OPTION #1: USING MATERIAL FROM THE ASSIGNED SELECTIONS OF LETTERS OF A WOMAN HOMESTEADER AND THE DOCUMENTS AND READINGS LISTED BELOW (AVAILABLE FROM THE MAIN COURSE PAGE), DEVELOP AN ESSAY THAT ANSWERS THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:
How do the letters of Elinore Pruitt Stewart document and/or obscure the realities of rural life in the West at the beginning of the twentieth century?
Readings for Option 1:
- Elinore Pruitt Stewart, Letters of a Woman Homesteader (Chapters 1, 2, 7, 9, 13, 18, & 20)
- Sherry Smith, “Single Women Homesteaders,” Western Historical Quarterly 22, no. 2 (May 1991): 163-83.
- Either of the following primary sources:
- Homesteader Accounts
- Wallace Stegner, “The Making of Paths”
Option #2: Using material from assigned sources listed below, develop an essay that addresses the following question:
How do the letters of Elinore Pruitt Stewart and the memories of Wallace Stegner document or conflict with the stories of children’s experiences in western settlement as presented by Elliott West?
Readings for Option 2:
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Write My Essay For Me- Elinore Pruitt Stewart, Letters of a Woman Homesteader (Chapters 1, 2, 7, 9, 13, 18, & 20)
- Wallace Stegner, “The Making of Paths”
- Elliott West, Ch. 7 “Child’s Play, from The Essential West
- 4. Graded Course Work
4.2. Rubrics
Grading rubrics for essays and forum discussions in Hist 4427, American West
Professor Kevin Marsh, Idaho State University
Rubrics for other graded work are found on each assignment tool.) Skip to Essay Standards
Forum Discussion Standards:
An “A” discussion posting:- Presents specific, original ideas that demonstrate an ability to thoughtfully engage with the content and the interpretations offered in the class readings
- Provides clear explanations and specific evidence from class sources that effectively support your observations
- Answers all parts of the assigned question(s)
- Demonstrates a clear understanding of the assigned sources and of the history surrounding the main issues and events
- Is well written in a clear style and well organized into a cohesive set of points
- Is cleanly written and presented, demonstrating attention to the details of formal writing.
- Responses demonstrate a careful, thoughtful engagement with the ideas and information presented by group members, use specific information and interpretations from assigned sources to address the original posting, and demonstrate attention to the details of formal writing.
- A “B” discussion posting:
- Presents specific ideas that demonstrate a clear comprehension of the main content and interpretations of the class readings
- Provides some specific evidence from the assigned readings to support observations
- Addresses all parts of the assigned question(s)
- Demonstrates a competent understanding of the history surrounding the main issues and events
- Is clearly written though may contain some minor errors in grammar, spelling, and clarity.
- Responses clearly address the ideas and information presented by other group members, use some information and interpretations from assigned sources, and present those ideas in clear, formal writing with minimal errors.
- A “C” discussion posting:
- Offers ideas directly relevant to the main content and interpretation of the class readings
- Provides generalized evidence or vague examples from assigned readings without explaining their contribution to answering the question(s)
- Presents a vague response to the assigned question(s)
- Lacks a clear understanding of the assigned sources and of the history surrounding the main issues and events
- Lacks clarity in the writing and contains errors of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- Responses offer generalized observations based on the contributions from other group members, use minimal information and interpretations from assigned sources, lack clarity in the writing, and contain writing errors.
- A “D” discussion posting:
- Offers vague observations not clearly relevant to the main content and interpretation of the class readings
- Provides little or no specific examples from the assigned sources
- Addresses vaguely the assigned question(s)
- Demonstrates a very limited understandingof the assigned sources and of the history surrounding the main issues and events
- Is sloppy in its presentation and/or contains numerous writing errors.
- Responses offer vague observations that demonstrate a limited understanding of both the contributions from other group members and the assigned sources and contain numerous writing errors.
- An “F” discussion posting:
- Does not address class readings
- Provides no specific use of examples from assigned sources
- Does not address the question(s)
- Demonstrates a lack of understanding of the assigned sources and of the history surrounding the main issues and events
- Is sloppy in its presentation.
- Responses offer vague or inappropriate observations that do not contribute to the group discussion.
- Return to topEssay Standards:
An “A” essay: - Contains a clear, analytical thesis statement in response to the question,
- provides clear explanations and specific evidence from a range of class sources that effectively supports the thesis,
- answers all parts of the question,
- demonstrates a clear understanding of the history surrounding the main issues and events and a number of the assigned readings and other class sources,
- is well-written in a clear style and well-organized into a cohesive argument.
- A “B” essay:
- Contains a thesis that addresses all parts of the question,
- provides some specific supporting evidence from a range of the assigned readings,
- demonstrates a competent understanding of the history surrounding the main issues and events and of the assigned readings,
- is clearly written though may contain some errors in grammar, spelling, and clarity.
- A “C” essay:
- Lacks a thesis or presents a vague or incomplete response to the question,
- provides little evidence or vague examples without explaining their contribution to answering the question,
- lacks a clear understanding of the history surrounding the main issues and events,
- lacks a clear understanding of the assigned readings,
- is sloppy in its presentation and/or lacks clarity in the writing; may contain significant errors.
- A “D” essay:
- Addresses the question only vaguely,
- provides little or no specific evidence from the assigned sources,
- demonstrates a very limited understanding of the historical issues and of the assigned sources,
- is sloppy in its presentation and/or contains major errors.
- An “F” essay:
- Does not answer the question,
- demonstrates a lack of understanding of the history surrounding the main issues and the assigned sources,
- contains major errors or is off-topic.
- LINKS: Letters of a woman homesteader : Stewart, Elinore Pruitt, 1878- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive