Assignment Instructions

Assignment Instructions

This assignment contains two short answer essay questions worth 50 points each. Each answer should be between 300-500 words. Use the attached Short Answer Essay #1 template to answer the questions. Save the template to your desktop, change the heading and header information to your name, and add your professor’s name. Answer the questions and then upload the document for grading in this assignment link.

All work in this class must be in MLA formatting. Please note that whenever you are referring to a source in your work, there should be in-text quotes (or paraphrases) from that source to support your assertions. These should be followed by parenthetical citations. Ensure there is a Works Cited citation at the end of the document.

Here are some tips on how to effectively respond to essay questions:

  1. Do not use first or second person narrative voice. Always write in third person narrative voice.
  2. Get right to the point. Don’t rewrite the question!
  3. Answer in specific terms, not in general.  
  4. When using examples, make sure that it is clear why you are using that particular example to answer the question.
  5. When making general statements, be sure to follow them up with answers to questions such as who, what, why and how.
  6. Avoid making all encompassing statements, such as using the words “all,” “every,” “no one,” etc. unless they are true.
  7. Be prepared to defend every statement you make with recognized facts. For example, if you make a statement, follow it up with a quote from the text or other recognized authority or a specific example.

Questions:

1.  Based on the readings from weeks one and two, discuss the images of America the European writers constructed to promote colonization and settlement. What kinds of unique natural resources and environmental factors did they extol in their accounts of the New World? Relate these images to natural resources and environmental factors today.

2.  Based on the readings from weeks one and two, choose one passage written by one of the authors we’ve read. Identify the author and the title of the work. Then analyze the passage you chose in terms of its significance and historical impact. You should explain why it was chosen, look at the details provided in the passage, and explain in detail what the passage suggests about the work as a whole including its value to American history as well as to American literature.

Reading is i the attactchments