History

Purpose This assignment asks you to demonstrate the course competencies 1-3 by evaluating the credibility and reliability of a primary source. The skill of source analysis is not only useful for historians. Source analysis, including understanding perspective, bias, audience, and purpose, is critical for successfully navigating the overwhelming amount of information in our world today.

 Learning Objectives The purpose of this assignment is to help you practice the following skills that are essential to your success in this course / in school / in this field / in professional life beyond school:

• Evaluate the credibility an reliability of a primary source to determine whether it can be considered reliable evidence

• Write an argumentative, thesis-driven and evidence-based paper

Instructions

Read this overview

(Links to an external site.) and watch this video

(Links to an external site.) that explain how historians evaluate the credibility and reliability of primary documents. Based on the criteria set forth in the OVPL handout

Actions , determine whether Fourteen Points

(Links to an external site.) is/is not reliable evidence. Can Fourteen Points

(Links to an external site.) be considered reliable evidence? Your thesis statement should respond directly to this question. You can begin your thesis statement "Fourteen Points" can/cannot be considered reliable evidence for World War I because..." if you would like. Be careful not to overstate your thesis! Support your claim with a structured argument that mobilizes specific pieces of evidence from the document.

Beginning History Essay

Begin your paper with an introduction to the source that ends with your thesis statement. You may not know what your argument should be until you have read through your notes on the source. You may want to start writing the paper and then compose your thesis statement once you have decided what you think. End with a brief concluding paragraph that summarizes your main points.

You will write 750 words on this document. This is approximately 3 double-spaced pages.

Resources Review the OVPL Method for evaluating sources via the FIU LibGuide for Primary Sources

(Links to an external site.) American Library Association: Evaluating Primary Sources Online

Criteria These papers will be evaluated mainly on the basis of organization (how clearly and logically organized is presentation of the material?), analysis (how perceptively and fully is the evidence interpreted?), and style (how grammatical, fluent, and effective is the writing?). There is no correct or incorrect thesis, so focus on supporting a clear response to the prompt as well as you can in the space allotted.

Important(!): This is not a research paper; it is an analysis of a primary source already collected for you. You are not allowed to use secondary source material other than the textbook for this assignment.

See attached rubric for precise assessment scoring guidelines.