Primary/Secondary Source Analysis Paper
Introduction:
For this assignment, you will choose a topic and conduct some basic historical research on the subject. To complete the assignment, you will write a brief analytical paper that discusses at least two secondary sources and one primary source that you find and provides context for a broader understanding of the material.
Step 1: Choose a topic - Your topic should be related to a subject in American history that we are studying this semester. The topic is at your discretion, but it makes sense to relate it to something we are exploring in class. Here is a list of possible topics:
women's suffrage the Progressive era
D-day Langston Hughes
Prohibition era Eleanor Roosevelt
the New Deal decision to drop A-bomb
the founding of the NAACP 1955 Montgomery bus boycott
"flappers" Crazy Horse
World War I propaganda Immigration experience
McCarthyism the Populists
the Vietnam War: (various topics) the Dust Bowl experience
Watergate immigration experience
(various topics)
A brief description of your topic, a copy of your primary source, and a secondary source citation is due on Monday, 2/15/99.
Note: People are great primary sources!! I encourage you to conduct an oral history interview, if you have someone in mind, for your primary source. By doing this, you may also participate in the Harford History Project!
Step 2: Brief presentation to the class (@5 min). Describe your research, the source you are using, why it is relevant. See me for help with copies, transparencies, etc.
Date: TBA
Step 3: Write Paper –
Your paper should include complete & well-informed answers to the following questions:
- Where does the primary source come from? What subject does it address? Why is this an important source? How does it add to our understanding of the subject?
- How do the secondary sources compare/contrast to the primary source? What key pieces of information are in each source? How are these expressed?
Your paper should include a clear introduction & conclusions - @ 1-2 paragraphs each.
Length: 750-1250 word (3-5 printed, 2-spaced pages)
Paper due: Monday, 4/15
Note: You are welcome to hand in a rough draft of your paper no later than 2-3 weeks before it is due, for feedback on writing.
Citations: Use MLA format or footnotes/endnotes. See the following sites for details, or consult sources in the library or in F101:
http://www.hivolda.no/asf/kkf/citation.html
http://www.mla.org/main_stl.htm