Introductory Essay
Due Tuesday, September 3

It’s Thanksgiving, and you are spending the holiday with your family.  They raise the inevitable question of college and your classes.  When you inform them that you are studying history, they look at you in a mixture of shock and disbelief.   How they ask are you able to justify a course of study that so obviously has such little relevance to our world today?   You are not quite sure how to respond, but once you are back at school, you compose a letter.     

In a 2-3 page letter/essay (double-spaced, 12 point font), you address this matter.   Make sure you answer the following two issues.
a.    You justify your decision and explain the utility and usefulness of history.
b.    You explain to your parents what it means to think historically.
In your answer make sure you refer to at least two of the four readings we have read (Maddow, Brooks, Stearns and Wineburg).  

Remember this is a letter, and your prose needs to be natural.  At the same time, make sure you follow basic rules of grammar.  We’ll be looking specifically for comma splices (run-on sentences), sentence fragments and typos!!!  Take time and care with this essay.  Ensure that you carefully proofread this assignment.