Instructions and Study Question for Essay Test

For the essay test, you will need to develop and submit a detailed essay on either (1) four important similarities between the U.S. Constitution and the Articles of Confederation or (2) the first political party system, as given in the formal questions below. Your answer will be worth up to 100 points for the one question you decide to choose. You will need to observe the normal essay format of introduction, body, and conclusion AND you will need to put the word count at the bottom of the essay. (By typing your essay first in Word for cutting and pasting into the essay test, you can get the word count easily in Word, before putting in the citation references.) The essay must be about 1,000 words (can vary only between 950 and 1,050 words, not counting the citation references).  You will also need to follow the documentation and other requirements below.

You will actually have as much time as you need to develop your answer if you develop it in Word first and then cut and paste it into the essay question block. Technically, you will have an hour to cut and paste it, but it should not take you that long. However, BE SURE TO PROOFREAD your submitted essay to ensure the required underlining and other features were fully transferred. If not, you will have to put the underlining and other features in manually as part of your proofread.

Your efforts will be evaluated based on how well  and how comprehensively you answer the question, the quality of the quotes/passages from Cogbooks (bolded and underlined in quotes and followed by the citation in parentheses (Unit, Goal #, Subgoal # if any, Paragraph # and Sentence # or alternate format–see discussion on second page below), and whether you followed instructions.  NOTE: Essays without quotes and citations from Cogbooks will lose 50 points, in addition to other deductions for essay weaknesses.

SPECIFIC DOCUMENTATION AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Book: You must use Cogbooks in order to pass this test, due to the 50-point deduction described above for not providing quotes and location citation references from Cogbooks. Other sources are not acceptable. You may cite the Articles of Confederation and U.S. Constitution (article and section) for the constitution question, but this will not dismiss the requirement to use at least a total of ten (10) quotes from Cogbooks in your answer (see below).

Number of Paragraphs and Words:  You must follow the instructions on the number of paragraphs and words for your answer. Some paragraphs should be long paragraphs (10-12 sentences), while others can be short paragraphs (6-7 sentences). The total number of words as counted by the Word Program (before putting in the citation references) must be about 1,000 words (between 950 and 1,050 words), again, not counting the citation references. There must be an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Bolding, Underlining, Quotation Marks, and Citation References Required:  You need to document your essay carefully with at least ten (10) bolded and underlined quotes in quotation marks of passages from Cogbooks, followed by the citation reference in parentheses or the alternate format discussed below.  USE BOLD TYPE, UNDERLINING AND QUOTATION MARKS FOR THE QUOTES (ALL THREE).  DO NOT USE WHOLE PARAGRAPHS OR LONG SENTENCES FROM COGBOOKS, JUST PORTIONS OF SENTENCES THAT CONTAIN THE MAIN IDEA THAT YOU ARE DOCUMENTING.  Spread your quotes evenly throughout your essay.

You and I are both aware that Cogbooks does not have page numbers due to the interactive nature of the book, but there are unit numbers, and goals and subgoals on the left hand side of the screen for each unit. For each quote you use (in quotation marks AND bold type AND underlined), you will need to give the location of the citation using the Unit # (e.g., Unit #1), the Goal #, the Subgoal # if any, the paragraph number, and the sentence number. Your location citation must look something like the ones used in the example below, unless you use the alternate format of putting the references after the essay (as discussed below):

Lincoln is an interesting case in point.  He was an excellent politician, but also a great storyteller with unusual behavior. Ginsberg notes, “He often told funny stories in his speeches.” (Unit #7, Subsection 7.1, Goal #3 of 15, Subgoal #2, paragraph 4, sentence 3) Beyond his politics and storytelling, Lincoln “also believed in the occult, actually holding séances in the White House” (Unit #7, Subsection 7.2, Goal #2 of 11, Subgoal #1, paragraph 1, sentence 5) in an attempt to reach his son who died during the Civil War.

Note that the bolded and underlined quotes with quotation marks are the facts gleaned from the book, and they were found (not really—only an example) in Unit #7, Subsection 7.1 and 7.2, Goals # 3 of 15 and #1 of 11, Subgoals #2 and #1, paragraphs 4 and 1, sentences 3 and 5, respectively. REMINDER: Whatever quotes you use from the book, again, you need to use bold type AND underline them AND enclose them in quotation marks and follow the quotation with the location citation in parentheses: the Unit number, subsection number, Goal number, Subgoal number, paragraph number, and sentence number.  You can vary the citation a little if your quote is from a bullet list, or a picture caption, or some other location where the normal citation does not work well.

Where to Find the Goal # and Subgoal #: When you click on a Unit, you are immediately taken to Goal #1 of the Total Number of Goals (e.g., Goal 1 of 15), which is the first “major page” that you need to read. At the left of your screen, you will see the Goals and the titles of these major pages. (You may need to expand the subsection number to show these, by clicking on the two arrows pointing at each other at a 45-degrees angle.) When you answer that you have not understood everything and drag the indicator only about 0% – 5%, you will be taken to each “subpage” or Subgoal of a Goal. As long as you answer you did not understand it all (0% – 5%) of a subpage, you will be taken to another subpage until you have seen them all or they start repeating. Then you go on to another Goal, and do the same thing, to make sure you see all the major pages (Goals) and subpages (Subgoals) and are able to answer all of your Study Questions for the tests.

Cogbooks does not number the Goals and Subgoals for you. Cogbooks does tell you how many Goals there are in each Unit, such as 16 Goals in Unit #1. You have to count down to the Goal you are quoting from, and then down to any Subgoal you are quoting from. For example, if you count down on the left of your screen to the fifth Goal and then to the fourth Subgoal under the fifth Goal, then your citation would include the Unit #, the Subsection # (e.g. Subsection 4.1 for Unit #4), then Goal #5, Subgoal #4, paragraph # (in the Subgoal), and sentence # (in the paragraph of the Subgoal).

ALTERNATE FORMAT: If you fear you might miscount the goals or subgoals (and be marked down for it), you have the option of putting a number in parentheses in your essay where each citation would go, such as (1), (2), etc. and then writing all of your citations at the end of your essay, from (1) to at least (10), because there has to be at least 10 quotes. In this format, you can use the titles of the Goals as well as the titles of your Subgoals in addition to the Goal and Subgoal numbering. Such citation would read as follows (using Unit #1, Subsection 1.1, Goal #1, Subgoal #3, paragraph 2, sentence 1 as an actual example):

(1) Unit #1, Subsection 1.1, Goal #1 of 16 “The First Americans: Meso- and South America,” Subgoal #3 “Bishop Diego de Landa: Destroyer of Codices,” paragraph 2, sentence 1.

(2) ETC. FOR EACH QUOTATION.

ESSAY QUESTION: PICK ONE OF THESE TWO QUESTIONS

You have the choice of answering either (not both—only one) of the questions below:

1. Discuss in detail four (4) important similarities of the Articles of Confederation and the new U.S. Constitution.

Essay Structure: Devote one or more paragraphs to each of the following subjects IN THE ORDER SHOWN, with transitions from paragraph to paragraph. Be as comprehensive as possible:

1. Introduction

2. Important Similarity #1

3. Important Similarity #2

4. Important Similarity #3

5. Important Similarity #4

6. Conclusion

– OR –

2. Discuss in detail the first U.S. party system 1789-1824, including its leaders, their constituencies, their constitutional touchstones and viewpoints, and at least four (4) issues over which they fought. Where did President Washington fit into this system? 

Essay Structure: Devote one or more paragraphs to each of the following subjects IN THE ORDER SHOWN, with transitions from paragraph to paragraph. Be as comprehensive as possible:

1. Introduction

2. Party Leaders

3. Constituencies of the parties

4. Constitutional touchstones (e.g. elastic clause) and constitutional viewpoints

5. At least four (4) issues they fought over (explained, not just listed)

6. Conclusion (Where did Washington fit?)

BE SURE NOT TO PLAGIARIZE, I. E., LIFT OTHERS’ WORK AND PASS IT OFF AS YOUR OWN. PUT YOUR DISCUSSION IN YOUR OWN WORDS.