Write a 5-pages essay, double spaced. Consider the following questions in your writing:

·         Why does Margaret Walker call this book “Jubilee“?

·         What can we learn about slavery from Vyry’s childhood?

·         What does it mean to be a young girl in Vyry’s world? How does her experience compare to other young girls at the time?

·         What expectations did men have of women in slavery?

·         How does Vyry respond to the great historical changes happening around her?

·         How helpful is this book to an understanding of American history?

Your paper should follow the conventions of history papers, using endnotes or footnotes. Refer to instructions in Kate Turabian, A Manual for the Writing of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations or the Chicago Manual of Style. Both are available in the library and on the internet.

The composition of any paper must be entirely your own work. If the exact words of another are used, even to a limited degree, quotation marks must be used and a documentary reference (a note) given. If information or ideas are taken from another work, although not a direct quotation, you must give credit in the notes as to the source of the information. Failure to give such credit is plagiarism and is equivalent to cheating on an examination. Submission of a paper which is copied from another work or written by someone other than the student, or which contains fictitious notes, will result in failure of the course. Keep all notes and drafts of papers until the final paper has been returned with a grade or until the course is over. I may ask you to show and discuss with me your notes and various drafts of your papers.

A superior or excellent essay (A or B):

Content, ideas, analysis, interpretation

1.    Specifically, answers the question. Fulfills the demand of the action verb: compare, synthesize, critique, evaluate, etc.

2.    Fully explains (interprets) the key historical issues involved: why did this happen in this way?

3.    Links the topic to the historical trends of the period.

Use of historical evidence

1.    Supports all statements (explanations, interpretations) with specific evidence (examples, illustrations, concrete historical actions).

2.    Appropriately includes direct or indirect quotations, without overusing them. Persons quoted clearly identified.

Organization and logic

1.    Organizes ideas and themes into logical sequences and subtopics appropriate to the question.

2.    Includes a brief, clear introduction that summarizes the paper’s major focus and guides the reader on what to expect in the body.

3.    Includes a thesis statement early in the paper.

4.    Includes a brief logical summation or conclusion. This section may also point to important issues and questions that would require further research.

5.    Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence, focuses on and supports a single idea; one topic per paragraph. Logical transitions between paragraphs create a clear flow from point to point through the essay.

6.    Makes as complete an argument (analysis) as space permits.

Writing clarity and correctness

1.    Phrases ideas in direct, clear, concise sentences that are easy to understand.

2.    Expresses ideas in the active voice, using strong, vigorous action verbs, in the simple past tense.

3.    Includes correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

4.    Writes in the third person.