The Nazi Hunters Writing Prompts
The Nazi Hunters Writing Prompts
Choose one of the following writing prompts to research over the next week. You should take notes from the book to help you when you write your essay on Tuesday, August 18.
1. Was Eichmann just following orders or is he a murderer? Cite at least three passages, with both direct quotes and paraphrasing, in The Nazi Hunters (with page numbers) that support your claim.
2. How might people with various backgrounds have viewed Eichmann’s trial? Discuss the similarities and differences with which a)a Holocaust survivor, b) a U.S. army liberator of the death camps, and c) a French collaborator of the Nazis would have view the trial. Where possible, cite passages in The Nazi Hunters (with page numbers) that support your claim.
3. Was this a “show trial” — that is, an activity designed more for public relations than to obtain justice? Were the results of the trial successful from either a criminal justice standpoint or a public relations standpoint? Where possible, cite passages in The Nazi Hunters (with page numbers) that support your claim.
The President Has Been Shot! Writing Prompts
Choose one of the following writing prompts to research over the next week. You should take notes from the book to help you when you write your essay on Tuesday, August 18.
1. Discuss JFK's legacy -- what was his most important contribution? Was his tenure "one brief shining moment"? If so, why?Cite passages from The President Has Been Shot! (with page numbers) to support your claim.
2. Consider the following quote from President Kennedy’s commencement address at American University: "If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity." To what extent did Kennedy’s presidency embody that quote? Cite passages from The President Has Been Shot! (with page numbers) to support your claim.
3. To what extent did President Kennedy’s involvement in the Cold War influence his assassination by Lee Harvey Oswald? Cite passages from The President Has Been Shot! (with page numbers) to support your claim.
The Devil in the White City Writing Prompts
Choose one of the following writing prompts to research over the next week. You should take notes from the book to help you when you write your essay on Tuesday, August 18.
1. In what ways does the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 change America? Provide at least one example from the text. What lasting inventions and ideas did it introduce into American culture? Provide at least one example from the text. What important figures did the Fair critically influence? Provide at least one example from the text.
2. At the end of the book, Larson suggests, "Exactly what motivated Holmes may never be known" [p. 395]. What possible motives are exposed inThe Devil in the White City? Why is it important to try to understand the motives of a person like Holmes? Cite passages from the book (with page numbers) to support your claim.
3. How was Holmes able to exert such power over his victims? What weaknesses did he prey upon? Why wasn't he caught earlier? In what ways does his story "illustrate the end of the century" [p. 370] as the Chicago Times-Herald wrote? Cite passages from The Devil in the White City (with page numbers) to support your claim.
10 points / 5 points / 1 pointAnswer to Prompt / Essay fully responds to all questions posed in the prompt and includes references to text. / Essay answers some of the questions in the prompt an includes at least one reference to the text. / Essay answers one of the questions in the prompt without including textual references.
Citations / References to text are clear and include page numbers, especially when directly quoted. / References to text are unclear from context of the essay, but do include page numbers. / References to text are non-existent/not marked out in any way.
Structure / Essay has a clear beginning, middle, and end, with ideas expressed in a logical, flowing way. / Essay has a clear beginning, middle, and end, with some confusion in expression of ideas. / Essay has no discernible structure, with ideas expressed in an unclear way.
Grammar / Essay has fewer than ten errors in grammar. / Essay has between ten and twenty grammar errors. / Essay has over twenty grammar errors.
Spelling / Essay has fewer than ten spelling errors. / Essay has between ten and twenty spelling errors. / Essay has over twenty spelling errors.