Online Midterm Examination

You may submit your midterm examination any time between Monday, April 20, 2009, and midnight Sunday, April 26, 2009.

Your midterm  exam will help you prepare for your final examination, which will be proctored, limited to two hours, and written without books or note.  Of course I can't watch you take the midterm or limit your time to two hours.  Actually you have six days to complete the midterm, so I am sure most of you will peek at the test on Monday, think about it for a few days, and then wait until Saturday or Sunday to complete and submit it.  If I were a student, I probably would do the same.

You may use your text during the midterm; however, this will not be the case for the final.  Actually for the midterm we are focusing on chapter 6, "The Frontier: How Do We Imagine the West?"  All of you have read Frederick Jackson Turner's "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," which was written in 1893.  Some modern scholars believe that Turner ignored the contribution of women and racial minorities in his work.  And of course there is the issue of slavery and the West.  You have also read selections and essays from the "Context" and "Contemporary Conversation" sections of chapter 6. 

You need to consider the thoughts and ideas from the various authors that you read from this chapter as well as your own knowledge of the settlement and development of the American West.  Did you pay attention to your history instructor in your high school or college United States history class?  I know that some of you took Advanced Placement United States History in high school and did well.

Your emphasis will be synthesizing information from your reading of our text as well as your knowledge of American history and writing an argumentative essay.  Here are a few things to consider:

    1. Follow the structure we have discusses in class: introduction, body, and conclusion.

    2. After getting your reader's attention and previewing your subject, state a thesis that takes a strong position for your argument.  

    3. Don't argue both sides of your subject; however, you do need to recognize the opposition and counter their positions.

    4. Organize your argument going form your weakest point to your strongest point.  Be sure to develop your argument by using reasoning.  Give specific examples and details. Each body paragraph must have a topic sentence and then your stated proof. 

    5. Wrap things up in your conclusion by emphasizing your reworded thesis, summarizing your main points, and stating a clincher.

Select ONE of the following topics and write a 1000-word argumentative essay supporting your specific position:

• The American West and Turner's view of "savagery and civilization"

• Turner's theory of land evolution and development

• Turner's concept of the American West and the development of democracy

• Individualism and the American West

• Contrasting white and Native American views of the American West

• A modern evaluation of the life of Buffalo Bill

• The role of women in settling the American West

• Racial minorities and the settling of the American West

• Manifest Destiny and the settlement of the American West

• Slavery and the American West

• Natural boundaries and the American West

• The western myth of outlaws, cowboys, and Indians

• Writer's choice on a western topic

Certainly there is something that appeals to you.  You can even create your own topic.  Please remember that you are writing an argumentative essay, not an expository essay.  However, your essay will probably have expository elements.  Good luck!

Use your real name, not your username or password in the feedback form. If you do not type in your e-mail address correctly, you will not get your graded midterm examination returned. 

By submitting this examination, you affirm  that you wrote it for this class and allow it to undergo a plagiarism search.  Plagiarism is punishable by failure in this course.