Homework Guidelines and Rubric, 1.1 MW

Directions and Sample for Homework Assignments:

Here is an example of a typical Homework Assignment:

Homework # 1:

Due dates will usually be Saturdays at 11:59 pm. Chapter #: Choose and summarize a Topic, Define Two Key Terms, and answer Chapter Questions # 4 and 5. This is a writing assignment worth ten points.

Purpose:

To evaluate student's critical thinking responses to Key Terms and Chapter Questions.

Directions:

There is no time limit but you must complete the assignment by the due date and you only have 1 attempt. Make sure you follow the homework guidelines and that you use "Control V"to paste your work onto Canvas or upload a file. Remember that if you turn this homework in late you lose a point for each day it is late, up to 5 pts.

Your total assignment should be between 500-1200 words long and follow these requirements:

• Single Space. 
• 1 inch margins on top, bottom, and sides. 
• 12 pt Times New Roman or similar font. 
• Include the number of the question for each answer and skip a line between answers.    
• You do not need to include the questions, just the answers
• Examine the Homework Rubric for further reference as to how points are allocated

The easiest way is to complete the assignment on another document program and then copy and paste into the Canvas site using Control+V. This will enable you to save your work in case there is an issue with the Canvas site.

Homework Sample:

Your Name

History 4.1, Spring 16

Hw # , Chapter #

I. Topic: Write a paragraph (5 sentences) where you summarize a topic of your choice. The topic has to relate to the time period we are covering the week that the homework is due. You may choose anything that is interesting to you or related to your major. You must do your own research using your textbook or any outside source—just do not copy and paste from the internet. You do not need to cite sources.

Example: Topic: Witches in England

Amidst all other hardships in seventeenth century England, there was also a growing issue with witch hunts and trials. It’s speculated that this arose due to the suffering that was caused by historical events such as England’s civil war and the plague. With people having difficulty accepting and understanding all of the terrible circumstances that England was subject to throughout these years, they began looking for somewhere to point the blame. Unfortunately for many, these scapegoats were normal people that were once neighbors and friends. The accused were often people that had some type of physical abnormality, such as a birth mark or defect, and were mostly female. They were searched out by people who proclaimed themselves as witch exposing professionals that were paid very generously. Once a person was accused they would be stripped down by midwives to reveal/identify whatever physical abnormality had been suspected. They would then undergo questioning and be tortured sometimes to the point where they would actually confess to being a witch. Another common practice was to tie the suspect up and throw them in a river or pond because it was believed that floating was proof of guilt. People that sunk were believed to be innocent and would be yanked from the water by a rope that was tied around their waist. Thousands of people died due to ignorance and the superstitious belief that people were making pacts with the devil.

II. Key Terms: There is a list of "Key Terms" at the end of each chapter. You will pick two from that list and provide at least 5 relevant facts about them.  It would be best to write the five W’s for each one: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Finally, you must include the historical relevance of each item—if you do not include historical relevance you will not get the full points.  Please use complete sentences not just a date, name, and place.  DO NOT SIMPLY LIST INFORMATION!!  

Example: Spanish Armada

Incorrect: 

Spanish navy in the Renaissance under King Philip.

• They were the ones that brought gold over from America
• They beat the other countries
• They lost in the 1580s to the English cause of a storm or something

Correct:

The name given to the Spanish naval fleet in the sixteenth century under King Philip II. The Armada was a formidable naval force that controlled the commercial routes of the Atlantic and helped to maintain Spanish colonial supremacy for most of the century. The Armada was ultimately defeated by the English because of bad planning and bad weather while attempting to invade England in 1588. Although the Spanish navy was eventually able to recover and rebuilt to its former size, the psychological impact of the defeat was too great and it never regained its prestige. The most important results of this defeat were that England and other European nations could begin to establish permanent colonies in the New World and that England emerged as one of the most powerful naval and commercial forces in Europe.

III. Critical Thinking Questions: There are questions at the end of the chapter in your textbook (or from assigned primary documents), I will select at least two of these questions and you will answer them in complete sentences and well-developed paragraphs. You do not have to write out the question, it is optional.

Example Question: What was the source of the major disagreement between the Pope and European Monarchs during the "Lay Investiture Controversy"? How was the conflict resolved?

Incorrect:

1. The pope and the king of Europe did not like each other because each wanted power and did not like each other. So they argued and then the Pope was killed because the king got mad and stuff.

Correct:

1. The conflict of control of Christian Europe between the popes and monarchs began with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III. He appointed Clement II as pope, who was loyal in return, and seemed to turn the tide in favor of emperors. Pope Nicholas II wanted to stop secular rulers from promoting church officials to higher offices and came up with the method we still use today to choose the pope. Tensions mounted when Pope Gregory VII decided popes, not royals, should guide Christian Europe. The Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV disagreed with Gregory about who should appoint bishops in Germany. Henry IV sent armies into Italy while a powerful patron of Gregory’s, the Countess of Tuscany, countered with her own. Eventually Gregory excommunicated Emperor Henry IV and the emperor responded by using military force to drive Pope Gregory out of Rome. The next emperor, Henry V, solved the problem with the Concordant of Worms. This set forth the understanding that the pope could present new bishops with their symbols of office while the emperor could approve of the elected of bishops. This dispute demonstrated that the pope could use excommunication as a weapon while rulers had the advantage of having armies at their disposal, which the Popes lacked without patrons. Another was emperors had a hand in appointing officials in the church because politics and religion could overlap.