This essay is an exercise in historical research, synthesis, and writing.
Academic analysis nearly always begins with some type of close reading: of texts, of data, of images, etc. In this essay you will develop your close reading skills and work on building an argument using the evidence you find. You can think of a close reading essay as developing in three phases:
Observation: As you read your sources, notice formal elements and nuances of the text such as tone, phrasing, imagery, word choice, etc. Noticing things leads to interpretation.
Interpretation: Draw inferences from your observations and explain what your observations might mean in context. As you process your interpretations, you will develop an argument.
Argument: The outcome of a close reading is a coherent argument based on the interpretations derived from your observations. Your argument will be based on evidence in the form of quotations and examples from the text.
Instructions
Begin with three dates: the year of your birth, the year of one of your parents’ births, and the year of one of your grandparents’ births. (1996, 1958, and 1932).
Do research. Find two newspaper articles for each year you are studying. You will use Proquest Historical NewspapersLinks to an external site. to access these sources (see instructional video for a how-to demonstration). You can feel free to use secondary sources (books written by historians) to provide context, but it is not required.
Then, in the course of doing your research, pick one of the following historical themes:
Gender, race, patriotism, religion, nationalism, class, violence, sexuality, technology, ethnicity, immigration.
If you would like to write on a different theme, get your instructor’s approval beforehand.
Finally, in a written essay of 4-6 pages, explain how your sources illustrate change over time with regards to your theme. How do your sources differ from one another? In what ways are they similar?
You must quote and cite at least two sources for each year you are studying. As such, over the course of the essay you will be analyzing at least six different newspaper articles.
Writing Strategies
Consider the following suggestions.
Create an Original and Specific Thesis
A thesis, the most basic element of academic writing, is the claim that your essay makes. It is the main thrust of your argumentation, and as such should be clearly stated and well supported. It should also be arguable: if your thesis is obvious or patently true, no one would need to read your essay. As such, a good thesis will take bold and intelligent risks. Your task is to persuade your reader that yours is the best way to read the text; it may be helpful to imagine yourself in dialogue with a cynical reader who does not share your view of the text. In one sense, think of yourself as re-staging your own experience of close reading for the reader: you are guiding them to come to the same conclusions you’ve come to.
Use Evidence Fairly and Strategically
Much of the excitement of writing lies in creating a unique and original claim, one that makes your reader see with the unworn parts of the eye. It is better to take a risk and try out an idea, especially when you are writing drafts, than to play it safe. Essays that are predictable are not illuminating; you are completely free, even expected, to be creative and risk-taking as you develop your essay—choose an aspect of the evidence that intrigues, confuses, angers you (etc. etc.), and explicate its larger meaning for your reader. But remember, a good argument is always grounded in evidence; indeed your argument grows out of your evidence rather than vice versa, out of the process of a slow, interrogatory reading.
Understand that Writing is Thinking
As you write, give yourself room to explore (part of this means don’t wait until the last minute to write). Don’t be frustrated if, in writing, you find your essay taking on a life of its own, heading in a different direction than you anticipated. Very often the seeds of the best arguments don’t appear until the conclusions of early drafts; in the process of revision, these ideas are moved to the front, fleshed out, and re-worked. This is the purpose of drafts—revisions should be major reworkings and not just a touch up here and there
Guidelines and Submission
Submit your document in double-spaced, 12-point font.
Your essay will be graded based upon the following:
Research—have you found relevant, interesting primary sources?
Theme—have you identified a significant historical theme that the primary sources illuminate?
Argument—have you explained the significance of the sources and made an argument about change over time?
Style—have you written in a grammatically correct, clear writing style?
YOUTUBE HELP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX9g58kUJD8&t=28s
