Essay Prompt

In his book The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois writes of the “twoness” ofccccc. To what extent do you think that this twoness concept applies to everyone in American life? How would it uniquely apply to African-Americans?

How to write your class essays

You are responsible for five responses to the five primary source books. Each of these should be around 750 words long, double spaced. They should consist of three parts.

Instructions

1. Exposition. Your first paragraph should describe the book, and briefly explain what you have decided about one or more of questions that I have posed.

2. Development. The middle of your essay should explain your answer. It should offer details  about the main arguments and content of the book to support your claims. It should also offer background from Give Me Liberty!

3. Conclusion. Your last paragraph should recapitulate your argument, and add some final point that you think bolsters your  perspective.

Don’t be reluctant to use phases like “in this essay I argue . . . ” or “I think that . . . ” or “in conclusion, I believe that . . . ”

Quote from the book when you find some passage that illustrates your points. Use your Give Me Liberty!  textbook to provide background, or to add additional quotes. But don’t over-quote from either of the books. Use your own words. And don’t just copy passages from the books or other sources verbatim as if they were your own, that’s plagiarism.

As for your reference style, just use a paragraph format (Bellamy, 125) or (Foner, 353).