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The second writing assignment will focus on using readings from the class as your source of evidence. You will pick one of the following question (1-3 below), then you will identify 6 quotes from the book that you would use as evidence if you were going to write an essay. You will need to organize those quotes into a structure, using topic sentences and an introduction to link the quotes together into an overall argument. Pick one of the following questions:Following the end of the Civil War, the United States entered into the period known as Reconstruction. On the one hand, there was the need to reunite the country politically. On the other hand, there was the challenge of incorporating the newly freed slaves into American society. Write an essay that shows which of these two aspects of Reconstruction — political or social — was the most important for the future of the United States.The Second Industrial Revolution transformed the United States into the most powerful economy in the world. Write an essay that explains what was responsible for the United States to have such a huge economic boom in the late 1800’s through the early 20thThe 1920’s was a time of tremendous economic expansion and social change. Economically, new consumer goods were introduced that sought to create an easier life for middle class Americans. At the same time, many Americans felt threatened by the changes going on around them and fought to return America to the “good old days” through legislation

and organizations. Write an essay that explains which of these two trends is the most important characteristic of the 1920’s in the United States.Below are the three steps you need to follow for this exam:Identify 6 pieces of evidence (quotations) from the reading that you would use to answer the question you have chosen. Evidence is not an event or a chronology. Evidence is information that supports the interpretation you have set out in your introduction and refined in the specific topic sentence for that paragraph. You need to include the chapter and section number for each piece of evidence.Write a series of topic sentences that set up each piece of evidence in your essay. A topic sentence needs to tell the reader the connection between this next step in your argument, and the evidence you intend to use to support your position. The goal is to have the reader be able to read the topic sentences and understand the overall argument. In addition, the topic sentence links the quotation to the overall argument you are making.After completing a and b, write an introduction that clearly outlines the question that you have chosen, defines your response to that question, and then goes on to outline the structure of your essay. Even though the introduction appears at the top of the assignment, you should write the introduction last in the process because then you will know what your overall presentation is about. You won’t know what your argument is until you complete steps a and b.