Teddy Roosevelt Speech Review
Primary Source Analysis Guidelines
Instructions: READ INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. Write a 2-3 page paper (in paragraph form) on the primary source provided (source )
You must include:
- Historical context (who, where, when). What is the credibility of the writer/speaker?
- What type of document is it? (Example: legal, medical, etc.)
- Who is the writer/speakers audience? Who is s/he writing for?
- What does it tell you about the way people thought and behaved during this time period? How does the information in this document help you to understand how modern Western society thinks and behaves? Why is something that happened so long ago important to us today?
DO NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES. TEXTBOOK INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED GENERAL KNOWLEDGE, DO NOT QUOTE IT. Paraphrase the information and make it your own.
Format: Use the sample below to guide you in writing you primary source analysis. 12pt, Times Roman or Calibri font, 1” margins, page numbers, double space body of the paper, left-align (no centering!), 5 space indentation for first line of each paragraph. Use the page break function in your word processing program to separate the cover page and the bibliography page from the body of your work.
Include a cover sheet: Consult the Chicago manual of Style in D2L for formatting. Keep it simple, no fancy fonts, no graphics.
Body of your paper (which includes introduction and conclusion)
Section 1 will be your introduction, probably one to two paragraphs. This includes the background information about the primary sources. That means your historical context and what type of document you are reviewing. Set the stage for what you are about to discuss. Get this background information from your textbook but do not cite it. Your textbook is a reference source and gives you general knowledge.
Section 2 will include several paragraphs explaining what the document tells you about the people and the time in which they lived. Provide your reader (pretend you are writing this for someone who knows nothing about this topic) with the information that you have learn upon reading the assigned document. Do not simply give a string of quotes to recount what the speaker/writer is talking about. Quotes should be used only as examples of the point you are trying to make. 1
Section 3 will be your conclusion (usually a paragraph or two). Summarize for your reader (pretend that you are writing this for someone who knows nothing about the topic) what you have learned. Then go on to discuss what you think this information means for modern society.
Creating Your Bibliography Page: All the information for the source will be at the beginning of the source in D2L. You will need to take that information and create a proper Chicago Manual of Style bibliography page. Again, keep it simple, no fancy fonts or graphics. This is a separate page, use the page break option to create a new one.
1 This is a footnote. You will use this to show where you are getting information from within the document. You will use this primarily for quotes.
