Homework Assignment 8:  Presenting Inferences from Your Primary Sources

To begin the process of writing Essay #3, you will need to review the Polenberg and Leffler texts and (if possible) your lecture notes for an overview of the topic associated with your primary sources.  After you get a sense of the period or event, analyze your primary sources, using guidelines from Benjamin and the handout on using sources to draw historical conclusions.  What inferences can you draw from your primary sources given the historical context surrounding their production?

For Wednesday, February 23, bring the following to class:

1)  A summary of key points from Polenberg, Leffler and the lecture notes related to your primary sources.  You may present your summary in outline or paragraph form, but use complete sentences to summarize the points, and write the sentences in your own words. 

2)  A list of five to six inferences that can be made from your each primary source.  What do your primary sources tell you about your topic?  In making inferences from your primary sources, remember to consider the author, audience, and purpose of each source as well as the historical context.

3)  A copy of your primary source (if the source can be copied) or a citation of the source (if the source cannot be copied).