History 2133


Informal Writing #1


Part 1) In a one-page commentary identify the main argument in the essays by Stuart B. Schwartz  and W. Jeffrey Bolster and the specific topic each is addressing.  Then identify 5 points that each author makes in support of his main argument.  If you want to review these three elements of historical writing that I am having you examine in these articles, please review them in chapter 1 of
  A Short Guide to Writing About History.

Part 2) Identify one passage in each of the two articles by Schwartz and Bolster where you can demonstrate that the author is trying to adopt a dispassionate tone (be sure to provide the page(s) number for each of the passages) and identify one passage where you would say that the biases that Crisp discusses in Sleuthing the Alamo are either in evidence or under discussion.  Finally, what is the specific audience for each of these articles?

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