Essay # 2

Length: 3 pages
Due: Thursday, Nov. 13th

How can the evidence contained in the charts be interpreted to demonstrate the accuracy or inaccuracy of the hypothesis: "Did planters begin to purchase fewer indentured servants from Europe because more enslaved Africans became available"? If the hypothesis does not explain the evidence well, what new model might and why?

Be sure to label your claim/evidence/warrant structures and underline your thesis (no credit for the paper if you don't)

Writing tips:

1) The step-by-step instructions and hints are particularly important in this exercise; don't skip them.

2) We neither expect nor want you to do outside research for this essay; confine your universe of evidence to the information contained in the graphs.

3) Remember, the graphs can't speak for themselves. You must interpret the information represented in the graphs to make your argument. Accordingly, statements on the order of "as the graph demonstrates..." will tell your reader little. Analyze the data in the graph for your reader.

4) Be specific with the evidence when you can be. Tell your reader, for example, by how much number X increase over what time period. Avoid vague and imprecise statements.

5) Spend no more than three sentences providing the necessary background information for your reader; merely restating the historical context from the activity itself will not get you very far at all in answering the question.