Paper Assignment – Oregon History Class (writing a critical review of an academic article draw

Posted: April 6th, 2022

Choose 1 out 4 options below to write a review about? (you will be writing a critical review of any these academic articles below from a scholarly journal.)
BASIC DESCRIPTION: (Choose 1 out of 4 options below)

You will be writing a critical review of an academic article drawn from a scholarly journal. Pick any one of the Supplementary Articles from Weeks 7-11:

Horowitz, David A. “Social Morality and Personal Revitalization: Oregon’s Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 90, no. 4, 1989, pp. 365–384. JSTOR, Click for Link
Linder, John. “Liberty Ships and Jim Crow Shipyards: Racial Discrimination in Kaiser’s Portland Shipyards, 1940–1945.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 120, no. 4, 2019, pp. 518–545. JSTOR, Click for Link
Gibson, Karen. “Bleeding Albina: A History of Community Disinvestment, 1940-2000.” Transformative Anthropology, vol. 15, no. 1, 2007, pp. 3-25. Click for Link
Robbins, William G. “Town and Country in Oregon: A Conflicted Legacy.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 110, no. 1, 2009, pp. 52–73. JSTOR, Click for Link
REQUIREMENTS:

In your review, you must:

Identify AND analyze the author’s main point(s)/thesis. How does the author try to make his/her case, and is he/she successful?
Summarize the article’s contents.
Place the specific article within its larger historical context and provide relevant historical background from the textbook or lecture.
Provide an assessment of the article by including criticisms and/or commendations. Examples of some questions you may want to address: Did the author support his/her main point(s)? Is the author’s interpretation biased? Did the author omit or deemphasize important information? Is the article well-researched and documented? Is there room for improvement? These are just suggestions….the critique can take any approach, just make sure to inject personal reflections.

These requirements are not in any specific order, and you may assemble your review any way you like. Make sure to address each component thoroughly, and support your arguments with examples from the article. You may want to include material/citations from the text, lecture, or other sources if applicable.

THE INTRODUCTION:

All essays require a proper introduction, and the introductory paragraph is very important because it sets the tone for the rest of the essay. Make sure to introduce the historical topic, the time period, as well as the focus of the essay. The introductory paragraph should list the author and the article name, and should identify the author’s main point(s), as well as provide your own thesis. Your thesis should convey your primary objective, as well as a “guide” to your argument, a “road map” of sorts for your essay. Put another way, after the first paragraph the reader should know the focus, purpose, and structure of the essay.

PAPER SPECIFICS:
The paper should be between 3 and 4 pages long, double-spaced. If you go over 5 pages, you will be penalized a half-letter grade for every page over. The writing style of the paper is academic. Do not use journalistic style with one-sentence paragraphs and do not use slang words or phrases. Style and grammar will count towards the grade.
The title of your approved article should be cited at the beginning of your paper, before the first paragraph, in proper bibliographical format. Please use the MLA citation style (in-text parentheses, with author and page number). You will likely be citing only the author of your article and the author of the textbook (David Peterson del Mar).
You MUST cite your work properly and consistently. If you quote directly, you must use quotation marks and give due credit. Remember that not only quotes must be cited; you must also cite ideas/opinions expressed in the document, the text, or in lecture. Failure to cite your work properly is considered plagiarism and will result in a failing grade. A Works Cited List is not necessary UNLESS you include sources beyond the focus article, textbook, or lecture. For more on avoiding plagiarism, citing sources, and examples of the MLA style, visit the following links:

Plagiarism

Citation Style Guidelines and Samples

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/

Completion of Writing 115 is a prerequisite for this course, but if you need further help, please visit the Virtual Writing Center. Also, please consult Papers: Rubric and Writing Tips to view a grading rubric and some tips on essay writing.

The paper is worth 25 points. Late papers will be downgraded a half letter-grade for every day late.

Important Note:

The use of Wikipedia, cliffnotes.com, or any other website that summarizes historical information and has no reliable fact-checking mechanism is banned. Use of a banned site may result in a failing grade, so if you need more information about a given topic, just check in with me and I’d be happy to help you.