Third Response Paper

Your third paper will be a response to the following question on chapters 1, 4, 6, and 8 of Ben Hamper’s Rivethead:

Hamper devotes much of his autobiography to his efforts to make his job easier and to cope with the monotony of the assembly line.  Do you sympathize with him?  Compare your reaction to the book to that of an on-line review.  Be sure to discuss his experiences working for General Motors.  Feel free to bring in a work experience of your own that helps you relate to Hamper’s situation.

To answer this question, you may find it helpful to read the pages in the textbook about industrial decline:  1043-1047.  You should write the paper as if you were trying to make your case to someone who has not taken the class.  Remember this is not a summary of the book.  The paper should be structured around your own reasons—with supporting examples—why you do or do not sympathize with Hamper.

There are many on-line reviews of Hamper’s book—any review is acceptable.  Cite the review (and any other sources you use, including anything from the Internet) using MLA style.  Follow the style guide on the library’s web page.  Be sure to include the sources you cite in a “Works Cited” on a separate page at the end of the paper (including Hamper’s book and the textbook) as well as citing the source in parentheses in the text each time you make reference to it.

The complete paper should be 3-4 pages, and should incorporate:

• An introduction in which you state clearly your answer to the question. This is your
• Three to four examples from the text
• Analysis in which you explain how the examples support your thesis
• Reflection in which you discuss how you feel about what Hamper is doing
• At least one comparison to an on-line review of the book
• A conclusion in which you sum up your overall take on the book

The paper will be graded according to the following criteria:

• Answers all parts of the question

• Gives sufficient evidence from the text
• Analyzes the evidence to support the answer
• Is well structured
• Uses correct grammar and citation