+1 862 207 3288 (4-6 typed pages, 1” margins, 12-pt. Times New Roman, double-spaced)
Paper should be submitted in both HARD and ELECTRONIC copies
Hard copies should be submitted to students’ TA in section
Electronic copies should be submitted via Canvas by 11:59pm on the due date
Please use .doc or .docx format
OVERVIEW
For your first paper, you will consider the varying visions of freedom espoused and expressed by
characters in E. L. Doctorow’s Ragtime. More specifically, you will:
Select three characters, historical or fictional, from the book and describe their views of
freedom;
Compare and contrast ONE of these character’s views with the ideals we’ve discussed thus far in
class (including freedom of contract and the progressive ideal of freedom), and;
Evaluate whether your chosen character’s vision of freedom is a meaningful one.
Each of these topics should be the subject of at least one paragraph. Your response to each point of the
prompt should address WHY you think and feel the way you do. You should include references to
Doctorow’s Ragtime, assigned primary sources, AND The American Yawp throughout the paper. And
your position on each of these points should be clearly and concisely reflected in both your introductory
AND concluding paragraphs.
In addressing these three points, you should be careful to:
Clearly and carefully define the views of freedom espoused by your characters of choice;
Clearly and carefully define the ideals of freedom discussed thus far in class;
Clearly and carefully state what constitutes a meaningful vision of freedom;
Support your argument with appropriate references to significant historical events, people,
documents, trends, and ideas.
CITATION GUIDELINES
In citing documents, you should:
Provide a full, MLA-style, bibliographic citation for Ragtime in a concluding Works Cited page.
Since different students will be using different versions of the text, it is essential that your
instructors know how to check your citations.
Include parenthetical citations to quotations, paraphrases, and references from Ragtime within
the text itself. They should be cited as follows: “Behold, a sample citation from Doctorow’s
Ragtime” (Doctorow, 14).
Reference assigned primary sources and The American Yawp using simple parenthetic citations.
Examples of these are as follows: “Behold, a sample citation of Justice Peckham’s majority
P a p e r # 1 P r o m p t | 2
opinion in Lochner v. New York” (Peckham, n.p.) or “Behold, a sample citation of the section
entitled ‘Rise of the Suburbs’ from The American Yawp” (TAY, “Rise of the Suburbs,” n.p.). Please
note: you needn’t follow a specific format in referencing assigned primary sources or The
American Yawp. As long as it is clear what source (and what portion of said source) you are
referring to, your citation will be acceptable. You will not be expected to include these works in
your works cited page.
Provide a full, MLA-style, bibliographic citation for any additional sources you’ve used in writing
your paper in a concluding Works Cited page. (Additional sources are not required, but you may
choose to use them.)
Reference the sources above within the body of the paper using simple parenthetical citations.
For example: “Behold, a simple citation for an additional source that I decided to use in this
paper” (Additional Source Author [or Name of Document if Authored Anonymously], [Page
Number, if Available]).
STYLE GUIDELINES
Stylistically, a successful essay will:
have a title that addresses / summarizes the argument and themes of the paper;
have a strong, incisive, and well-defined thesis;
have a graceful, well-crafted introduction and conclusion;
have strong paragraph topic sentences that summarize the content of the following paragraph,
and demonstrate strong, clear links to the overall argument of the paper;
be effectively organized;
show signs of close and careful proofreading.
*** PLEASE NOTE ***
For Paper 1, you WILL lose points for non-comma related grammar and spelling mistakes (every three
corrections will result in a loss of one point from your grade). You are in a college course; sloppy writing
is unacceptable.
With that in mind, I’d like to offer several tips for writing and organizing your papers effectively:
Do not try to sound smart (i.e. write in an affected academic fashion). You are smart. And that will
come across. Bloated vocabulary will only make you sound desperate (and more often than not,
students who try to inflate their vocabulary end up using words incorrectly). You may even
consider writing your essays by hand before typing them. Student often write more clearly and
effectively when they trade in the keyboard-and-screen for pen-and-paper.
Outline your argument first, then translate it into prose. This will help you figure out the structure
of your essay before you have to worry about word choice, grammar, and spelling. Please do not
dismiss this as a juvenile exercise! Many, if not most, pieces of professional writing begin with
detailed outlines.
Read your essay aloud to yourself. If and when you stumble over a sentence or phrase, rewrite it.
Repeat this process until you stop stumbling.
P a p e r # 1 P r o m p t | 3
Most importantly, consider making use of UF’s many writing-related resources. These include the
UF Writing Studio: http://writing.ufl.edu/writing-studio/
Your TAs and instructor will be happy to discuss the contents of your papers and read polished drafts
during office hours.
Paper 1 will be worth one-third of your overall paper grade. The grading scale is available on the syllabus.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR PROMOTIONAL DISCOUNT DISPLAYED ON THE WEBSITE AND GET A DISCOUNT FOR YOUR PAPER NOW!
