Webliography
Search the Internet for scholarly articles on the debate surrounding the composition and ratification of the Constitution. These can be primary or secondary sources but should come from academic sources. Recommended sites include: state constitutions drafted after the American Revolution; correspondence from significant colonial figures (e.g., John Dickinson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and others); the Virginia and/or New Jersey Plan; the Federalist Papers, and so on. These entries will provide a valuable resource for your first historical essay.
General Instructions
Write a 4-6 sentence description of a URL on the specified topic. Submit it to the appropriate drop box AND post it to the Webliography in the course.
Your Webliography assignments should include an introduction to the site and a description, and/or evaluation, of it.Be specific. The key is that someone should be able to read your entry and know whether this site is what they might be relevant to their research. See the examples below for good descriptions.
Do not duplicate entries. It might be to your advantage to post early. Otherwise one of your classmates may beat you to the wonderful site you’ve discovered
How to Post
When you go to the Webliography tab and click on it, you’ll see “add new entry,” on the left, just above the heading. When you click on it, you’ll go to a page that will have fields for you to fill in. It will include the title of the site, the category, the URL, the description, the site author, and the date it was last modified.
Example
Pennsylvania State Constitution of 1776. (2008)
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/pa08.asp
The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 (ratified September 28, 1776) has been described as the most democratic in America and was drafted by Robert Whitehill, Timothy Matlack, Dr. Thomas Young, George Bryan, James Cannon, and Benjamin Franklin. The Constitution provides for a unicameral legislature, a Supreme Executive Council, a President elected by an Assembly and Council together, and a Council of Censors. The constitution was later copied by revolutionaries of Vermont as a basis for their constitution. This site is useful as it gives us an insight into the debate over constitutional government that would culminate in 1787.
Grading Criteria
- The entry is from an academic or literary source.
- You have included a helpful description of at least 4-6 sentences that tells us what we’ll find on the site.
- Your description is grammatically and mechanically correct.
- The URL is correct.
- You have not duplicated an entry.
- The URL is NOT from Wikipedia or other wiki or social media sites
GRADING RUBRIC FOR YOUR PAPER
In order to grade your assignments as accurately as possible, I have borrowed a grading rubric which has been approved by the North Central Accrediting Agency and is widely used by English teachers on the secondary and college levels. For the purpose of simplicity, I have divided the grading into three categories:
1. Content and Organization. This category includes the basic content and organization of the paper. The paper should be focused and on target, where all content adds to the whole. The paper should include an inviting introduction, with a thesis statement, and a satisfactory conclusion. The paper should meet the basic page requirements for the given assignment.
2. Sentence Fluency and Voice. This category takes into account the student’s active engagement with the topic. Papers should exhibit strong sentences, with interesting vocabulary. Papers at the highest level should be individual, personal, and compelling. The paper itself would invite expressive oral reading.
3. Grammar Conventions and Presentation. This category takes into account the basics of English composition: spelling, punctuation, grammar, and paragraphing. Short paragraphs tend to make a paper choppy and difficult to read. Papers at the highest grade level are ready to publish and demonstrate an above average proficiency in English. All papers are expected to conform to APA standards as regards formatting and references.
I will use the above chart to refer to your assignment. E.g. “2.While your paper is well-written, it is often mechanical. Sentences tend to be choppy and awkward. The essay is pleasant but not overly compelling.” Please email me with any concerns you have after the grading.
Overall guidelines: The paper should be typed and double-spaced, on standard 8 ½” x 11”, 20-pound white paper. All margins should be set at 1 inch. The paper should use an acceptable font and size.
Answer PreviewThis site talks about the eighty five letter that were written to the paper by several people. This occurred during the late 1700’s and the letters were basically written to the media in an effort to make sure that they persuaded the states to be able to ratify the American constitution. The letters focused on the many different limitations that were put on the federal government in…