Never Caught

Learning Goal: I’m working on a history writing question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

For this monograph, write an essay of at least 700 words in response to the following prompts:

Why did the author write this book? What message was the trying to convey to the reader? Enslaved persons are often thought of as completely powerless and lacking agency, or the ability to control their lives. How does the story of Ona Judge help dispel that idea somewhat? Although the book is primarily focused on the life of Ona Judge, what other themes does the author discuss? What sources does she use to tell the story of Ona Judge? What are some things that the author admits are uncertain about Ona Judge and the other enslaved individuals at Mt. Vernon? Using this website, https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slav…, read about the many other individuals discussed by the author. How closely does the author’s description of those individuals match the sources? Be specific. What was something that surprised you to learn after reading this monograph? Explain.

Be sure to have a clear argument that you defend with relevant evidence from the monograph or other sources we have studied this semester. Organize your paper with a logical structure and use clear topic sentences and transitions to help your reader understand the logic of your organization. IMPORTANT: Edit your paper thoroughly to avoid errors and to improve readability. Take your essay to the writing center or ask me to help you with proofreading before you submit your essay!

Grading criteria:

Argument: Does your paper have a clear, singular, specific argument that answers the question?

Evidence: Do you use all of the relevant evidence to defend your argument? Relevant evidence includes not only references to the monograph, but also to at least one other document or source we have studied this semester

Organization: Does your paper have a logical structure and use clear topic sentences and transitions?

Clarity: Is your prose efficient, crisp and polished, free of excessive passive voice or distracting spelling or grammatical errors? Did you avoid use of the first person voice (I, we, our, us, me, my, mine)?

Formatting:

12-pt., Times New Roman font, double-spaced

700 words or more