PaperDue

Essay Topic Hub

American
Essays

6,541+ paper examples, study guides & outlines

6,541 papers

1 subject area

UG & Grad levels

Free to browse

What is American?

The concept of "American" as a subject of study spans disciplines ranging from history and sociology to literature and cultural studies. It invites students to examine what defines American identity, society, and values — questions that resist simple answers. Courses in world studies, American history, and cultural analysis regularly ask students to interrogate the idea of America as both a geographic place and an evolving set of ideals. Works like J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur's 1782 letter posing the question "What Is an American?" and figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Amiri Baraka serve as anchors for exploring how American identity has been constructed, contested, and redefined across centuries.

Student papers on this topic take a wide range of approaches. Comparative essays examine American values alongside European or Asian counterparts, or place historical periods like the Progressive Era and the New Deal in direct contrast. Other papers use case studies to analyze specific social and political developments — the Abolition Movement, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the influence of Latin migration on American life. Cultural and media analysis appears as well, with papers exploring pop music in the 1980s, advertising's effect on dietary choices, and the evolution of the cell phone as a lens into American society.

A strong essay on an American studies topic works best when it anchors a broad theme in a specific argument. Effective evidence draws on policy documents, literary texts, historical events, or cultural artifacts rather than vague generalizations about national character. The most common pitfall is treating "America" as a monolith — successful essays acknowledge the diversity of voices, regions, and experiences that shape any aspect of American life.

6,541 papers

Sort by:

Paper Doctorate

Teacher effectiveness and African-American student achievement gaps

In his comprehensive analysis of disproportionate levels of educational achievement among White and African American students, titled “Powerful Pedagogy for African American Students: A Case of Four Teachers,” researcher Tyrone C. Howard examines the role of teacher effectiveness in terms of reaching this distinct student population. As Howard observes in the opening of his article, “effectively teaching African American students continues to be one of the most pressing issues facing educators ... (and) despite the plethora of school restructuring and educational reforms, the disproportionate underachievement of African American students is a consistent occurrence in U.S. schools” (179), and this alarming phenomenon provides the central premise of his subsequent investigation. Howard elects to focus his qualitative study on the diverse range of socioeconomic, cultural, and regional factors which are likely to exert an impact on the continued underachievement trend within African American student groups. He is also concerned with assessing the role that teacher effectiveness plays in influencing the eventual achievement level of African American students, observing that the disproportional placement of African American students in remedial or special education programs is likely attributable to the growing gap in comprehension between students and those tasked with instructing them. By examining the import of Howard’s conclusions in conjunction with a pair of contemporary contributions to the literature – Mwalimu J. Shujaa’s “Education and Schooling You Can Have One without the Other,” and Carter G. Woodson’s “The Mis-Education of the Negro” – one can begin to draw objective conclusions regarding the phenomenon of underachievement among African American students.

Paper Undergraduate

Juvenile records, rehabilitation, and sentencing in American justice systems

Stealing and weapon assault are crimes that might not have ended in killing someone yet these actions indicate a behavior that can grow and become a greater security concern. Different countries differently handle juveniles. The juveniles are normally not given death penalty but different American and European countries have different laws (Jehle, Lewis and Sobota, 2008). These two young men will be most probably kept in prison for a few months and will be supervised. The prison for the juvenile is not like that for the adults. Rather the juvenile are kept under custody of parents or the supervisor that will ensure that the juvenile is not let to freely move about like a normal citizen. Rather the punishment for the juvenile includes detention and withholding many facilities.

Essay Undergraduate

Biological, psychological, and sociological theories of crime prevention

This paper offers an insight to how the crime prevention activities can be implemented. This includes understanding few biological, psychological and sociological theories pertaining to crimes and criminology. Human being’s generally and criminals specifically act under the influence of some physical, environmental, cultural and individual factors that will be discussed in this paper.This paper offers an insight to how the crime prevention activities can be implemented. This includes understanding few biological, psychological and sociological theories pertaining to crimes and criminology. Human being’s generally and criminals specifically act under the influence of some physical, environmental, cultural and individual factors that will be discussed in this paper.

Paper Doctorate

Socioeconomic status and college performance prediction among minority students

SAT scores and high school GPAs are commonly used to predict whether high school seniors will succeed in college. This is less true for African American and Latino students, who tend to do less well than predicted. This report critiques resent research findings that reveal a more accurate prediction model incorporating a socioeconomic index, thereby minimizing the influence of racial and ethnic identities.

Paper Doctorate

Soviet recruitment tactics and the Cambridge Five spy network

This paper is a study guide for a course on espionage. It covers several chapters, regarding history, including key events in World War Two (WWII) and the Cold War. Specific attention is paid to the role that espionage played, how spies are recruited, and the interpersonal dynamics of spies and what they spy on.

Paper Undergraduate

The Fifth Amendment's protections in the American legal system

The topic for this particular paper, or essay, primarily revolves around the topic of due process. The specified essay question is focused on discussing the meaning, history and importance of the constitutional concept of "Due Process" as it has been contained in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Paper Undergraduate

Identity formation and racial stereotyping in Nell Bernstein's "Goin' Gangsta, Choosin' Cholita"

Abstract A person’s identity refers to his or her personality and individuality. A person’s current identity is connected to their past as well as their future. A significant number of white teenagers have in the recent past been seen to discard their identities, and claim those that they prefer. Racial stereotyping and racial tolerance are among the reasons that have been put forward for this observation. This text concerns itself with racial stereotyping as the main reason for the same.

Essay Doctorate

Building an optimal ETF portfolio for a sophisticated investor

This paper is about a portfolio. The first part describes the client, including risk preference and time horizon. Then, because this is about ETFs, the concept of ETF is explained. Then a portfolio is designed with six different ETFs it in, and the asset allocation decisions are explained in the context of macroeconomic variables.

Paper Doctorate

Modern versus indigenous identity in Island of the Blue Dolphins and Julie of the Wolves

The modern world challenges traditional cultural identity in O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins and George's Julie of the Wolves; the two authors are showing that because the two identities are so different, indigenous identities cannot exist within the constantly evolving modern context. Yet, this is not entirely negative, as the two female characters are allowed to transcend their traditional gender norms and become much more powerful and capable women who can fend for themselves and are no longer limited to their traditional gender roles.

Paper Undergraduate

The United States military as global police force and international intervention

This paper examines the rise of the United States to a global superpower and how that status has shaped its internal developments in recent decades. This analysis includes a discussion of US military involvement in two recent real-life international incidents, factors that contributed to its rise, and differences in pre- and post-war foreign policy. The article also discusses justifications for the country's international involvement during World War II and in today's global environment.

← Prev 1 2 3 … 652 655 Next →