Primary Source
Analysis Guidelines
Instructions:
READ INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. Write a 2-3 page paper (in paragraph
form) on the primary source provided (source and due dates are in
D2L).
You
must include:
- Historical
context (who, where, when). What is the credibility of the
writer/speaker? - What
type of document is it? (Example: legal, medical, etc.) - Who
is the writer/speakers audience? Who is s/he writing for? - What
does it tell you about the way people thought and behaved during
this time period? How does the information in this document help you
to understand how modern Western society thinks and behaves? Why is
something that happened so long ago important to us today?
DO
NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES. TEXTBOOK INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED GENERAL
KNOWLEDGE, DO NOT QUOTE IT. Paraphrase the information and make it
your own.
Format:
Use the sample below to guide you in writing you primary source
analysis. 12pt, Times Roman or Calibri font, 1” margins, page
numbers, double space body of the paper, left-align (no centering!),
5 space indentation for first line of each paragraph. Use the page
break function in your word processing program to separate the cover
page and the bibliography page from the body of your work.
Include a cover
sheet: Consult
the Chicago manual of Style in D2L for formatting. Keep it simple, no
fancy fonts, no graphics.
Body
of your paper (which includes introduction and conclusion)
Section
1 will be your introduction, probably one to two paragraphs. This
includes the background information about the primary sources. That
means your historical context and what type of document you are
reviewing. Set the stage for what you are about to discuss. Get this
background information from your textbook but do
not cite
it. Your textbook is a reference source and gives you general
knowledge.
Section
2 will include several paragraphs explaining what the document tells
you about the people and the time in which they lived. Provide your
reader (pretend you are writing this for someone who knows nothing
about this topic) with the information that you have learn upon
reading the assigned document. Do not simply give a string of quotes
to recount what the speaker/writer is talking about. Quotes should be
used only as examples of the point you are trying to make. 1
Section
3 will be your conclusion (usually a paragraph or two). Summarize
for your reader (pretend that you are writing this for someone who
knows nothing about the topic) what you have learned. Then go on to
discuss what you think this information means for modern society.
Creating Your
Bibliography Page:
All the information for the source will be at the beginning of the
source in D2L. You will need to take that information and create a
proper Chicago Manual of Style bibliography page. Again, keep it
simple, no fancy fonts or graphics. This is a separate page, use the
page break option to create a new one.
1
This is a footnote. You will use this to show where you are getting
information from within the document. You will use this primarily
for quotes.
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