After reading Derrick White’s Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Jake Gaither, Florida A&M, and the History of Black College Football, write a 4-6 page paper that responds to the following prompt:
In the introduction to Blood, Sweat, and Tears, White explains why his book uses both Gaither’s biography and the history of FAMU football to tell a greater story about what he calls the “sporting congregation” of the golden age of black college football in the three decades following World War II. In your paper, focus on this time period. How does White present Coach Gaither’s and the FAMU football program’s reckoning with the civil rights movement? How is this story about education and community, and debates over integration and cultural self-determination, as much as it is a story about sports? Organize your paper around arguments (assertions/ideas) to answer these questions, and select and present stories from White’s narrative about Gaither and FAMU to illustrate and support your overarching ideas.
Formatting
The essay should be typed, with one-inch margins, in Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, and 4-6 pages. A heading (single-spaced) should include the assignment description, your name, and the date, just like the heading on this page. A title should also appear at the top of the first page. Finally, the pages should be numbered.
Citations
Internal citations should be used and should include the last name of the author and the page number. For example, (White, 8). Do not use block quotations because this is a short paper. Quotations should be no longer than 3 lines or 1-2 sentences. Citations are required when ideas are paraphrased as well as when sentences are quoted directly. If you find you are paraphrasing a lot, which is fine, please use a mass citation at the end of the paragraph to cover the entire paragraph. [Example: (White, 45-49, 62, 93).] There is no need for a Works Cited page because you are writing about White’s book and not required to pull in additional research.
Grading Rubric
Total Points: 20, broken into 3 components
- Analysis (8 points): paper is argument-driven, with an explicit thesis present, and includes analysis and critical thinking
- Content (8 points): all questions answered/all components of prompt addressed, paper includes specific facts and information from the source to support arguments
- Presentation (4 points): grammar and spelling, sentence structure and paragraph structure, writing style