There will be two analytical essays worth 50 points each. These essays will be based on primary sources that cover various topics from the time period we are exploring in this class.
Need help with my History question – Im studying for my class.
Select any ONE primary source that interests you and, after reading the source, answer at least some of the following questions in your essay:
Who is the author(s) of your chosen source? What is the time period of the source and what is the topic? What does this article tell you about the time period? What is he/she trying to say? What is his/her point of view? Does he/she make a convincing case? Why or why not? What does the author leave out (if anything)? What can this source tell us about the time period it was written in? Is there anything in this source that might be relevant to the world today?
Note: Depending on the source you choose, not all of the above questions may be relevant. Answer those which are relevant to your source. Your essay should consist of a summary of the article (about 2/3 of your essay) and then an analysis of the article (about 1/3 of your essay).
Try to select a document section that interests you. If it is a topic/person that you are unfamiliar with, be sure to do at least a little research to give you a better background for analyzing the source. If you would like to use additional sources (internet web sites, books, periodicals, etc.,) you are more than welcome to, as long as your focus is on the primary source.
- Your essay should be a MINIMUM of 800 words (it can be longer if you like).
- About 2/3 of your completed essay should be a summary of the article while the final1/3 should be an analysis/critique of the article.
- All persons, events, concepts in your paper should be introduced/explained clearly in other words, write your essay as if your audience was another student!
- Your essay should follow the standard formatting rules for either APA, MLA or Chicago styles.
- Your essay should have a cover page and bibliography page in your chosen style (these pages do NOT count towards the essay length).
- Your essay should be double-spaced with #12 fonts and 1-inch margins.
- The essay needs to be written entirely in your own words. Use quotes very sparingly and only to highlight a point you are trying to make. Quoted material does NOT count towards the length of your essay.
- Your essay needs to be neatly written and grammatically correct (points will be deducted for sloppy papers).
- Your essay should be saved as either a Word (.doc or .docx) file or as a Rich Text File (.rtf). Essay files should be submitted to the assignments section on our class website. To be safe, you should upload your essay file and copy/paste your essay in the textbox on the submission page! It is your responsibility to submit a file that I can open and read. Late points will apply to files that I cannot open or that are in the wrong format.
