For each lab report, students are required to explore specific primary sources in greater detail. Students must write an essay of no fewer than 250 words, not to exceed 500 words, based solely on course materials. In addition to general writing expectations, the assignment must conform to the following expectations:

• Students must maintain a historical focus. Avoid making comparisons with the present, but instead try to understand what this document tells us about the people of the past.
• Students must avoid making value judgments about the past (feel free to discuss attitudes and practices you see in the documents, but do not condemn or praise the people of the past for having these attitudes and practices; instead, try to understand why they had these attitudes and practices).

Lab reports are to include all of the following sections as distinct paragraphs (it is best practice to use the structure below as your outline when developing your Lab Report):

Introduction (1 point)

• A clear indication of the document upon which the student is basing the report
• A brief overview of the historical period in which the document was written
• A brief overview of what we can learn about a particular civilization/historical period based on the document

Results (2 points)

• A brief description of the purpose (the reason the document was written)
• A brief description of the audience (the group the author wants to read the document)
• The bias of the author (all authors have a bias)
• Three to five observations from the document

Discussion (5 points)

• Assertion (a clear and concise statement of what we can learn about the past based on the student’s observations)
• Supporting Evidence (an explanation of how the student has interpreted observations from the Results section to support the assertion)
• Analysis (discussion that links the student’s assertion and evidence to what the student knows about the historical period in which the document was written). Note Well: this section should be the largest and most thoughtful section of the Lab Report.
  • Stage 1 Analysis: Analysis makes a general connection between the assertion and relevant course material
  • Stage 2 Analysis: Analysis describes and justifies the connection between the assertion and relevant course materials
  • Stage 3 Analysis: Analysis demonstrates student’s ability to explore the connection between assertion and analysis to increase understanding of the historical time period. Analysis demonstrates student insight and creates new knowledge.

Conclusion (1 point)

• The implications: a brief overview of how the document adds to our knowledge of the historical period in which it was written—what insights does it provide about the people who lived when the document was written?
• The applications (otherwise known as “what next?”): discuss the possible avenues for future research. What questions did the document suggest that cannot be answered with your current understanding? What questions did the document fail to answer that you would have liked to have known more about? What other types of questions could the document answer?

Lab reports are not to be research papers. The assignments can (and should) be completed based solely on assigned materials. Use of formal MLA citations or footnotes is not required, but students should always indicate their sources.

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to help the student “do history” by critically analyzing primary source documents and developing arguments based on available sources.

Course Outcomes: Develop the skills necessary to analyze evidence as a historian; learn how to read and interpret primary source documents; learn how to organize and think critically about course material; learn how to write as a historian.