How do you include multiple sources in your historical argument?

1 Choose your sources carefully

When selecting sources to include in your historical argument, you should consider their type, origin, content, and quality. Primary sources are original records or accounts of the past, such as letters, diaries, speeches, or photographs. Secondary sources are interpretations or analyses of the past, such as books, articles, or documentaries. Who created the source and when? What was their perspective and intention? How does the source reflect its time and place? What information does it provide? How reliable is the source? How can you verify its information and claims? You should evaluate the strengths and limitations of the sources you choose to ensure they are suitable for your research question, scope, and purpose. Finally, you need to acknowledge and cite your sources properly and ethically.

2 Analyze your sources critically

In order to include multiple sources in your historical argument, the second step is to analyze them critically and systematically. You should not simply accept or reject a source based on its type, origin, content, or quality. Instead, you should evaluate how the source contributes to your understanding and interpretation of the past. When analyzing your sources, ask yourself what the main point or message is and how it relates to your research question and thesis. Consider the evidence or reasoning used to illustrate the point and evaluate its persuasiveness. Think about the assumptions or perspectives the source makes or implies about the past and their effect on its tone, language, and argument. Acknowledge any limitations or challenges that may affect its validity, reliability, and credibility. Lastly, consider what implications or significance the source has for your historical argument and for the broader historical context. This will help you answer your research question and support your thesis.

3 Synthesize your sources coherently

When synthesizing multiple sources for your historical argument, it is important to organize and integrate them in a clear and consistent structure. You should use transitions and signposts to guide your readers through your historical argument, while selectively paraphrasing or quoting your sources with quotation marks, citations, and footnotes. It is also essential to explain or interpret the sources in your own words, using your own voice and perspective. This way, you can show how the sources support, illustrate, or challenge your thesis and demonstrate how you evaluate and synthesize them to form your own historical argument.

4 Compare and contrast your sources critically

The fourth step to include multiple sources in your historical argument is to compare and contrast them critically and constructively. Rather than simply listing or describing your sources, you should analyze how they differ or agree on the past, how they complement or contradict each other, and how they reveal the complexity and diversity of the past. To do this, consider their similarities and differences, strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and challenges. Examine how your sources agree or disagree on the facts, events, causes, effects, or interpretations of the past. Analyze their reliability, accuracy, and credibility; how they use or misuse evidence, reasoning, or arguments; and how they address or ignore their limitations. Finally, consider how your sources offer or pose opportunities and challenges for your historical argument and for the broader historical context. This will help you enrich or complicate your understanding and interpretation of the past, as well as raise or answer new or existing questions about the past.

5 Evaluate and reflect on your sources critically

When constructing your historical argument, it is essential to evaluate and reflect on your sources critically and honestly. You should assess the strengths and weaknesses of your sources and how they affect your argument. Additionally, you should consider your role as a researcher and how you use and present your sources. As you reflect on these issues, think about the quality and quantity of sources used, their relevance and representation, as well as implications and limitations for your argument. Ask yourself how many and what kinds of sources you used for your argument, how you selected them, how you ensured their reliability, accuracy, and credibility, and how you avoided plagiarism or distortion. Additionally, consider how relevant and representative they are for your research question, scope, and purpose. Finally, think about the implications and limitations of your sources for your argument and the broader historical context.

6 Include multiple sources in your historical argument

Including multiple sources in your historical argument is a challenging but rewarding task that requires careful selection, analysis, synthesis, comparison, and evaluation of your sources. By following these tips, you can use your sources effectively and critically to construct a coherent, logical, and persuasive historical argument that reflects your research question, thesis, and purpose. You can also demonstrate your historical research skills and competencies, such as critical thinking, evidence-based reasoning, and ethical scholarship.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?