Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Claiming Your Life And Education, Kelly E. Corkery

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

My essay is a rhetorical analysis of Adrienne Rich’s speech, “Claiming an Education." I chose Rich’s speech because a friend of mine told me that her introduction to college seminar at Penn State discussed the speech, and I found the speech to be very interesting. After choosing the speech, I completed two drafts, which were both edited in both a peer review and by my instructor, Professor Strain. After my first draft, I also had a writing conference with Professor Strain to refine my work more. After my second draft, I met with Professor Strain again to discuss submitting this …

Reconstruction In The Big Easy: The Changing Interpretations Of The Role Of Race During Reconstruction In New Orleans, Claire Sullivan

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This historiography essay was the final assignment of my ASI 120 (Core Program) course at the University of Dayton. In preparation for the paper, I read A Short History of Reconstruction, 1863-1877 by Eric Foner. After reading and reflecting on Foner’s book, I decided I wanted to focus my topic on Reconstruction in New Orleans, with specific emphasis on racial issues and the New Orleans Riot. I chose this topic because it allowed me to further research a topic relating to social justice with respect to race relations, something I am very passionate about. I spent a great deal of …

The Ku Klux Klan's Reign Of Terror During Reconstruction: Effects, Motives, And Composition, Jack O'Donnell

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

The final project in the course ASI 120 was a historiography on American Reconstruction. The purpose of a historiography is to evaluate the ways in which historians' views of a certain topic have changed over time. I chose to evaluate and analyze historians' views of the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror during American Reconstruction, focusing specifically on interpretations of the Ku Klux Klan's effects, motives, and composition. To complete this assignment, I analyzed eight different sources written by historians throughout the twentieth century. After writing a summary of each source, I was tasked with choosing which source provided the …

Learning To Read Was Great, Alyssa T. Mims

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This project was written with the intentions of telling the story of how I learned to read and the effects of my reading skills flourishing.

A Tale As Old As Time: Changing Interpretations Of Democratic And Republican Polarization During Reconstruction, Dawson J. Vandervort

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This paper started in the beginning of the 2018 spring semester with the reading of Eric Foner's A Short History of Reconstruction. This book started with a historiography, which students modeled their own off of, and continued with an extremely detailed documentation of Reconstruction. After this my instructor had the class propose a topic and choose 15 relevant sources. Then the class chose 8 sources to create an annotated bibliography with. In March I began the writing process slowly and tediously, but competition with a friend created a positive and fun environment. As we worked, we read our papers to …

The Colfax Massacre: A Culmination Of Political And Racial Disparity, Lian F. Mitzian

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

I wrote this paper for the interdisciplinary humanities course The Development of Western Culture in a Global Context. My writing process consisted of first examining various primary and secondary sources on Southern Reconstruction and the Colfax Massacre. This gave me an understanding of how historians have come to understand the event throughout time. In my research, I found two categories of interpretations, which I then used to organize my ideas and develop my own understanding of the implications of the event.

"Declaration Of Conscience": A Rhetorical Analysis, Ashley M. Nihem

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

First, I did thorough research on Margaret Chase Smith and her involvement and position in politics. I also researched the Cold War and McCarthyism so that I could accurately and clearly give a background on Chase's speech. I then decided what parts of rhetoric were most and least prominent in Chase's speech and based the format of paper on that. I looked into these parts of rhetorical at different parts of the speech and analyzed how she used the rhetoric in accordance with language choices, and the effect that it had (or was meant to have) on her audience.

Educating Our Future: White Women Teachers And What They Contributed To The Reconstruction, Franchesca R. Hackworth

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

The overall goal of this piece was to compose an essay conveying how different historiographers have varied in their views of a single moment within the Reconstruction period. Discovering the similarities and differences was intriguing and provided much to analyze. I specifically chose to review how historiographers have viewed the white women teachers — mostly Northerners — who traveled to the South during the Reconstruction period for the education of freedmen.

As this extensive process took hold, I knew the topic I chose was perfectly fit for me. I have a deep appreciation for education and all that it does …

A Failure Of Femininity Within 'G.I. Jane', Maggie Weaver

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This essay was wrote and edited throughout my ENG 200H course which featured the theme of women in the military. In preparation for the essay the class watched the film G.I. Jane directed by Ridley Scott. The assignment was to address and analyze one prominent theme within the film and after research and consideration I decided to examine how the film portrayed femininity. After identifying which aspects of the film I wanted to address in my paper I wrote my first draft. This original draft then underwent several edits both from my professor and the University of Dayton Write Place …

Critique Of Kathleen Parker’S 'Women Don't Belong In Military Combat', Megan M. Rice

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

For this project, I chose an opinion article about whether or not women should be allowed in combat positions. The author believes women should not be in the infantry, while I believe women should be given the chance if they so desire to be in a combat role. The main idea in the original article was that women are not capable of succeeding in the infantry. I countered this idea throughout my response essay by agreeing that not every woman is cut out for a combat job, but the women out there who would thrive in the infantry should be …

Love As An Active Choice, Madison M. Millhouse

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

For this assignment, my professor asked us to find an image and to analyze it for its accurate (or inaccurate) depiction of love based on the works we read from Eric Fromm and bell hooks. I found this three-framed image of a moving statue by Tamara Kvesitadze and thought it was a great representation of Fromm's paradox that in love "'two beings become one yet remain two" (19). From there, I began to examine the other ways the image aligned with Fromm and hooks' concepts of love and discussed with my professor the best way to organize my ideas.

Research Project: Regarding Genetic Theft, Danielle Lancia

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

With two months left in the semester, my class was given the project proposal: write a 5-page research paper about any form of cheating. I chose cheating in the medical field as my broad topic and then finally narrowed it down to genetic theft, which is the acquisition of someone's genes without his or her knowledge. We had until the final day of class to turn in our final draft but I wanted to get started right away because the topic really grabbed my interest. I starting researching by using online resources, and I found more information than expected. After …

Evolution, Place, And Identity: Facing Global Crisis With A New Identity As Earthly Residents, Yu Zhao

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This assignment is the first assignment for my Eng 200 class and we are asked to write about "place and identity." As a psychology major, I love thinking interdisciplinarily. Therefore, I decided to talk about evolution, place, and identity.

Holmes, The Weed Keeper?, Justin Smith

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

I woke up out of a dream with the idea to hold a conversation with Sherlock Holmes (the theme of our class). It is easy enough to hold a fictional conversation with a fictional character discussing facts about why marijuana is a better alternative than cocaine. To make the project a little more academically focused, I also discussed how 19th- century Europeans did not understand addiction. As a process, it came only through research and free writing sessions.

The Complicated Mind Of Sherlock Holmes, Madeleine Ryan

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

By taking a Sherlock Holmes themed Writing Seminar II class, I was familiar with the theory of Sherlock Holmes having a mental disorder. For my final research paper, I decided to write about this theory and diagnose Holmes. I began by researching mental disorders and their symptoms. Once I had taken notes, I looked at the symptoms and compared them to Sherlock Holmes. I removed the disorders that did not relate to Holmes and narrowed the list down to Asperger’s Syndrome, Bipolar Disorder, and Savant Syndrome. Next, I found specific examples from Sherlock Holmes pieces that exhibited Holmes demonstrating the …

The Key Versatility Of Stories: Storytelling And 'Sherlock Holmes', Anna Rose Redgate

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

When given the freedom to write my final essay on anything related to my course theme, Sherlock Holmes, I felt equally challenged and excited. I had found many of the topics interesting, but the one I found most interesting the Sherlock Holmes and forensic science unit. As I began my research, I realized that what was most engaging to me about the forensic science information as a communication major, was not the scientific evidence and analysis, but the stories that accompanied the real-life and fictional mysteries. This altered my course of research and forced me to ask how the role …

To Will Or Not To Will: A Close Reading And Interpretation Of Augustine's Argument In 'Confessions', Garrett Reese

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

After receiving the assignment, I went back and re-read sections 20-24 in Chapter VIII of Confessions. These are the sections in which Augustine details his belief of two wills, a willing will and an unwilling will, and then proceeds to attack the Manichee faith, the religion he used to belong to, for their belief of a good and evil will. From there, I analyzed Augustine's arguments and summarized them before focusing in on making Augustine's argument the weaker one, instead siding with the Manichees that Augustine is arguing against in this chapter of the book. I approached it as …

Enclosed: An Analysis Of American Healthcare Policies Based On Thomas More’S 'Utopia', Maggie Cahill

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This piece was the final essay of ASI 110, otherwise known as the fall semester of freshman year in the Core Program. The first part of the assignment required a reconstruction of Thomas More's argument against enclosure in his work, Utopia. Then, the second part of the assignment called for a creative parallel of More's argument to the modern world. When selecting my topic, I chose to analyze the singular topic of healthcare rather than address multiple modern issues to more fully assess and relate the issues. After I wrote my reconstruction, I brainstormed issues prevalent in the 2016 …

Andrew Johnson: The Uniting Or Dividing Factor Of Reconstruction, Nicole Perkins

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This historiography began with an abundance of research done on the topic of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction, annotating each source, noticing trends in interpretation, and organizing my thoughts. Through this historiography, the reader will be able to clearly see the drastically different interpretations of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction during different time periods of American history.

Historiography Of The Reconstruction Era Kkk: Reconstructing Understandings Of Racism, Mary Mcloughlin

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

The writing process for this historiography spanned a large portion of the semester. I started by writing a topic proposal where I identified my goal for the project as examining the way the classification of the Ku Klux Klan has evolved. Next, I gathered an array of sources which I later narrowed down to the eight used in my historiography. Using these eight sources, I submitted an annotated bibliography to my professor. I used the feedback given on my annotated bibliography to craft an initial draft of my historiography. After consulting the CORE write place consultants and utilizing the feedback …

A Woman’S Place Is In Politics: The Changing Interpretations Of The Women’S Suffrage Movement’S Involvement In Reconstruction, Sabrina Jemail

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

I wrote this historiography paper over the course of the Spring 2017 semester in my ASI 120 class. The assignment was to write a historiography paper about a topic of our choosing during the Reconstruction period in America. In addition to the analyzing historians' interpretations of our topics, we were also asked to choose the group of sources that we felt was most accurate and compelling. To prepare for the paper, I read Eric Foner’s A Short History of Reconstruction, which provided me with deeper background knowledge of the time period and guided me in the development of my …

Irene Adler, Just Another Damsel, Sarah Litteral

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

As someone who identifies as a feminist, I was very excited to discover that my English class, which focused on the topic of Sherlock Holmes, had a whole entire section dedicated to the interactions of women within the series. Once we were able to choose what our final research paper would be on, I knew exactly what I wanted to talk about. My whole life I have love mystery novels, especially the Holmes series, however, I was always a little unsatisfied at the lack of prominent female characters within it. I felt that this paper would be the perfect format …

The Neighborhood Of Mccook Field: Putting The Community And The Environment Back Together, Claudia Hampel, Rebecca Richardson

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

Our assignment was based on the concept of community and all it entails. Each student pair in our class was assigned a neighborhood in Dayton (ours being McCook Field) and given the task of identifying an asset of their respective neighborhood, along with demographic information, physical geography, economic characteristics, etc. We initially began our assignment by talking about how communities are defined and constructed, then we began doing research on our assigned neighborhood in order to find one asset. In our case, we chose to focus on the issue with volatile organic compounds in McCook Field and the steps being …

Dayton, Ohio Education & Industries: Getting To The Source Of The Problem, Nina Santarpia

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

After researching the history of industries in Dayton, Ohio and examining the current economic characteristics, I wanted to know how Dayton was being proactive and planning to make changes. I interviewed a director from Ruskin Elementary and learned about how they are conditioning children to improve the future economy of Dayton and industries.

Selfishness: The Basis Of Conflict, Lilly M. Barnett

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

For this essay, we were prompted to discuss themes and characters of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and how those related to John Paul II's ideals of the common good. After careful consideration and research, I came to the understanding that characters Frankenstein were not particularly working toward the common good and therefore revolved my paper around that and supporting facts from Shelley. I also incorporate supporting details from Rebecca Solnit's Ice.

Branding In Today's Society: I Do Care, Kayla A. Flaute

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

For this assignment, I was required to critique a literary work by Kathleen Norris, a best selling poet and essayist. I chose her essay called "I Don't Care," which outlines that people should not care about what brands they buy. However, I believe there are several reasons for people to care about what brands they buy. That being said, I picked three of the most important reasons why people should care and used these reasons to critique Norris' essay.

The Common Good Frankenstein Textual Analysis And Argument Essay, Julia G. Bonfiglio

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

My writing process for this particular essay was fairly simple and straightforward. I began by reading the prompt and writing notes on my teacher's specific directions. I then went to the library, where I reviewed my notes and the directions. Next, I began to write a brief rough draft which I later printed and gave to my teacher for review. Finally, I took all of her suggestions for improvement into consideration and completed my essay.

Three Walls, Nicole Perkins

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This essay is in response to Martin Luther's Three Walls and his argument as to why Catholicism is flawed. This essay includes a summary of the three walls as well as the reasons as to why I think his logic is erred.

To Early Modern Catholic Lay People, Jacob Blewitt

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

My process for writing this essay was rather simple, albeit grueling. I read and reread Martin Luther's To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation many times in order to fully understand his message. Then, I wrote an outline of his work so that I could summarize it accurately. After completing my summary, I began to analyze Luther's main points to develop my own position on the subject, which I then wrote about. This, however, was just the beginning of my process. Under the guidance of my instructor, Dr. Mackay, I revised and tweaked my paper over and over again …

Piracy: Trouble In The Digital Sea, Samantha M. Franklin

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

When I was assigned this research project, I brainstormed, and shortly after, I took my ideas to the Write Place. I decided to write about piracy and found several sources using the library’s catalog. I met with my professor to understand her comments on my paper and had 3 drafts, including my original rough draft, my peer-edited rough draft, and the final draft after I met with my professor and edited my own paper.