Once students have become familiar with using the worksheets, direct them to analyze documents as a class or in groups without the worksheets, vocalizing the four steps as they go.Point out that the steps are the same each time, for every type of primary source: The first few times you ask students to work with primary sources, and whenever you have not worked with primary sources recently, model careful document analysis using the worksheets.Move on to activities in which students use the primary sources as historical evidence, like on. Use these worksheets - for photos, written documents, artifacts, posters, maps, cartoons, videos, and sound recordings - to teach your students the process of document analysis.ĭon’t stop with document analysis though. Teach your students to think through primary source documents for contextual understanding and to extract information to make informed judgments. This particular annotation does not reflect on the source’s potential importance or usefulness for this person’s own research.įor information on formatting APA citations, see our APA Formatting and Style Guide.Document analysis is the first step in working with primary sources. The second paragraph points out the project’s strengths and evaluates its methods and presentation. The first paragraph provides a brief summary of the author's project in the book, covering the main points of the work. The annotation above both summarizes and assesses the book in the citation. Ehrenreich’s project is timely, descriptive, and well-researched. The author is forthcoming about her methods and supplements her experiences with scholarly research on her places of employment, the economy, and the rising cost of living in America. Taking jobs as a waitress, a maid in a cleaning service, and a Walmart sales employee, the author summarizes and reflects on her work, her relationships with fellow workers, and her financial struggles in each situation.Īn experienced journalist, Ehrenreich is aware of the limitations of her experiment and the ethical implications of her experiential research tactics and reflects on these issues in the text. In this book of nonfiction based on the journalist's experiential research, Ehrenreich attempts to ascertain whether it is currently possible for an individual to live on a minimum-wage in America. Nickel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America. In the sample annotation above, the writer includes three paragraphs: a summary, an evaluation of the text, and a reflection on its applicability to his/her own research, respectively.įor information on formatting MLA citations, see our MLA 9th Edition (2021) Formatting and Style Guide. Students should find Lamott's style both engaging and enjoyable. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for generating classroom writing exercises. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing process and would serve to generate discussion on students' own drafting and revising processes.

Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its encouraging approach.Ĭhapters in this text could easily be included in the curriculum for a writing class.

Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one's own imperfect humanity in the process. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic. Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students.

Annotating an article worksheet