History 3418 – Drink in History Instructions for essay on: Lisa McGirr, The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2016). Write an essay explaining the argument McGirr presents in The War on Alcohol. Your essay should follow the general outlines of an academic review. Your essay should have four distinct parts (separated by paragraph transitions and not subheadings): An introductory paragraph in which you identify the central argument (not the topic) of McGirr’s book. The main body of your essay in which you analyze the evidence McGirr uses to present her major argument. A section in which you evaluate the accomplishments and/or failures of the book according to its own stated purpose and objectives (no outside reading or information is required or should be used for this evaluation). A final paragraph in which you draw relevant connections between the ideas presented in the book and similar issues important for understanding our own place and time. The purpose of this writing assignment is to help you learn how to read and interpret monographs that represent an essential part of historical inquiry and analysis. Historians approach the past through primary texts and through the work of other scholars in a vast array of fields. This assignment should help you learn how to read carefully, organize the main ideas of a book into your own words, and communicate the crucial information and analysis of the book to others. Reading, reflecting, and writing are inter-related processes in this assignment. You cannot simply summarize the book from beginning to end; the challenge will be to understand the details of McGirr’s evidence within the larger framework of her overall argument. Pay careful to themes that are repeated throughout each chapter. You will have an opportunity to discuss this book in lecture sessions so be sure to attend those regularly. Your papers are to be 1000-1200 words, typed and double-spaced.
