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. Additional information and guidelines will be available at the course site. 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

All essays must include both primary and secondary source material from the assigned readings properly cited using Chicago-style footnotes. Outside research is allowed but not required.

  • Outside research is not encouraged here, but don’t forget to consult the discussion topic pages and the other outside readings on the course site syllabus as well (such as chapters from the American Yawp)–they also contain valuable insights and examples.
  • 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.

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]