Primary Source
Reports
23 Feb 2016
This assignment helps develop your expertise in the close reading and analysis of
primary sources.
First, choose the source you want to analyze. It can be anywhere from a
paragraph long to several pages. Unless otherwise explicitly specified, you have complete freedom in finding a
source.
If your source comes from an assigned text,
then just identify that source: date (and title, if appropriate), plus the page
number(s) in the text. If from an outside source, then please provide a
photocopy of or URL to the original.
Then, write a brief analysis, a minimum of one page and maximum of
three. Your analysis should include:
- a statement of the context in which the document was produced
- identification of the author and the intended audience
- brief summary (i.e., a characterization, not a repetition) of the
contents
- tone/style/intention of the contents: legal pronouncement,
description, persuasion, refutation, polemic, etc.
- identification of any assumptions made by the author about the
audience or subject-matter
- an analysis of the contents of the
selections: what does it tell us (or not tell us) about the
period/locale which produced this document
While a brief "statement of context" is essential, the bulk of your
report should focus on interpreting the actual text/content of your
source, not on how it fits into some "larger picture".