swallow but a way of thinking they can apply to life."  If history will ever move from being something ornamental to something useful, then we have to be able to find a way to look beyond the mere acquisition of a list of facts. 

Without facts (evidence/recorded facts/dates/names--call it what you will) history is impossible.  Evidence is the difference between history and the past.  Unfortunately, the trap that some fall into is to think that once you have a pile of facts now you know history and then you stop there.  Thus they settle for the limited definition of the task of the historian as beginning and ending with being only a detective.  What about the historian as judge?  What about the historian as philosopher?  What about the historian as storyteller?  These too are essential to our practice.

 
The college goal is to impart higher-order skills (see image).  Here we must challenge ourselves to go beyond just the facts.  What B and A students understand is that they cannot stop just with a list of facts.  Most people with ordinary intelligence can memorize a list of facts.  What sets one apart as above-average [B grade] or excellent [A grade] is the realization that one must go beyond the facts to explore their significance.  In other words, NO inquiry, NO thinking. 

I cite Michael Shermer (author of Why Do People Believe Weird Things) who argued that sometimes, the answer is simple and right in front of you, BUT most of the time in history it is more complicated than that.  SUPPRESS your natural desire (Brain Trick) to have just the answers (facts).  Challenge yourself to rethink how you understand the practice of history.  College is not just about finding answers, it is about learning how to ask questions.  If it works, college is about learning and re-learning how to think more clearly and logically.  If it works, college is about challenging you to see and understand how different people go about putting together their own versions of the truth.  If it works, college is about challenging you to learn how to ask better questions.  That's the primary difference between a Liberal Arts education and a trade school.  At a trade schools you get the answers; here we go after working out answers for ourselves. If we learn how to do that, then we've moved from being just smart onto the path toward wisdom.

 
FOCUSED "LEADING QUESTIONS" vs. OPEN-ENDED "EXAM PROMPTS"

Many history essay questions can be structured as followed to lead to a response:
-How was World War I different than World War II?
-What made the second wave of European exploration different from the first?
-Why is history so important to learn well?
-How did the Patriots make the case for American independence?
The strength of using "leading questions" is that the student has a clear direction; the weakness is that the student has a limited direction and it may be not what the student holds to be of most significance.

Here instead we use open-ended exam prompts.  This allows the student to formulate his or her own leading question: you set up the topic to talk about mostly what you want to talk about within the parameters of the assigned course work.  For each lecture topic YOU formulate the direction of the discussion.

GRADING APPROACH 

Follow this link to the Grading Rubric which will used for the course; it condenses the following information.

Students deserve a clear explanation of what is expected of them in this course.  This course will be following what Thomas Sowell concisely articulated:

"The philospher Pascal said that morality included a duty to think clearly.  Clear thinking, in turn, included not confusing effort with results.  If I practice singing as long and as conscientiously as Pavarotti, I will have as much merit as Pavarotti-- but I will still not sing as well as Pavarotti.  What other people can judge, in this case all too easily, is who sings better.  That is all they should try to judge.  Neither my personal effort nor his is known to them.  Likewise, we can have rules and criteria that apply equally to men and women.  Traditional concepts of justice or fairness, at least within the American tradition, boil down to applying the same rules and standards to everyone."

MAKE-UP OF IN-CLASS EXAMINATIONS.  Exams are given on pre-determined days as listed in the syllabus.  Make-up exams are possible if a student:

RETURN POLICY.  Since papers and essay exams require more time to assess than objective (true-false, multiple-choice) exams, the instructor reserves TWO weeks--from the day you turned it in--to return the work.

FINAL GRADE REPORTS.  Grades will be posted online at the school's website.  I will not e-mail grades.

A

Numerical breakdown:
 97= A+
93 = A
90 = A-

Small Bluebooks (8.5 x 7):
6 to 7plus pages

Large Bluebooks (8.5 x 11):
4 to 5 plus pages

 

The ‘A’ Argumentative Essay

  • Excellence in thinking and performance. The A essay fulfills the assignment in a fresh, insightful, and mature manner, using purposeful language that leads to knowledge making. The prose is clear, readable, and sometimes memorable.
  • Presents an interesting and original thesis that goes beyond what was said in class and the relevance of the topic to the text as a whole is explicit.
  • Contains effective and thoughtful introductory and concluding paragraphs that raise important questions and issues, analyzes key questions and problems clearly and precisely, recognizes key questionable assumptions, clarifies key concepts effectively. The conclusion moves beyond a mere restatement of the introduction, offering implications for or the significance of the topic.
  • A level work is, on the whole, not only clear, precise, and well-reasoned, but insightful as well.
  • The reasoning in the essay is valid and demonstrates good, responsible judgment and an awareness of the topic’s complexities by identifying relevant competing points of view.
  • Written in a tone and style that are entirely appropriate for a college-level audience that is not specifically acquainted the subject; explains and defines key concepts.
  • Articulates ideas in a smooth and cohesive manner with effective transitions between sentences, ideas, and paragraphs; paragraphs are controlled by (explicit or implicit) topic sentences; they are well developed; and they progress logically from what precedes them; maintains focus and coherency, and do not contain repetition and digression.
  • Few or no mechanical mistakes; clear, unambiguous sentences, perhaps with a touch of elegance; maintains basic sentence-level correctness.
  • Excellent use of points from the assigned reading that reveals detailed understanding, and correctly incorporates and cites sources by referring to them.
  • A lively and intelligent voice seems to speak; it has something interesting to say, says it clearly and gracefully to an appropriate audience, and supports it fully. The A-level student has internalized the basic intellectual standards appropriate to the assessment of his/her own work in a subject and demonstrates insight into self-evaluation.
     

Related Links:
The Three Parts of a History Paper
Writing an argumentative essay
Grading Rubric
Greater (lesser) truth
Class note taking