This assignment is a “think piece,†which is an essay that requires you to interact with a subject and develop your own interpretation based on that experience. After your initial analysis of a specific topic, you should synthesize that with other outside research to support your ideas. You should use a minimum of two other scholarly, peer-reviewed resources.

Specifically for this assignment we will use an interactive map of westward expansion from 1860 to 1890. You can access it at this URL: http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/asset/akh10_int_expansion/ Once you have the map open, click on the boxes for Major Cities, Railroad Networks, Improved Agricultural Land, and States and Territories. At the bottom of the map, you will notice the decades 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1890. Click on each of these decades in succession and you will see the ways in which the country changed. The goal of this assignment is for you to interpret, synthesize, and analyze what you are seeing on the map. You will make a well-organized argument, support that through research, and then write a conclusion for your findings. 

Analysis is the process whereby the researcher separates something into its component parts. In an analytical essay, the writer examines a subject relative to its own terms, and explains the problem by studying the individual parts. In contrast, synthesis requires that the researcher examine individual unrelated parts in an effort to discover something new. A good essay will utilize both analysis and synthesis. Instead of examining the simple facts of a problem, the writer will go beyond the obvious, making connections between different pieces of evidence to discover something new.

As an example, consider a modern map of the world illustrating the growth of the internet over the last thirty years. It demonstrates the new ways in which the world is connected by facilitating the spread of ideas through instantaneous communication. Access to much of the information that once required us to physically travel to a library is now accessible through a computer at home (or a mobile phone in your pocket). Social media has also given us the ability to discuss and debate ideas, not only with our friends and family, but with people we may have never met. We all have the power to disseminate knowledge around the globe within a matter of seconds.

If you were writing a paper on this topic (this is an example only, as your paper will focus on the period from 1860 to 1890) you could analyze this larger topic by focusing on a specific aspect like use of the internet in online education. You might make the argument that the internet has enabled more non-traditional students to pursue a higher education. Your synthesis would include understanding the connections between your outside research and your argument. 

This essay should be at least three double-spaced pages of text (Times New Roman, font size 12) and you must consult a minimum of two academically credible sources. Bibliographies and citations can be in MLA, APA, or Chicago format. If you are a history major, we strongly suggest that all citations adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style. 

This essay needs to be turned in through the assignment section for grading. If you use any of the information from your sources word-for-word, you must cite the source by using endnotes or footnotes, and enclose those words within quotation marks. If you read the information and write it in your own words and it is not common knowledge, then you must cite the source because you are paraphrasing someone's information.

The short paper must include a cover page with your name, course number and course title, instructor's name, and date. You must also include a bibliography at the end of your paper. While composing your paper, use proper English. Do not use abbreviations, contractions, informal language, passive voice, or first/ second person (I, you, we, our, etc). Before submitting your paper, check your grammar and use spell check. Remember, the way you talk is not the way you write a paper. Please label your paper as follows: lastnamefirstnameHIST102ShortPaper.