Roaring Twenties Biographical Essay Assignment

Task: Conduct Internet research on any of the of the following historical figures below and write a formal biographical essay highlighting the role your choice played in shaping American culture in the 1920s.

To get started, Find out the basic facts of the person's life. Think about what else you would like to know about the person, and what parts of the life you want to write most about. Some questions you might want to think about include:

•What makes this person special or interesting?

•What kind of effect did he or she have on the world? other people?

•What are the adjectives you would most use to describe the person?

•What examples from their life illustrate those qualities?

•What events shaped or changed this person's life?

•Did he or she overcome obstacles? Take risks? Get lucky?

______

Earnest Hemmingway (author)

Charles Lindbergh (pilot)

Babe Ruth (baseball))

Lou Gehrig (baseball)

Bobby Jones (golf)

Big Bill Tilden (tennis)

Helen Wills (tennis)

Langston Hughes (African American poet)

Henry Ford

Charlie Chaplin (actor)

Nellie Tayloe Ross (first female U.S. Governor)

Al Capone (notorious gangster)

F. Scott Fitzgerald (author)

Zora Neale Hurston (female African American author)

Louis Armstrong (musician)

Bessie Smith (musician)

“Jelly Roll” Morton (musician)

Jack Dempsey (boxer)

Duke Ellington (musician)

Django Reinhardt (musician)

Count Basie (musician)

Josephine Baker (actress)

Louise Brooks (actress)

William Faulkner (author)

Sinclair Lewis (author)

______

Essay Guidelines

1.) Your essay is to be submitted typed, double- spaced, using 12 font, on Tuesday, April 19th. Submissions will be reduced 10 points each day they are handed in late.

2.) You will inform me of your research choice at the beginning of class on Tuesday, April 12th.

3.) Wednesday and Thursday you will use our class time to conduct research. However, your research and writing will continue outside of class. There will be no other preptasks, other than working on your essay assigned before April 19th.

4.) You must cite at least three sources in your works cited page (MLA format). In-text citations are required. Wikipedia can serve as good starting point, but does not count as a valid source. See instructional video for an example of page layout expectations here:

5.) Be careful not to plagiarize. Plagiarized work will not be accepted.

Rubric
Introduction Paragraph
Includes an interesting hook that grabs the reader’s attention (4 3 2 1)
Clearly explains what the person is known for (yes) 2 (no) 0
Includes a strong thesis statement tied to your subject’s unique contribution history (4 3 2 1)
Paragraph 2 (Early Life)
Includes an appropriate topic sentence (4 3 2 1)
Includes date and place of birth (yes) 2 (no) 0
Includes strong concrete details about the person’s early life (4 3 2 1)
Details are placed in a logical order that are easy to follow (4 3 2 1)
Paragraph 3 (Contributions to U.S. History)
Includes an appropriate topic sentence (4 3 2 1)
Includes strong concrete details about the person’s accomplishments/contributions (4 3 2 1)
Includes commentary/analysis proving the persons importance (4 3 2 1)
Details are placed in a logical order that are easy to follow (4 3 2 1)
Conclusion Paragraph
Clearly restates thesis (4 3 2 1)
Clearly addresses the person’s impact on others and/or their impact on history (4 3 2 1)
Transitions
Content flows smoothly from one idea to the next (4 3 2 1)
Word Choice
Uses a variety of words to keep the writing interesting; choice and placement of words is accurate and natural (4 3 2 1)
Conventions
Contains few, if any, errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization (4 3 2 1)
Page Layout, Citations, and Works Cited Page
Contains few, if any, errors (4 3 2 1) Total ______/64