Commonly Made Mistakes MLK v. Malcolm X DBQ Commonly Made Mistakes

Introductory Paragraphs Three major problems Thesis statements are not analytical Did not include sufficient background development Did not include the analytical categories

Analytical Thesis Statements An analytical thesis statement answers the question “Why” or “How” In this DBQ, your thesis statement has to prove why or how either MLK’s or X’s approach to the Civil Rights Movement was more appropriate for the time.

Analytical Thesis Statements Continued Non-Analytical Thesis Martin Luther King’s philosophy was better than Malcolm X’s philosophy. Analytical Thesis Martin Luther King’s philosophy was better than Malcolm X’s because his non-violent approach created broader support for the Civil Rights Movement.

Insufficient Background Development An important component of an introductory paragraph is creating background for your reader. Since this is U.S. History, the background in your DBQ should have given a basic summary of the Civil Rights Movement in some way.

Insufficient Background Development Example Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were both well-respected leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

Background Development Good Example During the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and 1960s, two prominent African-American men battled for political, social and economic equality for their race. Though they were fighting for the same thing, their ideas for achieving equality were exceptionally different. Martin Luther King wanted to non-violently integrate society; Malcolm X thought complete separation was the solution to inequality.

Analytical Categories Finally, your introductory paragraph must contain the analytical categories that you are going to use to support your thesis statement. Each analytical category becomes a body paragraph in your essay. We will go over the analytical categories together in class.

Example - Poor Introductory Paragraph Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were both well-respected leaders of the Civil Rights movement. However, Martin Luther King’s philosophy was better than Malcolm X’s.

Example - Good Introductory Paragraph During the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and 1960s, two prominent African-American men battled for political, social and economic equality for their race. Though they were fighting for the same thing, their ideas for achieving equality were exceptionally different. Martin Luther King wanted to non-violently integrate society; Malcolm X thought complete separation was the solution to inequality. At the time, Martin Luther King’s philosophy was better than Malcolm X’s because his non-violent approach created broader support for the Civil Rights Movement. The superiority of King’s approach is demonstrated in his strategy for the Civil Rights Movement, education, the economy, and the issue of violence.

Analysis in Body Paragraphs Many essays are not analytical. By just summarizing the documents, you do not answer the prompt. Like a thesis statement, analysis in the body paragraphs proves why or how one man’s approach was better than the other man’s approach.

Example - Summary with no Analysis Martin Luther King believed that all men were created equal, despite their race. He hoped one day people would be able to judge others by their character and not their skin color (Doc. 2). He hoped that the people of this country would one day be able to live, work and study together in freedom.

Example - Summary with Analysis With respect to integration, King’s method was a much better choice for 1960’s America than Malcolm X’s. King’s philosophy was preferable because integration would help change Blacks’ and Whites’ opinions of each other; only living and working with each other can erase, or at least lessen, racism. Whites would continue to prejudiced against African-Americans unless society was integrated.

The use of rhetorical questions Rhetorical questions are questions that you want people to think about, but that you intend to answer in the course of your essay. Do not use rhetorical questions in a history DBQ. Just answer the question!

Rhetorical Questions Continued “Is violence the answer?” “How can the United States be united with two separate societies?” Without Rhetorical Questions “Violence is not the answer.” “The United States could not survive as two separate societies.”

Quoting vs. Paraphrasing Your instructions are to paraphrase the documents. If you use any portion of the the document in your essay you must quote it directly. Keep direct quotes short! Limit the amount of lines devoted to direct quotes! Just because you did not put quotation marks around it doesn’t mean it’s not a quote.

Examples Quotes “Martin Luther King believed that both races could work together and pray together.” “X argued that Blacks should teach Blacks and Whites should teach Whites.” Paraphrase Martin Luther King believed in integration in all settings, such as the workplace and schools. Malcolm X argued that each race should work independent of each other.

Mechanics and Miscellaneous Lots of frequent and small mistakes.

1st Person DO NOT USE FIRST PERSON IN A HISTORY ESSAY!

1st Person Use of 1st Person In my opinion, Martin Luther King’s approach was better. I don’t believe violence solves anything. Use of 3rd Person Martin Luther King’s approach was better. Violence does not solve anything.

Document Use You have to use the documents. It is a Document Based Question. You had to use all of the documents, even those that did not support your thesis. By doing this, you create a basis for comparison.

Direct vs. Indirect use of documents and citation placement Higher level essays Do NOT cite the documents in a direct manner. DO cite the documents at the end of the sentence where the information is used.

Direct vs. Indirect Direct Use Document 2 shows that King believed in integration. In document 5, X argued for segregated schools. Indirect Use King believed in integration (Doc. 2). X argued for segregated schools (Doc. 5).

Miscellaneous Mechanics Verb tense It is a history essay - use past tense.

Miscellaneous Mechanics Contractions In formal writing do not use contractions, spell out the word(s). Doesn’t= does not Can’t=cannot

Miscellaneous Mechanics Continued Italicize the names of Supreme Court cases and provide the year. Brown v. Board (1954) Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Miscellaneous Mechanics Continued Always use terms that are appropriate for the essay. No derogatory terms should ever be used in a history dbq. Also, be sure to avoid emotionally charged language (Malcolm X’s approach to Civil Rights in the 1960’s was just plain stupid.”)