Malcolm X Sources

Here are the Works Cited entries for the two Malcolm X articles I distributed. This way you do not have to retype them.

You're welcome.

The Biographical Dictionary of African Americans:

Kranz, Rachel C. "Malcolm X." In Kranz, Rachel C., and Philip J. Koslow. The Biographical Dictionary of African Americans. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1999.African-American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE01&iPin=afbio0336&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 23, 2013).

Encyclopedia of African-American Politics:

Smith, Robert C. "Malcolm X." Encyclopedia of African-American Politics. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. African-American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE01&iPin=EAAP0245&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 23, 2013).

Malcolm X: Sample First Body Paragraph

Malcolm X “expressed the anger that lay deep within the souls of African American people” (Smith). Through his adult life he was a key contributor to the Civil Rights Movement, and he represented a more militant, combative, and aggressive approach to African American equality.­­ He transformed the leadership of the Nation of Islam, a group of African Americans who viewed white Christian Americans as evil people, and he urged his followers to separate themselves from white America. He revolutionized the Civil Rights Movement in America in the 1960’s (Kranz). In his book, Malcolm: The Life of the Man Who Changed Black America, Bruce Perry writes:

Malcolm X fathered no legislation. He engineered no stunning Supreme Court Victories or political campaigns. He scored no electoral triumphs. Yet, because of the way he articulated his followers’ grievances and anger, the impact he had on the body politic was enormous (Smith).

Writing Your Body Paragraphs

Let me begin with a general observation about your thesis statements:

• If you are having trouble composing a thesis statement, you need to refer to your sources. You cannot write a valid thesis statement without knowledge about your three topics. Otherwise, you are simply guessing or making something up, and this will result in a weak or vague thesis that will not connect to the information presented in the body of your paper.

Here is a sample body section I composed on Dylan. I hope this helps.

I began by using two sources I found on Facts on File. Here is their citation information:

1. Morrison, Craig. "Dylan, Bob." Carlin, Richard, gen. ed. Rock and Roll, American Popular Music. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
   ItemID=WE52&iPin=APMRR0033&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 9, 2013).
2. Schwartz, Richard A. "Dylan, Bob." Cold War Culture: Media and the Arts, 1945–1990. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2000. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
   ItemID=WE52&iPin=CWC214&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 9, 2013).

Next, I read the shorter source of the two, the entry composed by Richard Schwartz. I find it is helpful to begin with a shorter source. I took approximately 8 notes from this source. Then, I read the second longer source composed by Craig Morrison. I gathered approximately 7 notes from this source.

Then, I arranged the notes chronologically and produced the following outline:

Outline

I.    Early life/introduction

     A. Birth/Brief Bio

     B. Anti-Semitism

II.  1960-1964: The Folk Years

     A. Woody Guthrie

     B. The Freewheelin’ album and   Suze Rotolo

     C. Joan Baez

III. 1965-1966

     A. Newport Folk Festival

     B. Albums

IV.  Evaluation: How did Dylan revolutionize the 60’s

     A. Sound

     B. Lyrics

     C. Politics

Then, I simply began writing, making sure to use an in-text citation whenever I used a fact from my notes. 

• Note: A properly formatted Works Cited page will help with in-text citations tremendously. With MLA, an in-text citation consists of either the last name of the author or, if an author is not listed, the title of the article in quotation marks, placed in parenthesis: (Last) or ("Title"). 
• Punctuation is placed after each citation.
• When in doubt, cite! It is better to have too many citations than not enough.

Here is three paragraphs of my sample essay:

Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in 1941 in Hibbing, Minnesota (Schwartz). The boy who would become the iconic folksinger, Bob Dylan, experienced anti-Semitism growing up (Schwartz). As a result, he felt alienated from mainstream America and society, and later in his career, he would use this feeling to write songs communicating the growing sense of alienation in the 1960’s (Schwartz). He became the voice of a generation during a period in which the counterculture and the mainstream were intersecting.

An avid music fan, Dylan decided to become a folksinger after reading the autobiography of Woody Guthrie, Bound for Glory (Schwartz). In 1961, he moved to New York City for two reasons: (1) to be involved with the Greenwich Village folk scene; and (2) to be near his idol, Woody Guthrie (Morrison). It was also in New York that he met another influential individual: his girlfriend, Suze Rotolo. She encouraged Bob to begin writing about the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, Bob released his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. The album contained songs about the Civil Rights Movement (“Blowing in the Wind”) and the Cold War (“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”) (Schwartz). By 1964, Bob Dylan and his then girlfriend, Joan Baez (a folksinger herself), were known as the “King and Queen of Folk Music” (Schwartz).

In 1965, Dylan’s career as folksinger began to change. In that same year, Dylan played the Newport Folk Festival backed by members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The short, loud, electrified set did not go over well with folk music fans, and many felt that Bob had “betrayed the purity of acoustic folk and its ideals” (Morrison). Dylan had gone electric, and there was no turning back. In 1965, he released Bringing It All Back Home, a half acoustic, half electric album. It was followed by Highway 61 Revisited, an all-electric album. In 1966, he released Blonde on Blonde, an album marked by its rock and roll and rhythm and blues influences (Morrison).

Updated Calendar

How To Use Quizlet: Visual Instructions

Quizlet visual instructions from drewradlack

Easier, 3 Step Intro

Research paper intro from drewradlack

Thesis/Opening Paragraph

For your convenience and to guide the research process, I am going to post a template that you may use to compose your opening paragraph and complex thesis statement. The thesis statement is underlined. If you do decide to use this template, simply insert the relevant information according to the bracketed phrases (each is bolded).

"There was music in the cafes at night and revolution in the air." Bob Dylan, a seminal figure of the 1960's, succinctly describes the decade of the 1960's: it was a period of great change socially and culturally in the United States. [Topic 1: List the area of life your first topic affected. So, for example, if your first topic is Muhammad Ali, he changed boxing and professional sports.], [Topic 2], and [topic 3]  all underwent dramatic changes during the 1960's. [Topic 1] revolutionized [explain what aspect of life was affected] by [explain the revolutionary nature of topic 1]; [topic 2] revolutionized [explain what aspect of life was affected] by [explain the revolutionary nature of topic 2]; and [topic 3] revolutionized [explain what aspect of life was affected] by [explain the revolutionary aspect of topic 3].

Here is a sample introductory paragraph using Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X:

"There was music in the cafes at night and revolution in the air." Bob Dylan, a seminal figure of the 1960's, succinctly describes the decade of the 1960's: it was a period of great change socially and culturally in the United States. Popular music, professional sports, and the Civil Rights Movement all underwent dramatic changes during the 1960's. Bob Dylan revolutionized folk music and popular music alike by writing topical protest songs and using electric instruments to create folk rock; Muhammad Ali revolutionized professional boxing by dominating the sport and using his religious views to communicate his anti-war sentiments; and Malcolm X revolutionized the Civil Rights Movement by urging his followers to seek freedom through self-determination and, if necessary, even violence.

Now, remember, you may change this template however you see fit, but the last sentence of your opening paragraph  must consist of a complex thesis statement. The thesis statement identifies the points your paper will prove and support with cited facts.

Your intro paragraph complete with a proper MLA heading and formatting is due Friday, April 5.