23 Jul How Slavery Really Ended
Based on the piece, “How Slavery Really Ended,” for the next 2 weeks, you will be developing a five-paragraph essay about the problems facing the United States on the eve of the Civil War in 1860.
Your essay must be five paragraphs with:
a. An introduction paragraph that 1) hooks the reader to your topic; 2) provides a brief overview of the topic; and 3) the last sentence provides a thesis (a statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved).
b. Three body paragraphs that individually are aligned to one aspect of your complex thesis introduced in your first paragraph. Paragraphs are the building blocks of papers. Many students define paragraphs in terms of length: a paragraph is a group of at least five sentences, a paragraph is half a page long, etc. In reality, though, the unity and coherence of ideas among sentences is what constitutes a paragraph. A paragraph is defined as “a group of sentences or a single sentence that forms a unit” (Lunsford and Connors 116). Length and appearance do not determine whether a section in a paper is a paragraph. Ultimately, a paragraph is a sentence or group of sentences that support one main idea. So, as a writer, you want to “control the idea,” because it controls what happens in the rest of the paragraph.
c. A fifth paragraph that summarizes the essay. This is often the most difficult paragraph to write. In your conclusion, you should restate the thesis and connect it with the body of the essay in a sentence that explains how each point supports the thesis. Your final sentence should uphold your main idea in a clear and compelling manner. Be sure you do not present any new information in the conclusion.
d. To write your essay, you must have read the article above, “How Slavery Ended,” and you must do a search in GALILEO or any other peer-reviewed databases. No other sources will be accepted. No Wikipedia, dictionaries, blogs, etc.
1. Your answer must be supported with evidence from the provided article AND your two outside sources.
2. You are required to use a minimum of two (2) peer-reviewed articles, and the provided article, totaling three (3) sources.
3. You must cite your sources (using the MLA format).
Remember: Cite all your entries using MLA format: footnotes and/or bibliographical references. See
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20090701095636_747.pdf
Always maintain good spelling and grammatical standards.
Make sure that in your answers you are VERY specific about events, persons, dates (approximate) and citations — where you read the material, etc.
