The University of Findlay

ENG 106

Spring 2021

Primary Source Essay

Well, our feet are wet, and we are now going back to a somewhat similar genre of writing: analytical
essay. As already stressed and reiterated numerous times, the ability to analyze data and information is
paramount for higher education and general intelligence in life. The purpose of this essay is to analyze a
source of your choosing. The essay can be directly related to your observation essay, though it should be
different than the one(s) used in the first essay. The source can also be on an entirely different topic
than the first essay as well; it just needs to discuss waste/recycling. Keep in mind that the next essay we
will write is a literature review essay, which will be similar to this essay but will require five sources
instead of one. The essay for this paper may be used for the next, though it does not have to be.

Now, the new twist to this essay is that the source we will be analyzing needs to be a primary source.
We will be delving into the definition a little more as we progress throughout its creation; however,
essentially the source must have first-hand information. The content and the study(ies) need to have
been conducted by the author/publisher. This first-hand information is more raw and less processed
than other sources, so often it is considered more accurate or true (Please note often and considered).

Again, our objective here is to notice things. We need to examine the article through different lenses
and make various analytical moves. This will require an article worthy of our attention and thought.
Finding the right article to analyze will be as important as the writing itself, and the article must be
scholarly. Take time early in your research and save some of the articles you come across, for they may
be useful for one of the next two papers. A good article will allow you to question and examine content,
find anomalies, distinguish subtle patterns, make the implicit explicit, note tone through diction, and
ultimately make a claim about the article as it relates to the topic.

If you notice, you will be doing more with less here. The length of the essay has grown, so you will need
to delve deep. Question, question, question! Ask yourself why and to what extent. What information is
omitted, and what implication can be drawn from the omission? Is the omission malicious, ignorant, etc?
Who is the intended audience for the content and what effect would the audience have on its writing or
reception? What data is used, and how is it used? How have the numbers been manipulated? What
different lenses could be used to read the content? A variety of these questions and many others will
allow you to deconstruct and tear apart the content in order to make a statement about the source and
its use/treatment of the content.

Format: APA

Length: 1500-2500 words

Criteria:

 Effective title
 Academic Source (1); more needed initially
 Bibliography page
 Unique/specific research question
 APA documentation
 Quotes and paraphrases from the source in varying lengths and structures
 Analysis of source
 Synthesis of information
 Grammar, Usage, and mechanics
 Transitions
 Audience Awareness
 Organization and coherence