Introduction
To submit this assignment, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the assignment prompt, which is included below.
I recommend you download the PDF of the prompt to your device and/or print out a copy, but that is not required. Again, you can also access the prompt in full below. To download the PDF, click on the link below.
History112_AnalyticalPaper-Vietnam-Platoon.pdf
Assignment Prompt
For this assignment, you will write a short paper (approximately 600 words) that answers the question: Does Platoon (1986) accurately depict the Vietnam War?
Outside research is NOT needed for this assignment, so DO NOT include outside sources in the essay.
A works cited page is also NOT needed for this assignment.
You must also incorporate one direct quotation from a relevant assigned reading into each paragraph of your essay, not including the conclusion.
This assignment requires that you analyze the Great Recession using EACH of the following sources:
The American Yawp;
“Vietnam War Readings” (PDF);
Lecture PowerPoints on Vietnam and Watergate.
Main Requirements
There is no right or wrong answer to the question above.
The purpose of this assignment is to answer the prompt question by doing each of the following:
Develop a coherent essay that includes a clear argument (i.e. thesis statement) that directly responds to the central question of the prompt;
Illustrate a clear understanding of the Vietnam War;
Provide contextual analysis of Platoon by identifying some of the major issues/events of the war that are referenced in the film;
Make direct connections between the film and the history it represents by linking your description and analysis of key events of the Vietnam War to specific scenes in the film;
Incorporate at least one direct quotation from The American Yawp;
Incorporate at least one direct quotation from a source in the “Vietnam War Readings” PDF;
Incorporate one direct quotation in each paragraph except the conclusion.
All quotations should include MLA-style parenthetical citations—the author’s last name and the page number from which the quotation is taken inside parentheses—at the end of the sentence where the quotation is given. Again, a works cited page is NOT needed for this assignment.
Finally, you can use the lecture PowerPoint for background information, but you must still incorporate quotations from the assigned readings as well.
Structure of Paper
Your analytical paper should be four paragraphs long.
Paragraph one is your introduction; it should be 150-200 words long and provide general information about the Vietnam War and the film, Platoon. Towards that end, it should include each of the following:
Brief description of the scope and contours—who, what, where, when, why—of the Vietnam War;
Brief summary of the plot of Platoon;
A thesis/argument regarding the historical accuracy of Platoon;
Quote from one of your sources.
Paragraph two should be 150-200 words long and identify one reason why Platoon is, or is not, historically accurate. This paragraph should provide evidence from The American Yawp OR one of the articles in the “Vietnam War Readings” PDF and include each of the following:
Brief description of key historical event related to the Vietnam War;
Relevant quotation—and citation—from an assigned reading along with a clear identification of the source (i.e. title of work and author’s name);
Brief description of a specific scene from Platoon;
Analysis that makes a direct connection between the film and the history it represents by explaining how the scene from the film dramatizes/explains some aspect of the historical event you describe earlier in the paragraph.
Paragraph three should be 150-200 words long and identify one reason why Platoon is, or is not, historically accurate. This paragraph should provide evidence from one of the readings in the “Vietnam War Readings” PDF and include each of the following:
Brief description of key historical event related to the Vietnam War;
Relevant quotation—and citation—from an assigned reading along with a clear identification of the source (i.e. title of work and author’s name);
Brief description of a specific scene from Platoon;
Analysis that makes a direct connection between the film and the history it represents by explaining how the scene from the film dramatizes/explains some aspect of the historical event you describe earlier in the paragraph.
The fourth paragraph is your conclusion and should be 50-100 words long. This paragraph should briefly restate your thesis and the evidence you offered in support of your thesis.
Grading
An A paper will be one that is organized along the lines laid out in Section III and includes all seven of the requirements listed in Section II.
A B paper will be one that is organized along the lines laid out in Section III and includes most of the requirements listed in Section II.
A C paper will be one organized along the lines laid out in Section III and includes some of the requirements listed in Section II.
A D paper will be one that is NOT organized along the lines laid out in Section III and/or includes some of the requirements listed in Section II.
An F paper will be one that is incomplete, off topic, or plagiarized.
