Write an analysis of the article that addresses ALL of the following (650-750 words should be enough):
summarize/synthesize, make sure you provide the reader with a clear understanding of the who, what, when, where, why, and how of this particular historical case/question. AND be sure your explanation of the thesis communicates how the author makes an ARGUMENT and uses EVIDENCE to support the argument.
SOURCES: summarize in a few sentences the kinds of primary sources AND secondary sources that are being used (being sure to distinguish between the two). Questions to answer here would be:
Are the primary sources mostly written records (documents) or other kinds of sources?
What KIND of sources are they? What information do they contain? Where do they come from? (Examples: court records, town council minutes, private correspondence)
How are different primary AND secondary sources being used: Which sources are motivational? Which are contextual? Evidential? Anecdotal?
Methodology: summarize in a few sentences HOW the author is extracting, compiling and using the information gathered from sources. Be as precise as you can. Questions to consider here would be:
Is the author doing a “close reading” of long texts or gathering small bits of information from many texts?
Are things being counted? If so, what’s being counted and how are the sums, averages, etc. being presented and interpreted?
How many sources have been gathered and used in different ways?
Takeaway: summarize in a few sentences how you respond/assess the article: Questions to consider here would be:
how useful was this article in helping you understand the topic that drew your interest in the first place?
Was the article well-written or not? Why or why not?
Does reading the article inspire other questions that you would like to find answers to? What are they? What kinds of sources do you think might contain answers?
