Mexican Chicago
Project description
For this paper, you will need to write 3-4 pages and submit it through the dropbox labeled “Mexican Chicago”. The first page should be a REVIEW of the book Please note
that a review is not the same as a book report. With a book report, you are simply recapping what the author wrote. A book review is completely different.
You will need to start with the author’s thesis. What is Arredondo’s argument? Why did she write the book? What new information or story does she tell? What makes her
qualified to do so? You MUST correctly identify Arredondo’s thesis.
Next, what evidence does she use to prove that thesis? Please make note of which primary sources were used. Does she offer any counter-arguments, or discuss any
dissension to this argument? How well does she support this argument? Is the evidence solid? Does the evidence support the argument, or does the argument support the
evidence? Or is it simply stretched too far to be really useful?
All of the above should be OBJECTIVE, just the facts. Include a paragraph (no more) if you wish, of your subjective opinion of the book. Did you like it? Easy to read?
Too technical? Etc.
The final 2-3 pages will be “your response” to the book, but you will base that response on a primary document related to someone who was also an immigrant of that
era. This will require you to locate a primary source tied to that era. Then, based on that source, and your reading of the book, you will make an argument about what
Arredondo has written. This argument should be clearly stated as YOUR thesis. You may decide that her take on the era was spot on, and use evidence from your primary
source to show how. Alternatively, you may argue that this work is flawed or incomplete, again, based on the evidence that you find in your source. Another option is
that the book falls somewhere in between. What you want to do is write about how your experiences as an immigrant were similar to or different from the individuals
described in Mexican Chicago during this period. Depending on the source you find, you may have to make educated guesses as to how this portion plays out. That is ok,
as long as you can find something in your source to back up your argument.
You will have a “pre-assignment”, due 11.59pm Thursday, 4 September. For that assignment, you will have to submit your primary source for approval, as well as
Arredondo’s thesis. There will be a dropbox labelled “Pre-Assignment” and you can submit both on one document, in the following format:
Source: Cite your source here, using the proper Chicago format. Thesis: State Arredondo’s thesis.
If your proposed source is not appropriate, or you do not have the correct thesis, you will receive feedback and the opportunity to resubmit for some credit.
Your paper should be 3-4 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12, with one inch margins. Historians use the University of Chicago formatting
style, NOT MLA or APA. You can use the library’s online help service for proper Chicago documentation, but note that I request footnotes, not endnotes, and never
parenthetical citations. ( http://www.lonestar.edu/library/citation-help.htm ) Failure to format properly will lead to a reduction in your grade. Proper spelling and
grammar are mandatory. It is due by 11.59pm Thursday 11 September.
I will post a discussion box if anyone wishes to pick each other’s brains about the book; however, this is NOT a group assignment. The dropbox will run all papers
through “turnitin” to check for plagiarism, and I will certainly notice if two papers resemble each other, or any discussion notes not posted by the author. Your
syllabus outlines the Lone Star College System policy for Academic Integrity and the penalties for violating such. Please be assured that any violations will result in
the strongest penalties available.
Additionally, please know that I know all of the tricks for making papers look longer than they are. If you attempt any of these, you will lose the points for
formatting AND length. If you answer all of the questions posed above, you should have no problem meeting the length requirement.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a temptation to load papers with quotations from the book or
your primary source as evidence. DO NOT do this. This assignment is for you to
demonstrate your mastery of the material, not Gabriela Arredondo’s. Excessive padding
of papers with quotations will be penalized.
POINTS BREAKDOWN (Rubric) Author’s Thesis Your Thesis Format
Citation format Content (incl spelling and grammar) Length deficiency.
10% 10% 10% 10% 60% Points will be deducted commiserate with the
One of the sources that MUST be used is by Samuel Bryan “Mexican immigrants in the United States”, The Survey, 20, no. 23 (September 1912). Accessed September 2, 2014.
Digital ID 597
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