The purpose of this assignment is to use the primary source analysis techniques you learned in class during the semester to produce a final essay.
Read the two attached primary source documents (below), Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet”.
Then write a paper that addresses the following questions:
• Who wrote the documents and why?
• How do the two documents agree? How do they disagree?
• Why are the perspectives different?
• Under what specific historical circumstances were these documents created?
• What groups were the two authors associated with? Consider the conflicting visions of America the two had: why were they acting the way they were? Make specific connections to the documents and explain your thinking
• Which perspective would you agree with more, and why?
Instructions:
Do NOT simply list answers to the above questions. The paper should be in essay format, with an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The questions do not have to be addressed in order, but should be answered throughout the paper.
You must provide historical context for the analysis. You can use your textbook and/or reputable internet sites (NOT Wikipedia) for this. However, you must CITE the sources that you use. You will use MLA format to cite sources. [Failure to cite information that is not yours is plagiarism.]
If you need help with MLA citation, click on the link below or visit the Writer’s Corner.
The paper must be a minimum of 500 words (no more than 800 words). The paper should be double spaced, 12 point font. Format, grammar, spelling and punctuation will be graded. (See rubric for detailed grading scheme). **Note: works cited page and heading are NOT part of the word count.
You will submit your paper in Blackboard by clicking the link below. Papers must be either Word documents or a PDF (do not upload Google Docs, Pages, or any other type of word processing document–I cannot open it). Do NOT submit your paper in the “Comments” section.
