AMS 111.

ESSAY EXAM: Your examination will consist of three to four essay questions. You are to answer
them in the expected manner a clear and original statement of your position (i.e. your
argument or thesis), a detailed discussion explaining your position, and the identification and
discussion of a few specific examples to support your ideas and give strength to the overall
paper.
Make sure you take a strong, distinctive position that, of course, answers the question
as it is asked.
Make sure you include examples from the course materials to connect your answers
more strongly to the overall theme of this course.
Avoid using a thesis statement that is simply a rephrasing of the question.
Do not fish for an answer by simply putting down the information from your notes
without answering the question or summarizing a topic generically.
Do not use the same specific examples and arguments on multiple answers. Each
answer is to be distinct. (i.e. Dont copy and paste your own ideas.)
Effort matters and a clear discussion in your own words and in the structure Ive
identified will demonstrate this.
Voice Thread will not be available during the exam, so make sure you have strong notes.
The presence of a students voice is clear and obvious and important; this differs from
an AI driven formal response.
ANSWER LENGTH: One of the questions that is most often asked on an essay examination is
how long should my response be? The bare minimum is 400 words of original text, but that is
a minimum and may not be sufficient for you to present a strong response. Ideally you will be
able to present your thesis or argument and then begin your discussion and analysis in your
own, original text. This means avoiding filler in your writing: long quotations, typing the full
name and titles of articles or books, fully restating information you have already stated, and so
forth. Ultimately you will know if you have clearly and fully responded to the question. If it
takes 500 or 600 words to do so, your grade will benefit

Answer each of the following questions with its own individual essay. Follow requirements posted in the content section fully.

1. While Colonial America was a made up of diverse populations settling diverse landscapes across the Atlantic seaboard, Puritan Massachusetts stands out as a dominant social structure of that time. While it is often claimed that Puritans were anti-sport, there is also evidence that shows an appreciation and tolerance of certain recreational activities. Using the evidence provided in our Voice Thread lectures, identify one example for each of these positions (anti-sport/accepting), explaining the reasons for the Puritans position, and they argue whether or not you believe they were more anti-sport or more accepting. Keep your discussion rooted in the colonial period (i.e. do not start discussing contemporary America)
2. The rise of industrial-urban society in the last few decades of the nineteenth century provided a setting for the creation of modern organized sports such as baseball and American football. Activities that were originally expressions of fitness and recreation grew into larger institutions within cities and society at large, and then became subject to attempts to restrict or control them. Based upon the information in our Voice Thread lectures, what were the central reasons for attempting to restrict/control these sporting activities and do they fit within American values?
3. To understand American recreation and play, as well as the views and actions that sought to restrict or censor them, we need to understand the central importance of the human body. We need to consider how bodies act, how they perceive themselves, and how they are perceived by others in society. Swimming spaces provide perhaps the ideal place to examine all of these conditions at once. Why were individuals subjected to more rigid attempts at control and censorship at these swimming spaces, and what did this reveal about American society at that time (early twentieth century as per our lecture)?