Book review: The Myth of the Robber Barons by Burton W. Folsom
Instructions:
In your essay, you should 1) summarize Folsom’s main argument(s), 2) discuss how he supports his arguments and the evidence he uses, and 3) evaluate the book and explain whether or not you find his arguments convincing.
You should specifically discuss material from at least THREE chapters from Chapters 1-6.
Turn in a hard copy of your review, printed and stapled, on the assigned due date.
Email a copy as a Word attachment as well.
Length: Four to five pages (double-spaced, 12-pt font max). Include page numbers.
Note: Just because your paper meets the minimum length does not necessarily mean it will satisfactorily fulfill the assignment. Your paper may need to be longer to meet all three goals of the assignment. The quality of your review is more important than simply meeting the minimum length requirement.[unique_solution]
Structure: Your essay should meet a standard of college-level writing. It should be organized into paragraphs. It should be proofread so that it is reasonably free of writing errors. Avoid unnecessary use of passive voice. It should have an introduction and conclusion. Some good writing advice is that the introduction should tell the reader what you are going to say, the middle paragraphs should say it, and they conclusion should recap what you have said.
Quoting: Statements taken directly from the texts should be within quotation marks. Your essay should include direct quotations. You can also paraphrase an author by restating what he says in your own words.
Cite material that you directly quote or paraphrase using footnotes, according to Chicago/Turabian citation style.
You do NOT need a separate works cited page for this assignment.
Plagiarism: UTA’s standards of academic integrity especially apply to this assignment. The University defines plagiarism as
- Using someone else’s work in your assignment without appropriate acknowledgement
- Making slight variations in the language and then failing to give credit to the source
Students found guilty of plagiarism will receive a 0 for the assignment and can be reported to the Office of Student Conduct. Use correct citation to avoid unintentional plagiarism. Aside from quotations, this book review should be your own original written work.
If you have any questions relating to this assignment and matters of academic integrity, consult me, the UTA Writing Center, or UTA Library’s Acknowledging Sources resource.
One last tip: Sometimes students refer to history books as “novels.” The Myth of the Robber Barons is non-fiction; it is NOT a novel.