Strength Polly C. Michel’s essay was very well written and it flowed easily from one paragraph to the next. The style of writing worked well to both explain and buttress her opening thesis. This thesis argued that the perceptions of famed author John T. Trowbridge changed. To begin, Trowbridge did notice the upheaval in the South, but he felt optimistic about the future for reconciliation. However, writing decades after his tour of the South, he lamented the course of reconstruction and viewed at as a missed opportunity. Michel’s style of writing her essay worked well to prove this argument. She did this by first exposing Trowbridge’s prejudices against the South by way of his literature. Next, she illustrated how this connected to the writings…show more content… It was easy to follow, and Michel did a phenomenal job structuring her paragraphs and supporting evidence. The only suggestions that can be made, in light of this, are relatively minor. First, if a reader is unfamiliar with John T. Trowbridge’s literary works, the reader may have a hard time extracting the meaning behind using his poems as evidence. For example, on page 2, Jackwood is used to explain Trowbridge’s perceptions on abolition and slavery. If the reader has never experienced Jackwood some of import of the essay’s paragraph is lost. So, perhaps a line or two can be added to further explain the piece’s plot. This may help the point of the paragraph to become more effective. The second suggestion for improvement, again being minor, involves primary sources. While the essay’s use of primary sources is exceedingly effective, perhaps some more could be added to explain Southern mindsets. For instance, on page 4, there are several usages of a primary source from Joyce Appleby. The source is used with quotes and several ellipses. What is being ellipsed? The use of ellipses several times might make the reader wonder if pertinent information is being withheld. If the information is pertinent, maybe a long quote could work for this essay? Having said that though, if the removed material is irrelevant, leave the text alone. These suggestions are relatively minor. This paper was well done, and it
