Write an essay of approximately 3-4 pages analysing one of the following articles.
What is meant by an article analysis? It is similar to a book review in that you briefly summarize what the article is about, but then focus on identifying the thesis and assessing how the author uses specific evidence to try to prove their thesis. Discuss a few pieces of evidence in greater detail and assess how they support the thesis.
Some points to keep in mind:
Remember that a thesis is NOT a question. It is not just “what the article is about.” It is also not a simple statement of fact such as “women contributed significantly to the war effort.” It is the answer to the main question that the author is trying to answer in the essay. What are they trying to convince you to accept about the topic? Big hint: the thesis is usually stated in the introduction, usually somewhere in the first few paragraphs. If you do not see it there, then go to the last few paragraphs because the thesis is usually restated in the conclusion. Do this before diving into the article. Reading history is not like reading a mystery – you can read the ending first! Having a clear idea of what the author is trying to argue, really helps you follow the logic of the article without getting lost in the detail.
What kind of evidence is the author using? Here consider both secondary sources (work of other scholars) and especially primary sources (documents which were written at the time).
How do they deal with contrary arguments? Think of academic articles as a conversation between scholars. Many people may have written articles or books about this subject so why did this author choose to write another piece on it? Were they trying to fill in a gap, an aspect of the broader topic not covered before? Were they looking at a common topic but from a very different perspective? Were they trying to add more evidence or another case study to a general argument that other scholars have made? Were they trying to argue against common assumptions or something other author(s) may have written?
How is the article structured?
