Paper Format: Approximately 1,500 words, typed, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, twelve-point font Prompt: Read and analyze the primary secondary documents on the U.S. Civil Rights Movement discussed in this course. Your thesis should address the following two questions: What were the goals of the civil rights movement that developed in the 1950s and 1960s and why did this black freedom struggle assume the characteristics that it did? Your essay should analyze primary documents on the injustices the movement sought to redress, including the diverse motivations that inspired individual participation & interpret the strategies that guided organized activism. You should also consider the interpretation posited in the secondary source, At the Dark End of the Street, in your analysis of the primary documents of the civil rights movement. Your essay should answer these questions by providing a detailed presentation of primary & secondary evidence in support of your thesis. Your thesis should be focused on the question identified in BOLD print above. Conventions of Historical Writing: The following components are essential to a historical essay: 1) An introductory paragraph that establishes the scope of the argument – including the specific time period, geographic area, & demographics of the group of people you’ll discuss. 2) A thesis statement (located at the end of the introduction) in which you establish a specific position that you will defend in the body of your essay. 3) A detailed presentation of evidence to support your thesis derived from both lecture & course readings, with particular emphasis on primary documents. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that advances your argument and is supported, in the body of the paragraph, by at least one primary source. 4) A concluding paragraph that restates your argument and explains its significance. No bibliography is needed. However, please cite readings in the body of your paper by indicating the editor or author’s name and page number in the following format: (Taylor, 65). Please proofread your paper before submitting it. Papers will be checked for plagiarism. So PLEASE do not use sources from outside the course readings. Thesis (and Introduction) 20 pts Analysis of primary source evidence on goals of civil rights movement 35 pts Analysis of primary source evidence on characteristics of civil rights movement 35 pts Organization, clarity, writing conventions 10 pts Total Points: 100 EX 1. Thesis: Although Washington and DuBois shared the goal of social equality between African Americans and whites, Washington’s ideas were better suited for the conditions of the time. vs. Although both men envisioned eventual equality, Washington’s ideas were safer, and therefore better responses to the discriminatory legislation and violence against African Americans after the Reconstruction era. or Although both men envisioned event.

1. Paper Format: Approximately 1,500 words, typed, double-
spaced, 1-inch
margins, twelve-point font
Prompt: Read and analyze the primary secondary documents on
the U.S.
Civil Rights Movement discussed in this course. Your thesis
should address
the following two questions: What were the goals of the civil
rights
movement that developed in the 1950s and 1960s and why did
this black
freedom struggle assume the characteristics that it did? Your
essay
should analyze primary documents on the injustices the
movement sought to
redress, including the diverse motivations that inspired
individual
participation & interpret the strategies that guided organized
activism. You
should also consider the interpretation posited in the secondary
source, At
the Dark End of the Street, in your analysis of the primary
documents of the
civil rights movement.
Your essay should answer these questions by providing a
detailed
presentation of primary & secondary evidence in support of
your thesis.
Your thesis should be focused on the question identified in
BOLD print
above.
Conventions of Historical Writing: The following components

2. are
essential to a historical essay: 1) An introductory paragraph that
establishes
the scope of the argument – including the specific time period,
geographic
area, & demographics of the group of people you’ll discuss. 2)
A thesis
statement (located at the end of the introduction) in which you
establish a
specific position that you will defend in the body of your essay.
3) A
detailed presentation of evidence to support your thesis derived
from both
lecture & course readings, with particular emphasis on primary
documents.
Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that
advances your
argument and is supported, in the body of the paragraph, by at
least one
primary source. 4) A concluding paragraph that restates your
argument and
explains its significance. No bibliography is needed. However,
please cite
readings in the body of your paper by indicating the editor or
author’s name
and page number in the following format: (Taylor, 65). Please
proofread
your paper before submitting it. Papers will be checked for
plagiarism. So
PLEASE do not use sources from outside the course readings.
Thesis (and Introduction)
20 pts
Analysis of primary source evidence on goals of civil rights
movement

3. 35 pts
Analysis of primary source evidence on characteristics of civil
rights movement
35 pts
Organization, clarity, writing conventions
10 pts
Total Points: 100
EX
1. Thesis:
Although Washington and DuBois shared the goal of social
equality between African
Americans and whites, Washington’s ideas were better suited
for the conditions of the
time.
vs.
Although both men envisioned eventual equality, Washington’s
ideas were safer, and
therefore better responses to the discriminatory legislation and
violence against African
Americans after the Reconstruction era.
or
Although both men envisioned eventual equality, W.E.B.
DuBois’ philosophies were
better suited to the historical times because only legal action

4. could curtail social
discrimination.
2. Quotes:
1. QUOTE – Introduce quote in your own prose and use
brackets and
ellipses to alter quotation.
2. CITE – Follow the provided guidelines.
3. EXPLAIN – Quotes do not speak for themselves. Paraphrase,
call
the reader’s attention to specific words/images/phrases, and
make the
interpretation/meaning explicit in the text.
3. Topic sentences:
The first sentence of every paragraph should offer the
paragraph’s
main idea, which you defend with evidence in the next several
sentences.
Example:
Besides weighing in on the subject of educational priorities,
DuBois
was a far stronger proponent of civil rights for African
Americans than Washington was.
In 1905, he and his educated compatriots called, in an essay
announcing their “Niagara
Movement,” for the fulfillment of the rights guaranteed to all
Americans in the 13th,
14th, and 15th Amendments...

5. 4. Grammatical Errors:
1. Tense shift – Verb tenses must match. Historians usually
write in the past tense.
Ex: Washington says that African Americans were having to
accommodate white
supremacy. He also said...
2. Comma splice – Commas cannot separate two independent
clauses (clauses that could
stand alone as sentences).
Ex: Washington has a better handle on how to speak to different
demographics of the
area, he was about easing the idea of assimilation into the
fabrics of the South rather than
forcing it...
3. W/W = wrong word. Befriend the Dictionary. (“Idealistic”)
5. General Improvements: 1. Be explicit and specific!
2. PROOFREAD
3. Don’t generalize or pass judgment where you’re not asked to