You will need to discuss EACH source you choose in depth and detail, in complete sentences, describing 3 things: To do this, your discussion of each source needs to include 3 things: The basics of the source (who wrote it, when was it written, what is the overall message or point of the source)? For this, you will rely on the primary source itself. But you should discuss the overall point or message of the source in your own words. If you were to explain this source in your own words (4-5 sentences) to someone who hadn’t read the source, what would you say? What material from the textbook do we need to know in order to understand this source? Be specific. Go back through the textbook reading and point out specific topics, or concepts, or terms, or ideas, that relate to this source. How does this primary source deepen our knowledge of these concepts, terms, or ideas? Remember: you should discuss these concepts from the textbook accurately, but be sure to either put the definition in your own words, or put “quotation marks” around direct wording you take from the textbook. Failure to put “quotation marks” around directly borrowed wording is plagiarism Also, remember: you need only consult our textbook. Don’t go on the internet and look up a random definition of a term: rely only on the textbook and the assigned primary sources. Why is this source vital for helping us understand the historical content presented in the class? It is fine to discuss how the source spoke to you or stood out to you, but your explanation for the source’s importance should go beyond that. What does this source help us to better understand? Does the source offer us an example of a specific concept or issue discussed in your textbook? If so, what is that issue or concept, and how does the source provide us an example of it? What more do we learn about this issue or concept, beyond what the textbook says, by reading the primary source? Alternately, does the source challenge or add further nuance or complexity to a particular concept or idea the textbook discusses? If so, explain how the primary source challenges something the textbook says, or adds greater depth or complexity to it. Remember: you are making an argument, or claim, about the source, so you must include evidence from the source (quotes, if it’s a text, or details of relevant visual details, if it’s an image or a film). Also remember: though questions 1, 2, and 3 are distinct questions, they should work together. In other words, your summary of the source (Question 1), and your discussion of the relevant textbook material (Question 2), should build toward your explanation for the source’s importance in Part 3. First Textbook sources: http://www.americanyawp.com/text/01-the-new-world/ http://www.americanyawp.com/text/02-colliding-cultures/ First Primary sources http://www.americanyawp.com/reader/colliding-cultures/a-gaspesian-indian-defends-his-way-of-life-1641/ Second textbook source: http://www.americanyawp.com/text/06-a-new-nation/ Second primary source: http://www.americanyawp.com/reader/the-early-republic/thomas-jefferson-notes-on-the-state-of-virginia-1788/
