Primary Source Essay
Assignment #3: Primary Source Essay
TOPIC: Write a comparative essay discussing Testament of Youth and The Berlin Diary in terms of how first-person accounts of historical events should be utilized by historians.
Length: The essay is to be 6-7 pages in length
You may wish to address some of the following questions in your paper:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using personal experience as historical evidence?
What was the intention of each author in writing their book and how does this compare to the intentions of professional historians? How does intention impact the work?
How does each author attempt to make their specific experiences universal?
How does the nature of the events each author discusses result in differences in their work? How do the pre-existing views of each author influence their account?
How are the authors changed by the events they experienced?
Each book was based upon writings made at the time but later edited and revised for publication. How does this process of revision impact the nature of a primary source? Is hindsight more of an advantage or a disadvantage?
How might each of the authors be considered “outsiders” or “insiders” in relation to the events they portray. How does this perspective impact their writing?
What kind of questions about historical truth are raised by reading these (or any) primary accounts of history?
These questions are merely intended to guide your thinking on the topic. Feel free to use as many or as few as are helpful to you or to disregard them entirely and go in your own direction.
Sources: In addition to the books, you may choose to consult additional works that would help put them into context
General Tips on Writing Essays: Every essay should provide an answer to a question about history, preferably one to which there can be more than one answer. Your job is to collect all relevant writing on the subject, examine what various historians have written about the question and then decide where you stand. Although you may agree with one interpretation more than another, be sure to discuss all sides of the issue. In other words, arguments that do not support your point of view should not be ignored but instead acknowledged and criticized.
Introduction: The answer to your question should be articulated in a thesis statement in your introduction. In this introduction you should provide background to your subject, pose your question and then provide your answer. Although you must take a position in your essay, you do not necessarily have to make the situation seem black and white. Historical questions seldom have easy answers, a fact that can be reflected with a nuanced thesis.
Body: The body of your paper should expand upon your thesis and convince the reader, in a logical and organized way, that your thesis is correct. Be sure that you do not simply retell what others have said, but approach the subject in your own way, using your own ideas and interpretations. Find a way to structure your paper that allows you to build your argument without repetition. Usually, history papers are structured chronologically, but on some occasions a thematic approach may be useful. Make sure that every piece of information in your body relates to your thesis in a way that is clear to the reader. Do not include information just because it happens to be interesting or to make your paper the required length!
Conclusion: Your paper should also include a brief conclusion that does not simply restate what your have already said but effectively summarizes your paper and puts it into context.
Common Errors: Here are some common problems that I have encountered while marking papers
– Avoid the passive voice (ex. It was thought that…). Always state who is performing the given action
– The word “it’s” means “it is” it is not the possessive
– Avoid cliches and colloquialisms. Ex. “Napoleon couldn’t see the writing on the wall” becomes, “Napoleon failed to understand that he was losing the war”
– Avoid words such as "good", "very", "nice" etc. that don’t really say anything, “ex. The French revolution was a very good thing for the people of France” becomes, “the French revolution brought many improvements to the lives of the people of France such as…..”
– Always write history in the past tense. Be very careful not to switch tenses in the same paragraph or sentence
– Do not use first person as in, “I think that Lenin’s New Economic Policy was a success”. It is assumed that any argumentative statements are your opinions by the very fact that you wrote the paper.
– Similarly do not address the audience as “you” or “we”. Ex. “What you need to understand is…” Write from the third person omniscient perspective.
– Avoid generalizations and vague terms such as, “things”, “common sense” or “natural”.
– Avoid exaggeration, hyperbole, or making claims that you cannot back up with evidence.
– Do not editorialize. Having an opinion is great, but it must be an opinion which can be immediately supported with evidence and one that is directly related to your topic.
– Introduce your quotations. Otherwise the reader does not know who is talking and why they are a reputable source. Ex. As Jane Doe argues, "…."
– Never use a quotation when paraphrasing the information would work just as effectively (never quote “facts” such as statistical information)
– A quotation from a historian is not in itself evidence and does not "prove" anything except that a historian believes something to be true.
- Geopolitical entities such as "Russia" cannot act as a person can. Therefore do not write about them performing actions that people perform. "Russia" cannot think, "Russians" can. The same rule applies to abstract entities such as “civilization”
- Watch out for "their" versus "there" and "affect" versus "effect" etc.
- Avoid too conversational or casual a writing style. This is a formal paper and the audience expects a certain degree of formality in your writing. Don’t write like you talk!
- Do not "narrate" your paper as you write it. Ex. do not say, "In this paper I will argue…" Just go ahead and argue it.
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