Homework Assignment #6:  Brainstorming Sheet for Essay #2

This brainstorming sheet is designed to help you develop a thesis and provide evidence to support the thesis.  The sheet will also help you to determine which aspects of the argument you need to concentrate on as you work toward your first draft of Essay #2.  

Answer the following questions in as much detail as possible.  Bring two copies of the brainstorming sheet to class on Wednesday, February 2.

1. Restate, in your own words, what Essay #2 requires you to do.

2. Develop a tentative thesis.  Based on the inferences you've made from your primary source and the context provided by Polenberg, Leffler, and your lecture notes, what argument can you make about the historical significance of your particular source?  What does the source reveal about the political, social, economic, or cultural concerns of its period?

3. How will you convince the reader of the validity of your thesis?  What sub-arguments will you make?  What is your evidence for these sub-arguments?  How will each sub-argument advance the thesis?

4. On Wednesday, you will discuss your brainstorming sheet with other who are analyzing the same primary source.  What questions or concerns do you have about your thesis, evidence, and overall plan for the paper?  What would you most like the group to help you with?