Writing Homework Help

Historical Voices Project

Purpose:

The purposes of this assignment are to let you practice 1) analyzing the significance of buildings within a historical context and 2) articulating that significance using the basic conventions of academic writing. You should draw on course content about architectural history and terminology in this paper.

Tasks:

1. Read the text that you select from the options provided. Underline, highlight, or otherwise note the passages about architecture that you think are especially significant.

2. Think about the text and what the author says about the building(s) he describes. What role is architecture playing in the text?

To answer this summative question you might begin by asking questions like:

What features does the author record?

What does he omit?

To whom does he attribute the building?

Is the building presented positively or negatively?

How accurate is the description?

In what context is the author writing?

3. Write an argument-driven academic essay in which you articulate an answer to the question posed in bullet point #2. This essay should be between 600 and 900 words.

Select one of the following texts. Your essay should only address one text. In the following list, each text is described in brief and is followed by the correct citation for that text (hyperlinked). Note that the citation frequently lists the name of the person who translated the text into English while the description gives the name of the text’s author.

Criteria for Success:

Your project will be graded on 4 equally weighted criteria. Refer to the rubric for more details.

The clarity of argument/thesis statement and its relationship to the objectives of the assignment

The relevance, accuracy, and sophistication of the evidence used to support the argument/thesis

The demonstrated knowledge of architectural history, including the correct use of terminology

The essay’s adherence to the standards of academic writing, including standard American English, proper citation of sources (footnoting guide), formal language, and the judicious use of the 1st person