Not sure how to use primary and secondary sources in your writing?
Scroll below for some good strategies for organizing your academic paper in History
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Using Evidence
Before you start writing, pick the best sources you have to help support your argument. Remember that these papers aren't a place to list historical events. Instead, you want to pick the best examples from the sources to defend your claims.
always contextualize;
use attributive tags
When you introduce a source, you must explain to your reader who is being quoted, from where they were quoted, when and why. For those of you in ENC 1101 and 1102, these introductions to your sources are called attributive tags. Using these is an important way to introduce sources, and their relevance, to your reader.
always connect evidence to argument
A good college-level history paper will make sure to constantly show how evidence supports a specific argument.
quality of sources over quantity
This all depends on your argument, and the question you are answering. Try not to pick what parts of your class sources you want to use based on what you think is interesting. Try to instead pick only the primary and secondary sources that best support the argument you are trying to make. Remember that you only have - realistically - only so many sources to include. Only pick the ones that best make your case. This is a law case. Win the case with the best evidence.
what is an attributive tag?
Attributive tags are the words you use to introduce, describe, and analyze the ideas of others. When introducing a quote from President Abraham Lincoln, but you first say that Lincoln argued, and then include your quote, "Lincoln argued" is the attributive tag. They are critical for presenting evidence to support your argument. You should be learning about them, or already learned about them, in ENC 1101 and 1102.
see examples
how do i mold my evidence to my argument?
You have to use your attributive tags wisely. It is up to you, and you only, to explain why the evidence you've chosen actually supports your argument. Use attributive tags to help contextualize your evidence, and directly explain how your examples support the argument in that given paragraph.