gonzalez’s harvest of empire
until chapter xxiv
Part One
Write a two to three page essay (500 to 750 words) that answers the following questions after reading Gonzalez’s Introduction:
1. Purpose: Why is the book being written?
2. Focus: What major themes does the author propose to cover? To phrase this question in other ways:
What issues are to be dealt with? Who or what is to be examined or studied? What is the time frame? Where will it take place?
3. Perspective: Who or what is the author arguing for or against? Is the author arguing something different than what was written before?
Requirements:
1. In your answers to each question above, make sure you are thorough in your information and as specific as possible: incorporate examples to support your understanding.
2. Deal with the author on his terms, not yours.
3. This is not an assignment on what you think or feel about the issues raised.
4. Do not begin your answers with a story about what you think.
5. Be direct – look at how the author answers each question.
6. Use specific examples to support how you think the author is answering the questions asked and use quotation marks.
7. Learn to read for meaning by paying attention to vocabulary and its use.
8. Try to follow the logic of argumentation by learning to connect the three (p,f,p) together. (p,f,p = purpose, focus, perspective)
