1) Write in paragraphs. The intro should have a hook, thesis and supporting sub-

1) Write in paragraphs. The intro should have a hook, thesis and supporting sub-arguments which outline the argument of the essay.  All the body paragraphs should have topic sentences at their beginning. These topic sentences should relate closely to the sub-argument sentences in your intro paragraph. The concluding paragraph should have a take-away sentence that captures the meaning or implication of your essay.
2) Highlight with a color background your “hook”, thesis, topic sentences and take-away sentence in yellow failure to  highlight can lead to the loss of up to 1 point).
3) You are limited to 1000 words not counting your name(s) and any citations you may provide
Question:
“Compare, contrast, and critically evaluate Jared Diamond, Ian Morris, and Robert Gordon in analyzing the causes and consequences of the pace and pattern of growth.”
Your essay should contain a thesis found in the first sentence of the introductory paragraph.  This thesis should encapsulate your critical evaluation of opposing arguments.  The best theses are clear, direct and unambiguous.
Your essay should be written in paragraphs with each paragraph containing a topic sentence which supports your overall thesis.  The remainder of each paragraph should contain evidence and examples from the course materials and other sources if necessary which support the topic of that paragraph which in turn supports the overall thesis of your essay.
Your evidence and examples should come from the readings and lecture material in the course for the dual purpose of
1) demonstrating your familiarity with the material presented and
2) supporting your thesis and the subcomponents of: a) summarization, b) comparison and contrasting opposing views.  If you find it necessary to refer to material from outside the course materials, please cite the source(s) you are relying upon.
Plagiarism is relying upon, quoting or paraphrasing material without attribution.  Your citations of extracurricular material does not need to be formal, just sufficient to allow the reader to access that material.  Your essay may be evaluated by an automatic program designed to identify source materials.  You need not cite material from the course but you may if you wish.  Using and relying upon course material without citation will not be considered plagiarism for the purposes of this essay.
Your essay should contain a concluding paragraph which summarizes your argument emphasizing the validity and importance of your critical evaluation of the above issue.
Remember the basic pyramid of learning that reflects the underlying philosophy of this course:
1) being able to accurately replicate material presented,
2) being able to handle, manipulate, modify, and/or extend the material and arguments presented through compare and contrast and/or extension to new areas or in other ways showing you can do more with the material than simply replicate it, and finally
3) based on 1 and 2, critically evaluating the material by showing is limitations, contradictions, alternative interpretations, limited evidentiary support and/or needed extensions.  These along with clarity of exposition and organization will be the background criteria from which your essay will be judged.
Your essay is limited to 1000 words.  Place your word-count at the top of the essay under your name.