Using a Secondary Source

The HU-RH Joint Essay assignment calls for you to use at least one secondary source, in addition to primary sources from your Humanities and Rhetoric courses.

Perhaps the most straightforward way to use a secondary source as an authority in the essay body, to provide background information as context for the analysis you plan to offer. For example, if you have collected press coverage of the Watts riots, you might lead in with a paragraph summarizing what took place from Aug 11-15, 1965, with footnotes citing Spencer Crump’s 1967 book or David O. Sears’ 1973 book.

Alternatively, you can use a secondary source to inspire the analysis you offer. For example, if you were interested in arguing that Life’s coverage of Watts presented African-American residents as innocent victims, not culpable rioters, you might draw inspiration from Van Deburg’s account, in New Day in Babylon, of how the Black Power radicals were downplayed by mainstream news coverage. Note that your analysis wouldn’t be proven true by Van Deburg: he’s making an argument about how the political viability of the Black Panther Party was downplayed, not the actions of rioters on the streets. This is important because you shouldn’t spend time proving stuff that other scholars have already proven. Rather, Van Deburg’s analysis inspires your angle of attack, so you still need to present evidence to demonstrate your point about Life’s coverage of urban rioting.

For class, write a 2-¶ sequence, as follows.

1. Use the first ¶ to briefly summarize the findings of your secondary source.
2. Use the second ¶ to present your own findings. I’d prefer to see another 3-4 source mashup like the one you wrote for HW last time. But if you have a particularly interesting source you can focus on just that one source for the whole ¶.

Paste this 2-¶ sequence into the comments, below. At the start of your comment, label your use of the secondary source as “Background” or “Inspiration.”