How Michael Graded Your Midterm
Grading is seldom an easy task - especially essay questions. This is one approach Michael Pebworth, a history GTF, used to answer some of the inevitable questions which come after an exam. It would also be a good thing to hand out to students BEFORE the midterm.
Essays:
None of the essays were designed to elicit one singular "right" answer. Instead, the idea was to provide questions that would allow for different interpretations. I graded your essays by how well they employed historical information to support a judgment. I was also looking for a certain level of coherence in the way your essay presented evidence.
For starters, it helps to have a thesis statement or paragraph. Your thesis should clearly state your position on an issue and provide some kind of "map" that indicates the direction your essay will take in proving your position. Here is a pretty good thesis:
The United States in the 1930's was still predominantly a "white man's country." It is important to note the progress made by women, African-Americans, immigrants, and Native Americans, but also to realize they were still subordinate to white male America.
Even from this short thesis, I know the position of this essay in regard to the question, and the order of the subjects that it will address in order to illustrate how America, even after some reform, remained a "white" place.
Get organized. I also took into account how you organized your essay. I know tests are stressful and a pain in the behind, but it's still a good idea to have more than one paragraph. It is very difficult to make sense of a paragraph that extends beyond two blue book pages. Try to give each idea its own one or two or even three paragraphs, always with a topic sentence.
Illustrative examples. When you make an assertion "African Americans organized to fight Jim Crow," it's a good idea to immediately follow up with an example like, "W.E.B. DuBois formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909." You can then explain what kind of ideology and methods the NAACP used. In other words, give examples, or evidence of the things you're talking about and explain them. DO NOT ASSUME I know what any abbreviation, person, event, etc., means.
Always explain. Get your facts straight. I also looked at whether or not your essay used correct information from lecture, textbook, and course readings. I know there has been a large amount of material over the last few weeks, but you are still responsible for sorting it out correctly.
Answer the question. If the question asks you to mention legislation or organizations, make sure to mention at least one example of each. READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY. Do its bidding. Fall under its hypnotic power.
I looked for whether or not your essay picked up on any of the sign posts indicated by the question.
Avoid some common pitfalls:
Do not talk about the present. I read the newspapers too, so you don't need to tell me how even now, the United States has problems with racism. This is a history course. Tell me about things in the past.
Avoid the "people." There is, and was no such thing as "the people." There are whites, blacks, poor, rich, native, immigrant, middle class, whatever kind of people, but NO MONOLITHIC PEOPLE.
Lizard 23 Fall 94
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Teaching Effectiveness Program, Teaching and Learning Center, University of Oregon.
Last Modified:
03/18/10