History 102: Canada since Confederation (Summer 2016)

Fraser International College; Instructor: Liam OFlaherty

Assignment #3 guide and FAQ

So you have to write a Primary Source Analysis again!?
So, you have to write another primary source analysis, and you dont know where to start?
Each week in this class, we have been analyzing at least one primary source as a group.
Primary sources are old documents, material culture, recordings, or oral testimony from
the past, that give us a glimpse of what the world was like years ago. They are from the
time period being studied. Refer to the 10-step guide for analyzing primary sources
document on Moodle for more about how to do primary source analysis. Keep in mind
that this assignment is, like assignment #1, an essay, so the primary source analysis is the
first step. The second stepthe one your instructor seesis the essay based off of that
analysis.
Consider it this way: you are explaining the significance of a primary source to your
instructor. Imagine it as though I have never looked at the source, and now youre going
to explain that source to me in an essay. But, keep in mind that you are not just
describing or summarizing the source though you are doing that too you are also (a)
analyzing it, and (b) making an historical argument about it.
Which primary sources?
Any one of the following eight sources: (1) James Endicotts speech at the Toronto Peace
Conference (1948); (2) the film Borderline (1956); (3) Pierre Elliot Trudeaus televised
statement on the War Measures Act (1970); (4) Comments by Tommy Douglas on the
invocation of the War Measures Act (1970); (5) Chapter 1 from the Report of the Royal
Commission on the Status of Women (1970); (6) the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms (1982); (7) the newspaper article Gay Pride parade votes to ban contentious
group, or (8) the newspaper article Jewish group angry over bookstores button policy.
Whats the topic?
Some students ask, Whats the topic? The topic is one of the sources. But, as with
assignments 1 and 2, you have to narrow your paper down to be about some aspect of the
source that interests you, and about which you can form a historical argument. You pick
one of the sources, and using one, some, or all of the tools of primary source analysis from
the 10-step guide to primary source analysis (see Moodle), you get to choose how you
want to write about this essay, but it has to make sense, be coherent, and give the reader
an understanding of the source.
How do I write an essay?
Fraser International College provides many great resources, including essay-writing
workshops and classes, and peer educators who will be happy to help you in essay writing.
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History 102: Canada since Confederation (Summer 2016)

Fraser International College; Instructor: Liam OFlaherty

An essay has three main parts: an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction
and conclusion are one paragraph each. The body contains multiple paragraphs. The
introduction eases your reader into the topic of the essay, presents the context,
establishes a strong central argument, and sets out a plan for the rest of your essay. The
argument is one or two sentences that we call a thesis statement (more below). The
body contains all the paragraphs that set out the evidence for your argument. For a paper
of this length, the body will likely be 3-4 paragraphs, though your experience may differ!
Each body paragraph should have its own subtopic, and should reflect a different aspect
of your argument, or a different piece of evidence. A conclusion is designed to wrap up
and restate your argument, summarise points made, and perhaps give the reader an idea
or two about future ways forward.
A sample Primary Source Analysis essay written by a former student has been uploaded to
Moodle. An excellent resource about essay writing from SFU Library can be found here:
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc/strategies/writing/history-paper
What is a thesis statement?
The thesis statement is the most important line (or lines) in the whole essay, and is placed
in the introductory paragraph. It establishes the main point and central argument of the
whole essay. Students sometimes find it unusual to think that they are required to make an
argument, since we are accustomed to thinking about history as just facts. How can we
argue about the facts? Well, History is also about interpretations of the past; that is, not
just establishing what happened, but why it happened, and why it is significant. So your
papers in this course will be argumentative.
This doesnt mean youre just telling me your opinion (i.e. Louis Riel was good/bad
because). Instead, it means that you are explaining a primary source and assessing its
worth and significance in history. An analytical argument is contestablei.e. someone
else should be able to understand where youre coming from, but potentially disagree
with your perspective about how best to interpret the source.
Excellent resources to help you with thesis statements can be found here:
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/planning-and-organizing/thesis-statements and
here: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/history
Do we have to use other sources?
Yes. Find at least two other scholarly sources (academic journal articles or a monograph).
Read it and cite relevant passages to supplement your analysis.

History 102: Canada since Confederation (Summer 2016)

Fraser International College; Instructor: Liam OFlaherty

How do I use the Library website to find these other sources?

We will go over this in class, with the help of people from the library and the Student
Learning Commons. But, to get a head start: Navigate to http://www.lib.sfu.ca and choose
one of three options: (a) Library Search, for everything; (b) Catalogue Search, for books; or
(c) Article Databases for articles. Library Search and Catalogue are primarily for books,
though you can find other sources that way as well. For Article Databases, one good
option is JSTOR. So, on the SFU Library homepage, click Article Databases on the left
hand side, then click J in the alphabetized links, then scroll down to JSTOR. Click
Connect, and Sign In using your student ID. Then search for keywords (eg. Residential
Schools).
Also, a special website has been designed to accommodate FIC students at SFU, which
can be found here: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/research-assistance/subject/fic
How do I cite sources?
In History courses, we use Chicago Manual of Style, not APA, and not MLA. This means
we cite sources using footnotes (Insert > Footnote, in most versions of Microsoft Word)
and a bibliography at the end of the paper. We cite footnotes and bibliographical
references slightly differently, depending on if its a book, article, website, and so on. A
Citing Sources Guide (Footnotes + Bibliography has been uploaded to Moodle. But all
the formal rules for Chicago Manual of Style can be found here:
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/cite-write/citation-style-guides/chicago-turabian
Dont forget to cite all sources, including the main primary source you are analyzing. You
can use other sources in addition to the above, including the course textbook.
How should I format my paper?
Papers should be double-spaced with standard 1-inch (2.54 cm) margin all around and
12pt Times New Roman font. They should have page numbers, a cover page containing
your full name, FIC ID, the course, the date, and a paper title. Footnotes/bibliography
must be used for all citations (and cite your sources whenever you use them). The essay
should be 1,100-1,200 wordsroughly 4-5 pages.
Ive written the paper. What do I do next?
Once youve written your paper, proofread it, edited it, and finished it, upload it to
Moodle no later than Sunday, August 7, 2016 (at the end of Week 13). Papers should be
in .doc or .docx format. I wont accept any late papers without a legitimate excuse.