History 101: Family, Community, and Class

Graded Abstract

due Monday by 9 a.m. , February 26 in my mail box, 310 Skinner

 

Write a 2 to 3 page abstract (with a works cited at the end) that demonstrates your understanding of

·         historical change,

·         empathetic historical understanding (understanding people of the past in terms of their times, social position, and culture—not ours)

·         differences between historical representations by observers and what we can discern about the “realities” of the observed,

·         differences among historical interpretations,

·         inter connections among primary and secondary historical sources. 

 

Start with the table below and My Father’s Life.  Draw on the other readings we’ve done up to this point. I have suggested a few topics or themes but you are free to define your own.  Consider the evidence you could marshal to address these topics; then choose or define one to pursue in your abstract.

 

Topic/Themes	Historical Change	Representations by Observers of the Era	Realities of the Observed	Historians’ differing interpretations (two)	Connections
Family: Ideals and Realities
Women and womanhood
Men and manhood
Community Life
Honor vs. shame/guilt
Obedience and love

 

Your abstract should take the following form:

 

Main Point (the major conclusion you draw after you’ve worked through the analysis of your topic. Two or three sentences and no more than a succinct paragraph. WRITE THIS LAST.)

 

Historical Change (In a brief paragraph, describe the most important aspect of change that you have discovered in your study of your topic and give at least one example of evidence that supports your point. Whenever you cite evidence, reference the source in parenthesis: see below.)

 

Representation by Observer  (State in a brief paragraph and include one example of supporting evidence. A contemporary observer could be a writer, artist, eyewitness, etc. of the time.)

 

Reality of the Observed (State in a paragraph what you think can be ascertained about the reality or “facts” about the person, event, or idea being represented by a contemporary observer and include one example of supporting evidence.

 

Historians’ differing interpretations (Choose at least two interpretations among Smith, Charelton, Poster, Le Roy Ladurie, and Schwartz that are relevant to the main point and evidence you are discussing.  In one or two brief paragraphs, describe the differences you find in their interpretations of something related to your topic.)

 

Connections (You have made several connections in the relating the differing interpretations to your topic.  Here in two or three sentences, explain how one additional primary or secondary source that you have not yet mentions sheds light on your examination.)

 

Works Cited (On a separate page at the end, give the full citations of each source you have cited in your abstract: author, title, journal title if an article from a periodical, place and date of publication, journal title.

 

 

Main Criteria for Evaluation:

 

·         the relevance and specificity of your historical ideas or thinking

·         the accuracy and appropriateness of the historical evidence cited (the appropriateness of evidence depends upon the degree to which there is a clear link between the evidence and the idea or claim being made.)

·         the clarity and precision of your prose

 

Recommendations:

 

Work over the course of several days.  Begin early, work for a stretch, and come back to it. Rare is the good paper or abstract that comes out of an extended late-night session of hours on end. Dividing up your thinking and writing allows your mind to work in the background.  So what's not clear right now may well be clear tomorrow or after several hours of doing something else. Use free writing to work at your essay in stages, with good breaks in between.  A night's sleep can work wonders. "Sleeping on it" is good practice.

 

Use "Free writing" to discover your ideas.  Avoid getting hung up trying to write a perfect introduction or conclusion: you can't.  Start writing down an idea that comes to mind; then keep writing as you follow your unfolding thoughts.  Don't worry about the order of your thoughts and where they take you. This is writing for you and you alone. It's an aid to immersing yourself in the subject and discovering what seems important and related.  In other words, this is writing to generate ideas and to call to mind evidence that seems to fit with the ideas. You can always check or verify details later. At this stage "Go with the flow!" It may start as a trickle but the pace will pick up. [Some "gifted" people may prefer to do an outline. But in my experience, outlines can best be written after one's completed an essay, not before. I wish I'd known this when I was in high school and college.]

 

Okay, now go back and organize: Look over your "scribblings" and determine what, roughly, you want to say in each of the above fields in the table. You should be able to state the main claim or thesis in one or two sentences. 

 

Onward through the first draft: 

 

It's time to edit and revise: When you've completed a draft, put it down for a while.  Then go back to it with your "editor's eye" (not your "writer's eye").  Did "the author" (you) get to the point quickly? Did she make her points with clarity and specificity?  Weed out terms like "plants" and replace with something concrete like "foxglove."

 

Now get back to that introduction or conclusion.  Now you should know what you’re concluding so you can write a strong conclusion and, if you’re writing a paper, you’re ready to write an effective introduction. Remember what Blaize Pascal said:

 

"The last thing one discovers in composing a work is what to put first."

 

 

Where's the evidence? Not just quotations, please. Please do not equate evidence only with direct quotation.  This is particularly important when you draw upon secondary sources. Moreover, I’d like to hear your “voice” in the piece.  If you quote too often, other voices will drown yours out. Quotation is usually more effective when used sparingly.

 

Using quotations in Papers:

1) indent and single space quotations of more than 5 lines;

2) introduce a quotation in your text so that you identify for the reader what she is supposed to see in the quotation. Quotations are open to a variety of interpretations, so you want to let the reader know what you are trying to demonstrate.

 

Citing your sources: use parenthetical references (author, page) to acknowledge the source of your borrowings. Include a Works Cited page at the back of your paper or abstract that gives the full citations of each work cited in the text.