Analysis and Interpretation: Various Understandings of Citizenship as
Contained in Selected Documents
Social Studies, Mr. White
Assigned September 14
You have three primary source documents which in some manner deal directly
or indirectly with the concept of Citizenship. Please read W.H. Auden’s satirical
poem, The Unknown Citizen, John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address and
President Obama’s speech to Ohio State University graduates.
Your assignment is to compose an essay and analyze and interpret the
writer’s understanding of citizenship in each of the documents. While you
may find common ground in each text they also diverge in their
understandings at other places. To support your analysis/interpretation
quotes from the documents are in order. To cite the quote simply put the page
number and name of the author in parenthesis following the quote. Example:
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask
what you can do for your country.” (Kennedy p. 3)
As you analyze and interpret the author’s understanding of citizenship some
ideas are explicit, especially in Obama’s speech and others must be inferred;
Kennedy’s address for example. After you analyze the respective pieces,
flesh out in detail what citizenship means to you. What does a good
citizen look like today at WCMS, in America, the World? At all times follow
the scoring rubric. It is your friend and guide.
Definition of Citizen:: a citizen is an individual with certain rights and duties
under a government and who, by birth or by choice, owes allegiance to that
government.
Please return the documents when you hand in your final draft and rubric.
Assignment is worth 100 points. No page limits are set, but use this rule of
thumb; your paper should be short enough to be interesting yet long enough to
adequately cover the subject at hand.
Final draft is due September 25, 2015. Please be aware of our late work policy
and yes you can always turn in work early for feedback.