Any topic (writer’s choice)

The Equal Rights Amendment is my topic. The women who came before me who fought for and pushed to pass the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, inspired me to choose the Equal Rights Amendment for my research.

For the projects in this course, you will select a historical event that has impacted American society in some way. You may select an event that was discussed in
the course, or you may select your own event, with instructor approval. You may consider using the event you chose to work on in your Perspectives in History
class, if that event is something you wish to investigate further through this assessment.
In Project 1, you will develop a plan for an essay on this historical event. The plan will include a brief description of the selected historical event and the resources
you will use in your research. In addition, you will identify an audience for your essay and decide how to communicate your information to this audience. In
Project 2, you will write an essay analyzing the historical event you selected, examining its impact on society as well as its impact on you personally

Your writing plan should answer the following prompt: Select a historical event that has impacted American society. Develop a plan for writing your essay,
describing the historical event, selecting appropriate resources for your research, and identifying an audience for your essay. The purpose of this writing plan is to
provide you with a way to gather your thoughts and begin thinking about how to support your thesis statement. The following critical elements will be assessed
in a 1- to 2-page word processing document.

IV. Based on your review of primary and secondary sources, develop a research question related to the historical event you selected. In other words, what
would you like to know more about?
V. Identify an audience that would be interested in your historical event and research question. For example, who would benefit most from hearing your
message?
VI. Describe how and why you can tailor your message to your audience, providing specific examples. For example, will your audience understand historical
terminology and principles associated with your event, or will you need to explain these? How will you communicate effectively with your audience?
Project 1 Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your writing plan should adhere to the following formatting requirements: 1–2 pages, double-spaced, using 12-point Times New
Roman font and one-inch margins.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Historical Event Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
description is exceptionally
clear and contextualized
Describes selected historical
event and its significance
Describes selected historical
event and its significance, but
with gaps in detail or clarity
Does not describe selected
historical event and its
significance
15.8
2
Secondary Sources Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
description of resources
demonstrates strong
understanding of information
needed to investigate
foundational historic events
Describes at least two relevant
and appropriate secondary
sources that could be used to
research the historical event
Describes at least two
secondary sources that could
be used to research the
historical event, but with gaps
in appropriateness, relevance,
or detail
Does not describe at least two
secondary sources that could
be used to research the
historical event
15.8
Primary Sources Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
description of resources
demonstrates strong
understanding of information
needed to investigate
foundational historic events
Describes at least two relevant
and appropriate primary
sources that could be used to
research the historical event
Describes at least two primary
sources that could be used to
research the historical event,
but with gaps in
appropriateness, relevance, or
detail
Does not describe at least two
primary sources that could be
used to research the historical
event
15.8
Research Question Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
response demonstrates insight
into connection between
research and question
Develops research question
related to the selected
historical event based on
review of primary and
secondary sources
Develops research question
related to the selected
historical event, but question is
not based on review of
primary and secondary sources
Does not develop research
question related to the
selected historical event
15.8
Audience Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
identification of audience
demonstrates insight into
event and question
Identifies an audience that
would be interested in event
and research question
Identifies an audience that
would be interested in event
and research question, but
audience is not appropriate for
event and question
Does not identify an audience
that would be interested in
event and research question
15.8
Message Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
response demonstrates
sophisticated understanding of
how to effectively
communicate with specific
audience
Describes how and why
message can be tailored to
audience, providing specific
examples
Describes how and why
message can be tailored to
audience, but with gaps in
examples
Does not describe how and
why message can be tailored
to audience
15.8
Articulation of
Response
Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented
in a professional and easy-toread format
Submission has no major
errors related to citations,
grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization
Submission has major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or
organization that negatively
impact readability and
articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or
organization that prevent
understanding of ideas
5.2
Total 100