Each document analysis should have three parts: summary, analysis and a question 1) The first part (about 1 page) should be a summary of the document itself. Who is the author? What is the historical context? Most important, what are the main points and arguments the author is making? Why does the author take such a position? Is there a conflict that it explicit or implicit in the document? In this section of the reading analysis you will be practicing your ability to synthesize information. In this section of the reading response, start with a broad sentence that gives an overview of the key point of the document. 2) The second part (about 1 page) needs to analyze the document. Some questions to think about when writing this section are: Why does the author take such a position? Who, at the time, would support such a position? Who would oppose it? Why? How does this document relate to other themes and ideas we have talked about in the class? How does this document appear in historical perspective? Are the ideas still relevant today? Why or why not? 3) The third part of the document analysis should pose a question. You should ask about something in the document you don’t understand, something about context or interpretation or anything that comes to mind.
