Your assignment is to write a five-page historical analysis of Parable of the Sower we have
read that you have not already written about. Use specific examples from the chosen
work to support your analysis and a minimum of eight sources other than the text itself.
Use one of the two questions of Historical Criticism listed below to guide your research
and analysis.
Historical critics try to answer questions such as these:
1. What worldview was typical of the author’s time? What aspects of this worldview
seem prevalent in this work? Does the author seem to accept or rebel against
this worldview?
2. What events, issues, concerns of the time are manifested in the work? What
does the work say about life at the time?
As with other interpretive strategies we’ve studied, Historical Criticism provides a
framework for building context to help you understand and interpret a work of
literature. Here you use what you learn about the time the work was written to justify
your critique.
Process
While there are different strategies for approaching this work, you might
consider following these steps.
1. Re-read and/or review margin notes in the chosen work.
2. Construct a Foundation Summary of the chosen work using the elements
of summary listed below (if you have not done so already).
a. Who is the story about?
b. What is the story about?
c. When does the story take place?
d. Where does the story take place?
e. Why did the author write the story? (In other words, what does the
author intend to communicate to the reader?)
f. How does the story take place? (In other words, who is telling the
story or from what point of view is it being told?)
3. Convert your “why” for the work into a critique by framing it in terms of a
social, moral, or political issue (which you will then justify through your
historical analysis).
4. Choose one of the Historical Criticism questions to guide your analysis and
research.
5. Conduct an initial round of exploratory research to develop a better
understanding of time in which the work was written and the effectiveness
of the research tools you employed. If your research tools are not
producing enough credible results, consider adding additional research
tools and consulting with a librarian (try the 24/7 chat on the college
library homepage) or myself. Use the social, moral, or political issue that
is the focus of your critique to narrow the scope of your research.
6. Conduct another round of research until you have more than the
minimum number of credible sources required for the assignment.
7. Review your sources for credibility and discard any that may not be
sufficiently credible or that are noticeably less credible than your other
sources. Create a works cited page for the remaining sources. (You can
always delete any you don’t end up using.) This will help you create
accurate in-text citations as you draft your paper.
8. Ask yourself “Why do I think so?” about your critique and use several
reasons generated in this way to organize your support/ body paragraphs
in the development of your paper.
9. Refine your research and select several examples from the time period
that best justify each reason and your critique — that are most relevant to
justifying your interpretation. Conduct additional research as needed.
10. Select relevant, specific examples from the chosen work to illustrate the
support you have already gathered and help develop your reasons.
11. Write a first draft that is at least 2 – 3 pages in length and incorporates at
least four sources.
12. Write a final draft of at least five pages. This draft should incorporate at
least eight sources and parenthetical citations as needed. Include your
works cited page. Bring three copies to the final draft workshop.
13. Conduct a final round of editing and revising based on the feedback you
receive and using any additional research you conduct (if any). Submit
this revision for a grade.
