Reference no: EM131583882

Essential Elements of the Final Analytical Research Paper

1. The Introduction Paragraph

Context: The majority of the introduction should NOT be about the primary source. Instead the introduction paragraph should explain the context the reader needs to understand in order to follow youanalysis of the primary source.

Here are some examples of the context you might choose for your introduction paragraph:

The historical moment: the Black Lives Matter movement and the issues it seeks to address.

The historical moment: current evidence of anti-Black state violence

The particular moment in the photo: for example, description of a particular protest and the events that preceded it

History of athlete activism

History of artist activism

Explanation of a commonly held belief that your paper will push back against.

Please note: if you choose a context that is not the Black Lives Matter movement or the current evidence of anti-Black state violence, you will likely need to give information about either or both of these things at some point in your paper.

Your primary source in your introduction:

At the very end of your introduction paragraph you should introduce your primary source. This typically works in two sentences:

Second to last sentence of the paragraph: Identifies your primary source and how it relates to the context.

Last sentence of the paragraph: Makes a claim that you intend to prove about your primary source. This is your thesis statement. Does your thesis statement relate to all of the claims you make throughout your paper? If not, revise your thesis statement. Also, review the work we did in Chapter 7 about how to construct a strong thesis statement.

2. Immediately following the introduction paragraph: Detailed explanation of your primary source. (2 or more paragraphs)

Tells the specific who, what, when, where of your primary source (where it first appeared, etc.)

Detailed description of the source, highlighting relevant details.

Your initial analysis of the primary source.

3. Secondary Source Integration

You should use the next several paragraphs (several pages) to introduce your secondary sources. For each secondary source you should:

Summarize the source and the relevant argument the source makes.

Show how the source helps you develop your analysis of the primary source further or in new ways.

OR show how the argument in the primary source is faulty and push back against it in your analysis of your primary source.