Due by Monday, October 5, 2026 BY EMAIL

By Monday, October 5, students will submit a 4- to 6-page essay (typed, double-spaced) that offers a close reading analysis of one of the six primary source sets from the syllabus readings (Adams’s letters, Jefferson’s Declaration, Leutze’s painting, Paine’s pamphlet, Pennsylvania’s constitution, or Wheatley’s poems).  Students must analyze text, context, and subtext within the framework of an interpretive essay that includes at least 2-3 academic secondary sources, properly cited with Chicago-style footnotes. Essays will be graded on depth of analysis, use of evidence, and quality of prose. Late essays will be penalized up to 5 points each day.

  • Submit by EMAIL attachment (either PDF or Word) not by shared documents
  • Please open your paper with a descriptive title and your byline.
  • Organize your essay in a way that respects chronology and historical context.
  • Use past tense except when describing modern scholarship
  • Avoid first person pronouns, including “our”
  • Prof. Pinsker is available to answer questions or review drafts over email until Sunday afternoon, October 4

All essays must include both primary and secondary source material properly cited using Chicago-style footnotes. 

  • Make sure to devise a thesis statement that can be effectively argued in a short paper.  Consult the Methods Center handout on How to Write a Thesis Statement 
  • Make sure you are formatting your footnotes correctly (see some of the samples below).  For further guidance, see this methods handout on How to Use Footnotes and consult as needed with the library’s Chicago-style guide, but make sure to use sample footnote models for formatting and NOT bibliography examples.  

Sample Footnotes

[1] Gordon S. Wood, American Revolution: A History (New York: Modern Library, 2002), 25.

[2] Wood, 48.

Special Close Reading Tips & Models

  • Here is one student model to consider:  Katelyn Duffy on Emma Lazarus but feel free to browse several student models (under the subheading: Close Reading Posts) in the Student Hall of Fame
  • This is a handout on some best practices for how to approach historical close reading
  • And don’t forget to rely on the Methods Center for additional guidance about research, writing, citing, and editing.  See the main handouts at the top of the page, but also check out the special post on SEARCH VS. RESEARCH for guidance in finding sources
  • Generally, the best way to approach for organizing these essays is to remember Prof. Pinsker’s close reading mantra: text, context, subtext. Consider opening your essay with a snippet of text, briefly explain its context and then offer a thesis statement that explains and assesses subtext (or the author’s intended strategy).  Your body paragraphs should follow that structure as well. Begin by providing some well-organized paragraphs to summarize the text, using snippets of quotation and including definitions of key words and description of the format or genre. Then offer paragraphs on context, including the background of the author and relevant information about the audience and the time period. Follow this essential background with analytical paragraphs that build on the previous information and assess subtext or the author’s strategy for achieving his or her goals. Even though this is a short essay, using subheadings for each of these sections is a good idea.  Regardless, however, make sure to close with a final paragraph that gracefully connects everything back to the opening.

Grading

Essays will be graded on depth of analysis, use of evidence, and quality of prose. Late essays will be penalized up to 5 points each day.

  • Don’t underestimate the importance of integrating your quoted evidence with some degree of fluidity.  Awkwardly inserting quotations is one of the hallmarks of mediocre undergraduate essays.  Consult this handout from the methods center for a range of good tips.
  • Also, please guard against plagiarism.  Remember our discussion from early in the semester.  Never write your own words while looking directly at your sources, especially secondary sources –unless you are quoting them.
  • And finally, always remember to proofread your work by printing it out and reading it aloud, slowly. See our methods handout on How to Proofreed [sic]