Description

You have been given readings on Samuel Colt and JP Morgan.  Each student is to address the essay question below in a professional and coherent essay.  Colt and Morgan, who are buried a few hundred feet apart in Hartford, CT, were very significant capitalists.  Please compare or contrast these two captains of industry on the following criteria:

1.    Family background.

2.    Educational background.

3.    Technical Expertise in creating new products.

4.    Financial acumen in building companies.

5.    Legacy.

You are free to use other sources, please acknowledge those sources, group members, professors, etc…, as a basis for crafting your essay response.  Always write in your own voice and understand that I am your “boss” and I am very hard on students who don’t produce quality work.   I encourage you to approach this as a 2-3 page paper – double spaced – with multiple paragraphs.  A good definition of compare and contrast essays from Wikipedia is:

Compare and contrast essays are characterized by a basis for comparison, points of comparison, and analogies. It is grouped by the object (chunking) or by point (sequential). The comparison highlights the similarities between two or more similar objects while contrasting highlights the differences between two or more objects. When writing a compare/contrast essay, writers need to determine their purpose, consider their audience, consider the basis and points of comparison, consider their thesis statement, arrange and develop the comparison, and reach a conclusion. Compare and contrast is arranged emphatically.

Trait

Below Expectations –

0 – 1  pts

Meets Expectations – 2 - 4pts

Above Expectations – 5 – 6 pts

Family Background

Lacks demonstration of family background in understanding the future success of Colt and Morgan

Demonstrates the importance of family background (or lack thereof) in understanding the future success of Colt and Morgan

Demonstrates the importance of family background (or lack thereof) in understanding the future success of Colt and Morgan and demonstrates specifically factors that affect that success.

Educational Background

Does not discuss the educational background of Colt and Morgan.

Describes appropriately the educational background of Colt and Morgan.

Describes appropriately the educational background of Colt and Morgan in addition to connecting that education to their success.

Technical Expertise in creating new products.

Does not identify any technical expertise or identify how that expertise created their companies.

Identifies technical expertise and how that expertise created their companies.

Identifies technical expertise or how that expertise is different, or similar to each other.

Financial acumen in building companies.

Does not define financial acumen and fails to make connection with the acumen and the companies built by Colt and Morgan.

Defines financial acumen and makes connection with the acumen and the companies built by Colt and Morgan.

Defines financial acumen and makes connection with the acumen and the companies built by Colt and Morgan as well as showing the relationship between financial acumen and success.

Legacy

Does not discuss the legacy of Colt and Morgan with the companies they built .

Discusses the legacy of Colt and Morgan with the companies they built.

Discusses the legacy of Colt and Morgan with the companies they built as well as developing the long-term perspective of this success with the companies.  

Quality of Writing

Poorly written as evidenced by poor grammar, poor construction of an argument, and, poor integration of topical material.

Competently written, arguments are well constructed as evidence is used to support those arguments and course material is integrated into the course.

Is written with a strong evidentiary based arguments and the students weave financial theory throughout the essay