A MERICAN H ERITAGE 100

E SSAY A SSIGNMENT
Fall 2019

Purpose

American Heritage introduces you to a new way of thinking about society and the institutions
and values that organize it. The readings from the Whittington reader, the Sandel text, course
reserve, and the course textbook give you a vocabulary and foundation upon which to build your
thinking. The essays present an opportunity to practice expressing these ideas so you can become
more comfortable and familiar with them.
We cannot overstate the importance of these ideas. They are all around you. Simply because you
do not recognize them does not mean they are not shaping the world in which you live. You must
become confident and comfortable with these ideas if you are going to flourish spiritually and
intellectually in the world you are about to inherit.
The assigned essays give you an opportunity to construct a thoughtful and compelling argument
about ideas and concepts from the course. This will mean taking a clear position, providing
adequate evidence and reasons to support your thesis, connecting your discussion to course
concepts, and reflecting on the implications of your argument. The essay should be structured
effectively, and within the space provided, your argument should develop thoughtfully. (In other
words, the order of the ideas and evidence matters, and you should do more than merely restate
the same point over and over again.)

Assignment

Each essay will have an assigned topic (see topics below). Drawing upon material from the assigned
reading and other course resources, write an essay of no more than 500 words in which you take a
position about the assigned topic. You should provide compelling reasons, arguments, or other
evidence that support your position. Your argument should connect in some way to ideas, concepts,
or themes from the course, and you should make those connections clear to the reader. Your
essay should do more than merely restate what we have covered in class, however. Instead, you
should craft an insightful, compelling argument of your own, drawing on course themes and
concepts to support your perspective. Your essay should conclude with thoughtful reflection on
the implications of your argument.

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Essay Topics

Below are the topics for each essay. Each topic is a statement that connects with important themes,
concepts, issues, and readings from the course. In your essay, you must take a position on the
assigned topic, clearly articulate your position, and develop compelling reasons, arguments, and
other evidence to support your position. You will not be graded on which side of the argument you
choose, but on the quality of the argument offered in support of your position, whatever it may be.

• Essay 1: Government and society have no role to play in defining the best way to live. Only
individuals can do that for themselves.

• Essay 2: Because free exchange benefits both parties to the exchange, Americans should be
allowed to sell their votes to the highest bidder.

• Essay 3: Choose one of the following two topics:

– Because political parties create excessive conflict, the constitutional system would func-
tion more effectively without them.
– Private power is just as dangerous as public power, so it is good that government has
grown since the Founding era.

Preparing to Write Your Paper

As you prepare to write, you may want to think about the following questions:

• What position will you take on the issue and why? (You are free to argue either side of the
issue addressed in the topic.)

• What evidence, reasons, or examples will support your position? Does the evidence fit
together to support your argument? Can you come up with evidence or examples beyond
those that were already discussed in class?

• How does your argument connect to specific American Heritage concepts discussed in
class or course readings? Do the readings fully address the important issues, or are they
leaving something important out? (Be constructively critical, and feel free to add your own
perspectives or raise concerns or objections to course concepts or readings.)

• Have you fully considered the other side? What are some important criticisms, objections, or
concerns that a thoughtful reader of your argument might have? (For every controversial
issue, there is another perspective to be considered.) How could you respond to those
concerns or criticisms?

• Why does your argument matter? In other words, reflect thoughtfully on what’s at stake in
the position you have taken.

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 • Does your argument relate to gospel principles? If yes, are there conflicts? Propose what truth
we can still glean. If there is agreement, explain how it might affect our worship, service, etc.
(Note: You are not required to include gospel principles in your essay, but you are free to do
so if they will help you construct a better argument. If you decide to include them, your work
will be graded on the same standard as the others, so make sure you provide high-quality
analysis. Mere appeals to religious authority are not sufficient.)

Do not limit yourself to this list of questions, which is just a starting point. The key is that your
essay should demonstrate that you understand the topic, have taken a clear position on the issues
raised, apply ideas from the course beyond what was written in the book, and ultimately construct
a compelling argument.

Advice

Regarding length, do not worry about exactly matching the suggested word count (500 words,
which is typically about two double-spaced pages). If you are able to meet the assignment’s
requirements in fewer words, that is perfectly acceptable. Length is far less important than quality
of content.
On the other hand, you should keep it brief, and every essay should include a word count. Though
we appreciate the enthusiasm, we will not grade a five-page essay. We will stop grading after 500
words. To achieve brevity, dispense with superfluous words, avoid lengthy introductions, and stay
focused on a single concept or idea (your main thesis). If you are drawing on ideas from other
sources, you should clearly indicate where those ideas originated using any standard citation style
(APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.). Since the purpose is to demonstrate your understanding, you
should avoid all but the shortest of quotations.
This project must be done individually. You are welcome to discuss your ideas with classmates; in
fact, this may be a useful way to spark ideas for the project. However, each of you should have
distinct ideas and analysis. You will submit the assignment electronically via Learning Suite, either
as a Word or PDF document. On submission, Learning Suite will verify its originality using Turnitin;
plagiarism will result in failure on the assignment. Be sure to attribute any quoted materials (and
set it off with quotation marks).

Bibliography

With each essay, you should cite at least two high-quality outside sources (the course textbook,
City Upon a Hill, does not count) that inform or provide evidence for your argument. At the end
of your essay, include a works cited list in an accepted bibliographic style (APA, MLA, Chicago,
Turabian, etc.). You are welcome to pick the style that you prefer, but you must follow your chosen
style consistently throughout the essay. The works cited list at the end of your essay does not count
against your word limit.

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Essay Standards and Formatting Instructions

• Your essay should be original work; if you discuss this in a study group, be sure you do not
duplicate the same example or approach.

• Your essay should take a clear position and support it with compelling reasons, ideas, and
arguments. You may choose either side of the issue, but whichever side you choose, support
your position with clear reasoning. Do not oversimplify or attack a caricature of opposing
views.

• Your essay should be well written, meaning free of spelling and grammatical errors, logically
arranged, and concise. If you need help with writing, visit the FHSS Writing Lab (1049 JFSB,
http://fhsswriting.byu.edu) or the library’s Research and Writing Center (3322 HBLL).

• Your essay should include the following Honor Pledge at the conclusion of the essay: “This
paper represents my own work in accordance with University regulations.” The Honor Pledge does
not count against your word limit.

And finally, a few words about essay formatting. All writing assignments must be submitted in
electronic format, in a document type that Learning Suite will accept (typically, Word documents or
PDFs are best). In addition, please adhere to the following guidelines:

• Use Times New Roman 12 or its close equivalent. Your professors and TAs like fancy fonts as
much as the next person, but not when reading your essay.

• Your essay should be double-spaced.

• While these essays are short, they are still formal, not a journal entry or stream-of-consciousness
rant. The FHSS Writing Lab will be particularly helpful with issues of tone and with writing
mechanics generally.

• Proofread your writing for typographical, grammatical, and punctuation errors. If you
consistently make these kinds of errors, your grade will drop.

• Please include a word count in your document. Your name, the essay title, the honor pledge,
and the word count itself should not be included in the count — only the body of the essay.

Following these guidelines will help your grader focus on your ideas and your prose when reading
your essays. Failure to follow these guidelines will mean a lower grade on the assignment.

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Grading Rubric

You will receive 10 points for submitting an essay, 3 points for your bibliography, and up to 12
additional points for the quality of your work. TAs will make every effort to grade essays quickly.
Bear in mind that this requires that they be brief in any feedback. If you truly do not understand
their feedback, you can solicit more; but please be considerate of their time constraints in doing so.

Submission
10 Student submitted an essay
Bibliography
One point for each bibliographic entry, with additional consideration for high-quality
sources. High-quality sources include academic articles, presses, and thoughtful outlets
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such as newspapers and magazines of record. Points are deducted for improper citation
style or failure to include the proper types of sources.
Writing Style
1 Free of spelling or grammar errors.
Well organized. Introduction is compelling, ideas are logically arranged, and the essay
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includes a meaningful conclusion.
Clearly and concisely written. The student takes a clear position, and the essay includes
1 no repetitious statements or fluff words, stays on topic, and provides seamless transitions
between paragraphs.
American Heritage Concepts
1 The argument clearly connects to themes and concepts from the course.
The student’s discussion reflects an accurate understanding of course themes and con-
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cepts, including definitions of key terms when needed.
Analysis
Key conclusions are not just asserted, but are supported by well-chosen, consistent, and
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convincing reasons, examples, or arguments.
Evidence comes from high-quality sources (academic journals, presses, or other reputable
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public sources or datasets).
The argument shows evidence of creative and thoughtful engagement with the topic. It
1 is more than a mere restatement of what was in the readings or what the professor said
in class.
The essay concludes with thoughtful reflection on the implications of the argument. In
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other words, the essay addresses questions about what is at stake and why this matters.