Considering Cause and Effect
Begin by reading:
- “The Struggle for an Education” by Booker T. Washington
- “Booker T. Washington: A Student’s Memory of Him” by William H. Holtzclaw
The writing assignment:
The basic question here is very simple:
Why was Booker T. Washington so strict with the students at Tuskegee Institute?
The Holtzclaw essay begins to give you a picture of Washington, but for this essay you will go outside
the two readings and find information in the library and/or Internet (at least two outside sources). Was
Washington simply afraid that Tuskegee could not bear the expense of wasted food? Or was there something
else, something deeper?
Mechanical details:
-
The final product will be typed and double-spaced according to
MLA format.
- The essay will be at least 1300 words long. (That's about 4 pages in standard format.)
-
This essay will include in-text parenthetical MLA citations and an MLA Works Cited page (which does
not count toward the four-page minimum). In addition to any citations of from the Washington or
Holtzclaw essays, you will include material from at least two other sources. Correct MLA
citations are at the bottom of the pages for the Washington and Holtzclaw essays; for other
readings, you can use Noodletools to help with the format.
-
If the paper does not meet the minimum length requirement, it will be penalized. If you can't think
up enough material for four pages, ask for help! Go to the
Writing Center! Ask the instructor for advice!
-
The final copy of the paper will be submitted through the
Blackboard drop box. To
submit your essay, open the Course Essentials folder at the top of our Blackboard page and
find this essay’s drop box in the Written Assignment Drop Boxes folder.
Due dates:
-
Analyzing your draft: Bring your rough draft of Essay #3 to class Monday, November 2, 2026
-
Peer Editing: Bring
two paper copies of your
rough draft of Essay #3 to class Wednesday, November 4, 2026
- Final Copy Due: Friday, November 6, 2026
This essay is worth 100 points.