Secondary sources should consist mostly of scholarly articles and books, not simply reference material and textbooks. First drafts may be limited to sources available in the Duggan Library, but you are expected to use Interlibrary Loan to obtain additional sources for the final draft. You should include with your first draft a bibliography based on a universal search for sources.

The grade of each draft will be based on the quality of the thesis and argument, the quality of the evidence and logic, and the quality of the writing. The grade of the first draft will also reflect the quality of your bibliography (based on a universal search), and the second draft will reflect the quality of the sources used. You should consult with me about your paper at least a week before each draft is due.

Consider for a paper topic a single primary text (or a few texts) from the course readings. Although points of emphasis will vary, your paper would include an analysis of the text itself, the author's objectives and assumptions, the audience, and the historical context. You would work with the complete text, not simply the excerpts assigned in class. Your thesis could focus on a section of the text, but your interpretation of that section would be informed by a reading of the entire text. Internet links to complete texts appear at the beginning of each reading assigment. Whenever possible, however, you should consult recent editions of the text, most of which will be in copyright and only available in print. If you choose to focus on a single primary text, you would also need to use secondary sources that have bearing on the text, author, audience, and historical context.