History 100H
How to Write A Primary Source Analysis
Due: February 17, 2012
A primary source report is a close and detailed study of a source that was written in the period that you are studying. It involves reading a text carefully and crafting an argument based only upon evidence found within your primary source. You should consult outside sources only sparingly, to find information about the authors of the texts and to read about the context in which the text was written. All texts read for this assignment should be included in your bibliography even if you do not use them in your analysis. While background reading is permitted for this assignment, your argumentative thesis should come out of your own reading and understanding of the source. It is important to remember in this assignment that there are no “right” or “wrong” answers. As long as you can back up your argument with evidence from your source, you are correct.
The Process
1)Chose a Text
For this assignment, you may chose one of 4 approved sources to write about in your report. These are:
- Aristophanes, Ecclesiazusae. Available online at:
- Gerald of Frachet, Life of Saint Dominic, Available online at:
- Galileo Galilei, Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany. Avalable online at:
- Caroline Sheridan, A Letter to the Queen on Lord Chancellor Cramworth’s Marriage and Divorce Bill. Available online at:
1) Preliminary Reading
Read the text once carefully, looking for ideas that you might want to write about. Your topic should not be related in any way to the main topic of the primary source. This will help you avoid simply summarizing the text.
2) Crafting a Thesis
This is perhaps the most difficult task in writing a primary source. At this point, you must take ideas and try to formulate a coherent, argumentative thesis. The more specific your thesis can be, the more likely you are to write a good paper.
3) Finding Evidence to Support your Thesis
After you have formulated your thesis, you should read your primary source again, this time with the specific goal of finding pieces of evidence to support your claims. NB: If you do not find enough evidence to support your thesis, you should revise your thesis.
4) Compose a Draft
Having crafted a thesis and developed enough evidence to support it, write a first draft. Your essay should have an introductory paragraph that sets out your argument, as many body paragraphs as are needed to adequately support your argument, and a conclusion that restates your argument. Do not summarize the source or talk about who composed it, when it was composed or why it was written unless it is directly relevant to proving your thesis. Instead, assume your reader has read the source, and set out only to prove the thesis you have developed. After you have composed a draft, set it aside for a few days.
5) Revise the Draft
Returning to revise your essay after a few days will give you a new and objective perspective on it. Read your essay through slowly, making sure the argument flows logically from one point of evidence to another. Are you convinced by your argument? If not, is there anything you can do to make your paper stronger? Is the paper repetitive? If so, see if there is some material that can be excised. Read your paper a second time, this time looking for grammatical, spelling and punctuation mistakes. Make sure the language used in your essay is appropriate for a formal academic paper.
6) Peer Review
Asking a friend to revise your essay for you will almost certainly improve the readability of your paper. A new set of eyes can spot grammatical errors, typos and logical flow problems that you, yourself will miss because you know what you are trying to say.
7) Complete your Final Draft
Keeping any and all comments and editorial changes in mind, revise your final draft. The draft you hand in for grading should be double spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font. It should be approximately 6 pages long and should be written in formal essay prose. It must be handed in in hard copy. Do not forget that formal essays in history require Chicago style footnotes and a bibliography.
A Note About Footnotes
Any formal essay or report of an academic nature in history require footnotes. Footnotes are notations given to cite evidence, to give credit for ideas not your own, to provide information about further reading on points made in the essay and to provide the source information about a quotation given in the essay. All essays require a substantial number of footnotes. Footnotes in the discipline of history should be done according to the Chicago Style. A short reference guide to how these footnotes are formatted can be found at:
On this page, the N refers to note and the B refers to bibliography. Do not worry at all about the T and the R.
The above website is just a short guide however, and I urge you all to the required manual for this class, Robert Perrin, The Pocket Guide to the Chicago Manual of Style, (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007), which includes a guide to footnoting in the Chicago style, a sample research essay and detailed advice for writing scholarly papers.
Bibliography
Research essays require bibliographies or lists of books used in the preparation of them. Remember to include both books cited and those simply consulted for background information. Bibliographies for this class should be done in the Chicago style. This is similar in format to Chicago style footnotes, with some minor changes. See the above website and/or recommended guide for the exact format of bibliographical references (which are different than the format for footnotes).