Essay 2
Document Spotlight Essay #2 • Opposing Viewpoints
Investigate primary so
Essay 2
Document Spotlight Essay #2 • Opposing Viewpoints
Investigate primary source documents that address any one of the following tensions or debates in the period from 1890-1945. Develop a thesis and write your essay based on those documents, only one (1) of which can be a photograph or image. Your documents must demonstrate two (2) opposing viewpoints, but not necessarily evenly. Impose the bulleted questions under “Engage, Promote, and Apply” to each document and allow that to inform your writing decisions. Select from the following categories.
* Republican Party versus Democratic Party
* U. S. Government versus Native Americans
* Industry versus Agriculture
* Discrimination against immigrants
* Imperialism versus ideals of democracy
* Nationalism versus internationalism
* U. S. entry into foreign war
* Any Supreme Court social/political issue
Document Spotlight Essays: Working with Primary Sources (Directions)
???? Refer to links provided in the Student Writing Resources and the Document Spotlight Essay directions
Download directions
to various sites that offer guidance for working with primary sources, historical essay writing, and Chicago Manual of Style (Turabian) formatting.
1. Engage the primary sources.
Draw on your prior knowledge of the topic.
Closely observe each primary source.
* Who created this primary source?
* When was it created?
* Where does your eye go first?
See key details.
* What do you see that you did not expect?
* What powerful words and ideas are expressed?
Think about your personal response to the source.
* What feelings and thoughts does the primary source trigger in you?
* What questions does it raise?
2. Promote inquiry.
Speculate about each source, its creator, and its context.
* What was happening during this historical era?
* What was the creator’s purpose in making this primary source?
* What does the creator do to get his or her point across?
* What was this primary source’s audience?
* What biases or stereotypes do you see?
Ask if the source “agrees” with other primary sources or aligns with what you already know.
* How can you identify and assess their assumptions about the past?
* Locate additional primary or secondary sources that offer support or contradiction.
3. Apply critical thinking and analysis skills to primary sources.
Summarize what you have learned.
* Give reasons and specific evidence to support your conclusions.
* Identify questions for further investigation and develop strategies for how to answer them.
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