The autobiography of ben franklin

Semester Writing Assignment

Develop the topic into a well-organized essay, following the guidelines below. Correct spelling and grammar will be considered during grading. Part of your grade will depend upon the inclusion of the required block quotes. If you do not include the 3 required block quotes to support your position, your paper will lose one letter grade. Be sure to answer all parts of the question.

Students will generally compose the essay inside their word processor and then COPY and PASTE (using CONTROL V) the text into the space provided below. The essay should be a minimum of three double-spaced pages long.

IMPORTANT! Be sure to SAVE your answer before SUBMITTING it. If you do not SAVE it, it will show up “blank,” with no text. Papers submitted late or submitted by email will lose 15 points.

DO NOT copy material from another source and paste it into this essay response box, representing it as your own work. Doing this will get you a grade of 0, and it is not difficult for instructors to detect. In fact, do not use any source, other than the Franklin autobiography to complete this assignment.

The Autobiography of Ben Franklin

Relying only on material from the The Autobiography of Ben Franklin, thoroughly answer the following questions:

Section 1 (25 points): Describe how Benjamin Franklin established the public library in Philadelphia. What was the effect of this library on Ben Franklin and on his community?

Section 2 (50 points): Explain Franklin’s quest for moral perfection. What process did he use? How successful was he? Which virtues did he find the most challenging to maintain? What was meant by his saying, “a speckled ax is best?”

Section 3 (25 points): Was Franklin a religious man? Why, or why not? Provide specific evidence to support your conclusions.

*****Include at least three direct, block quotes from the Autobiography to support your position.  Be sure to put your citation for these quotations in parentheses and in all caps. For example, your citation might look like this:

“She assisted me cheerfully in my business, . . . .” (FRANKLIN, P. 119) or, if there is no page number, (FRANKLIN, Chapter 6).