question archive Research Essay - The Sixties | People who lived through the sixties have very different ideas about the era
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Research Essay - The Sixties |
People who lived through the sixties have very different ideas about the era. One of the
speakers in the film The Sixties, Ed Meese, sums it up this way:
“It was the age of selfishness; it was the age of self-indulgence; it was the age of anti- authority; it was an age when people did all kinds of wrong things.”
Charles Kaiser has a contrasting view:
“On balance, the sixties are a success for what they did for black people, women, and gay people and even handicapped people. I mean it empowers everyone.”
Task: What is your perspective on the sixties? Was it a period of selfishness and
bad behavior that went out of control and ended in bitterness and failure?
Or was it an era which changed the world for the better?
Research and write a five-paragraph essay in which you give your point of view. Be sure to discuss the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the Counterculture and the Politics of Protest in your discussion. Use MLA format. Cite at least 3 sources in your essay and include a Works Cited List.
Introduction
2% Briefly introduce The Sixties: the civil rignts movement, the
Vietnam War, the politics of protest and the counterculture
9 State your thesis: What is your point of view on The Sixties?
Body
Q Write 1 paragraph each about: the civil rights movement; the
Vietnam War; the politics of protest and the counterculture
9 Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that supports
your thesis
@ Employ facts, details, quotations, and analysis to support
each topic sentence
Conclusion
@ Sum up your point of view on the Sixties
@ Make a connection between the Sixties and today
MLA The goal of this assignment is to formulate a thesis about the sixties and then
Format: compose a well-supported essay. The MLA format allows you to clearly show the sources of your information. Whether you quote some information directly, or put it in your own words, use parentheses within your essay to identify the source of your information. Below is part of an essay that expresses a Strong opinion and backs it up. It illustrates how these in-text citations are done. Use it as a model when you write your own essay.
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Rafaela A. Student The student’s
The entire Ms. Mae} name and page
essayis s. Magistra number is on
double- each page.
spaced. U.S. History 2
1 October 2012
1” Ronald Reagan: Hold the Halo
oi —
Have you noticed that politicians like to associate themselves with leaders that everybody loves? Haveyou noticed how often candidates
. : . introduction: invoke the names of famous figures like Abraham Lincoln orJohn F. The writer
Kennedy? It’s easy to understand why. By dropping the name of a well- togtus
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loved figure--someone who demonstrated courage and wisdom and who the topic: " got good things done--a politician hopes to persuade the public that he or sheis capable of similar greatness. It’s a good strategy; it makes sense.
What doesn’t make sense is when politicians promising to make the country strong and prosperous repeatedly mention the name of Ronald
Reagan—as ifhe were the patron saint of American freedom and abundance. Nothing could be further from the truth. Reagan practiced
Student 2
fiscal irresponsibility, created inequality, and bears much responsibility the first
paragraph with
for the economic mess we now find ourselves in. aclear thesi
statement.
Reagan’s financial policies were irresponsible and even reckless.
Body: Each body paragraph He got elected by championing a strong anti-government ideology. Soon
starts with a topic sentence . aw . . .
that after being elected he said, “In this present crisis, government is not the the solution to our problem. [tis our problem." (Appleby 748) One of the “ . erst
many authors
results of this anti-government philosophy was the decision to deregulate of the course textbook.
the saving and loan banking industry. Toput it simply, deregulation meant
that most of the rules that had governed these banks for a long time were thrown out the window. Deregulation was supposed to make the savings
and loan industry stronger, but instead deregulation just provided "...a
license to gamble with the taxpayers’ money, at best, or simply to loot it, at
This is the
author of . worst’ (Krugman). Without regulation, savings and loan bank all over
anonkine newspaper America went bankrupt. Whopaid for this disaster? The taxpayers: 747
article. This is the title banks failed at a cost of $87.9 billion. (Savings and Loan Crisis) of awebpage —it doesn’t have a
Point of Don't forget that your essay is not intended to be a simple regurgitation of
View facts. Instead, use your research to build understanding and your own point
of view. You will express that point of view in a thesis supported by your
research. The purpose of your essay is to express what you think after you
have synthesized all that you discovered in your inquiry.
Notice in the following essay excerpt how another writer has developed an
appraisal of Ronald Reagan that is in sharp contrast to the point of view
expressed in the first essay excerpt.
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| Student 1 «— 1”—>
Rafaela A. Student The student’s
The entire ; name and page
essayis Ms. Magistra number is on
each page.
double- U.S. History 2 Pe
spaced.
1 October 2012
Ronald Reagan, Revolutionary
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Why is Ronald Reagan’s administration referred to as the “Reagan
Revolution?” Reagan's leadership represented a complete change from his
predecessor, Jimmy Carter, who many Americans thought of as indecisive and
unable to articulate a philosophy (Jimmy Carter: Disaffection of the Public). Thisis the title
ofa webpage—
In contrast, Ronald Reagan earned the right to be called a revolutionary it doesn’t have a
specific author because he was able to change the way Americans thought about government
The writer and about themselves. First ofall, after the gloom ofthe Carter era, Regan introduces his . ; . o,
thesis in three recharged American morale. Secondly, his commitmentto individual freedom
parts, using helped to reduce people's reliance on government. Finally, R reasserted
transition words. p peop B y, heagan
America’s place in the world by expanding both the economy and the military
and helping to end the Cold War.