Think about how natural philosophy/natural science/science is embedded in the primary text.

Exploratory Essay Instructions
Objective: You will write a 900 word (or more) MLA-
formatted exploratory essay for each primary text
this semester. For each essay, you will explore how
natural philosophy/natural science/science
influenced the author of the primary text, shaped the
text, and reflected the historical period the text was
written.
Step by Step Guidance
.
3. Read the primary text and the secondary text.
a. Each primary text is paired with a secondary scholarly source
4. Think about how natural philosophy/natural science/science is embedded in the primary
text.
5. Formulate a question you may have about the use of science in the primary text.
a. For example, Why did Jonson use alchemy as a vehicle for satire? What
attitudes towards science did the people have in Jonson’s time?
.
6. Find two more secondary sources.
a. The sources you select must have one of the following elements:
i. Works Consulted
ii. Works Cited
iii. References
iv. Footnotes
v. Endnotes
b. If your source does not have one of those elements, you cannot use it as a
secondary source.
i. Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, and their ilk are not secondary
sources, but you can use them as starting points for your research.