RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT
– Who is the author?
– If an identifiable person, what is his or her background?
– What kind of text is it?Political?Historical?Satire?Fiction? Something else? A combination of genres?
– Who is the author’s audience?It is always possible, and in fact likely, that there will be more than one audience.You may list others, but focus your essay on what, in your view, is the most significant one and explain why.
– What does the document tell you about the wider society or broader social concerns?
– What is the thesis or main argument of the work?Based on your reading of the document and your knowledge of the society and time period being written about, do you detect any bias?Explain.
– Does the work do its job?In other words, are you convinced by the argument?Do you find the history accurate and informative?If it’s satire or fiction, are you entertained or enlightened?How might the intended audience have reacted to the work?
– In your work with the document, what did you as the reader/historian find most difficult about understanding/interpreting the document?
DETAILED ASSIGNMENT
