Overview: This assignment “invites” you to dive deeply into one primary source that you have determined will be useful in your quest to answer your research questions. Note that it might be something as straightforward as a letter, a speech, or a government document. If you happen to be using one particularly long and/or detailed source in connection with the bulk of your research (e.g. the memoirs of a figure central to your work), then you can probably zero in on one section of that source for the purposes of this assignment.

Your precis should be about 300 words, a bit over one page.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC FORMAT 

See other examples of proper format here–please be sure to look under “Bibliography Entries” rather than “Notes”-which we’ll deal with later. 

READ WITH CARE AND ATTENTION 

Jot down in your notes any evidence from the documents that you might want to use in the paper. Identify main ideas from the source. Record with precision any direct quotations that strike you as particularly worthwhile to have in your notes. Be sure to record the page number for all your notes. [See ‘Developing a Structured Method’ to create an organized process of research and note-taking.] 

What is the EXPLICIT MEANING ofthe document? Explicit information is anything that is clearly stated in the document. 

Whatis the IMPLICIT MEANING ofthe document? Implicit information refers to anything that is not clearly stated, but which the author seems to wish to convey. 

Take care! This is a bit trickier analytically because you are interpreting and moving beyond the directly stated information. Before writing about implicit meaning you should think deeply about the source and make sure the implicit message is present. Do not simply speculate about meaning or add ideas that you want to find. Therefore, if you don’t quite see any implicit meaning, leave it off. [NOTE: you are producing a Source Analysis, here. These are not your primary notes. You are searching for meaning, not simply recording historical information.] 

EVALUATION 

What do you make of the document? What light does it shed on your topic? What further questions does it provoke? How does this document CORROBORATE other information you have on the topic? How does this document CONTRADICT other information you have on the topic?

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WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED:

• The first sentence identifies who wrote the text, where and when it was published, and what its topic and claim are.
• HOW?   The second sentence explores how the text is developed and organized.
• WHY?  The third sentence explains why the author wrote this, her purpose or intended effect.
• The fourth and final sentence describes the “for whom” of the text by clarifying who the intended or assumed audience of this text is.

EVALUATION / CRITIQUE

• Is this a persuasive argument for this group of readers?
• How well is the author’s argument developed and clarified through the structure of the text?
• Where does the logic of the argument and its supporting evidence cohere or fall apart?
• Do the author’s background, tone, evidence, and assumptions foster credibility?
• Does the piece achieve what the author intended?

REFLECTION

• What else have you read or experienced that furthers or complicates the argument made by this text?
• How do you see that these ideas fit into the larger context of what you’ve been studying in this course?
• Why do you have a particular opinion or response towards this piece of writing?
• Moving forward, how can this text, its argument, or its presentation be influential in shaping your thinking or research?