The Essay Prompt

PROMPT: One can argue that by 1850, the North and the South had developed two distinct cultures and two distinct views on what it meant to be âAmerican.â Explain how these two distinct cultures arose by discussing the diverging social-economic and political development of these two regions from the formation of the republic in 1776 to 1850. Consider change over time and geographic differences in your analysis as well as ethical decision making and civics.

Hint: Think broadly here as you scattershoot/concept map your essay before writing. Consider differences between North and South and how they arose and changed over time; once you have jotted down your facts, choose the strongest points and supporting evidence to write your essay, making sure you address the prompt fully. Be sure to consider evidence from the entire time period of the prompt in your essay. The best organization for this paper is to discuss you key points (that show up in your "rule of three" thesis statement. This will allow your critical analysis to come through. DO NOT discuss the North and then the South separately â this sort of paper tends not to be analytical but a regurgitation of facts without analysis.

Hint 2: Make sure that you integrate your discussion of Change over Time and Ethics/Civics throughout your analysis, not just in one paragraph. This means that Change over Time and Ethics/Civics WILL NOT be key points in your rule of three thesis statement.

Requirements for the Final Essay

• Must be in Rule of Three format with a introduction and strong thesis statement, 3 paragraphs of the body (each with their own thesis statement - one for each of the three key points of your overall thesis), and conclusion. So a minimum of 5 paragraphs.
• This is a fact based essay, you must provide specific and detailed evidence for your hypotheses.
• You must utilize a minimum of three primary sources from the assigned materials as evidence in your essay
• You must utilize a minimum of three secondary sources from the assigned materials as evidence in your essay
• You may only use materials assigned in this course for your essay (we have vetted all the materials utilized in this course, other materials may not be appropriate or accurate)
• DO NOT quote secondary sources
• You may briefly quote a primary source (a phrase or a sentence) before immediately analyzing the relevance of the quote - a quote cannot stand alone as explanation or evidence
• You must consider change over time in this essay
• You must consider ethics/ethical decision making in this essay
• You must consider change over time in this essay
• Don't forget about geography, where something takes place matters and it may be important to your argument.
• You must use Turabian citation style in this essay; all citations must be footnote style citations (no parenthetical cites allowed, no endnotes/works cited at the end, you need footnotes). Be sure to review how to properly cite a primary source that may be contained in another work and be sure to use page numbers where possible.
• 12 pt type, 1 inch margins, double-spaced