Some questions you might want to ask (not all will be applicable to all sources, but many will be): The marking criteria are the same as for any other piece of work. Devotional commentaries, sometimes called “popular commentaries,” help readers explore two main tenets of Bible study—what the text means, and what it means for everyday life. That was very useful. This is where questions of bias might be brought in. In fact, history is NOTa "collection of facts about the past." I hope the term goes well for you, too! You do need to establish what your source is, when and why it was produced, by whom, and what form it takes – as well as the basic content, the central message and perhaps the structure of the source – to give you a platform for the following commentary. You might answer these questions in a number of different ways or orders, but they will usually fall broadly into the structure of description then commentary. Guide to Writing a Commentary on Primary Source(s) Each week we discuss pieces of primary text, so essentially this exercise replicates on paper the type of analysis you routinely conduct in class. They are written as though they are collections of information. The difference is merely that your supporting evidence will mostly be drawn from one place – the source you’re writing about. But when it comes … The commentaries include the instructional context, student text, analysis, and instructional implications. As ever, the advice of the tutor setting and/or marking your work trumps all else, but here’s my checklist: 1. Babylonian and Assyrian text commentaries represent the oldest well defined and cohesive group of text commentaries worldwide. While both writing styles can be used to discuss another piece of work (like a play, book, movie, or … To write a literary commentary, start by reading the text and creating an outline. Remember, the question is not: Is this source useful to historians? Alternative assignments of this sort can be worrying, since they’re self-evidently rather different from a standard essay. Writing Samples and Commentaries Each sample of proficient student writing is accompanied by a completed rubric and a written commentary that provides a rationale for and specific examples used to determine proficiency. Whether you’re new to commentaries or you’re looking for examples of thoughtful, biblical teaching, you can’t go wrong with a devotional commentary. In this article, we have discussed the steps in detail to learn and prepare for it, write it effectively and polish it to make it presentable. The assignment will also help prepare you for both a second or third year dissertation, or a third year module, where close engagement with primary material is a basic requirement. In order to maintain secrecy the Proclamation of the Irish Republic was printed out on a hand press a few hours before the Rising. (a.k.a., Making) History At first glance, writing about history can seem like an overwhelming task. It was produced in two sections and due to the shortage of lettering, the letter “e” had to be improvised, standing out for the rest of the text. Rarely will the source be an outright forgery, but you should still question the validity, reliability and representativeness of the source. However, you still need to read around each topic or issue you raise. The following sections will guide you through the steps needed to write your very own commentary formulas. How to write a commentary The commentary exercise For some of the assessments you are doing, you might be required to produce a commentary to accompany the translation you have produced. Thank you a lot! You can update your cookie preferences at any time. Assess briefly the achievements and significance of the passage, both in itself and in relation to the work from which it is taken. So what does writing this sort of assignment entail? Better to identify the perspective from which events are described. You can also read the information as a txt file. Some of the differences are simply because this is typically a shorter assignment. How to Write a Good Essay Part 1: Learn the Difference between Commentary and Summary You need to understand the difference between commentary and summary. Analyzing an Historical Document . @gcgosling and read the source, of course. I like to think of this as: If this is the answer, what’s the question? Therefore, your commentary should contain at least the following parts: IDENTIFICATION DISCUSSION OF THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE TEXT CONCLUSION 2.1. Writing commentary is undoubtedly the most difficult part of writing any essay. So it’s no surprise that a common assignment in a History degree is to write a source commentary or analysis. Labelling a source as biased may not be wrong but it is redundant, since every source is biased in some way. This post would have helped them immensely with the headnotes. Sounds like an interesting exercise. However, I would advise against using the term bias. An increased consideration of material culture in recent years has made this more true than ever. 3. So, my lecture notes on conscientious objectors might be used as a secondary source for historians of the First World War, but as a primary source for historians of education. Identify and summarise the source. The assignment will also help prepare you for both a second or third year dissertation, or a third year module, where close engagement with primary material is a basic requirement. Their letters are no more than glimpses of Army and Navy life. Writing static texts. It’s also worth keeping in mind that you still need to back up each point you make with evidence. Critical commentaries usually reference relatively recent scholarly sources, focusing on small units of a text rather than the whole. History’s subject matter is immense, encompassing all of human affairs in the recorded past — up until the moment, that is, that you started reading this guide. Instead, you want one or two sentences. Good to hear. Please let us know if you agree to functional, advertising and performance cookies. Commentary on Quotations from Text in an Interpretive Response (English II Writing) | Texas Gateway It sounds like you have a great family collection. An excellent piece. Examples of Commentary. Coronavirus (Covid-19): Latest updates and information, FAQs in response to the SSLC Term 2 Survey, Corruption in Britain and its Empire 1600-1850 (HI2D2), Guide to Writing a Commentary on Primary Source(s). I find they arrive at uni with similar ideas about primary sources. If that was the case, historical research would be a lot quicker. You raise some interesting questions. So often, students jump straight over the basics to get to the important stuff. Yet students often complain of exactly that. To do so, you will need to specify the following: TITLE AUTHOR But how many sources is optimal to use? There are particular challenges and opportunities offered by private or official writings, even when the author is the same. Then, dive right into a detailed discussion of the text. To write a commentary, write about your observations and analysis of the text you read. I am going to use it in my teaching this year at the Univesity of Exeter. Since I did not go to school in the UK, I just need to know, and many thanks in advance! What sort of historian, trying to understand what about the past, would find this source useful? Your thesis statement should explain your stance or argument about the text. Thank you. A commentary is one type of literary work that contains a detailed analysis of an article, story or a passage of text. It´s a historic – circumstantial text. Every year, I open these modules (the ones I teach) with the question: “So, what is a primary source?” And every year, Year 1 students respond with conviction: “Primary sources are those sources that were produced at the time of the event, and secondary sources are those that were produced later, hence they are derivative, secondary, less important.” And then begins the process of explaining that while their definition of primary sources may be correct in some cases, being contemporary to the event is not a necessary quality of a primary source; also that secondary sources are not just post-dated and less important, they are professional analyses based on the data that primary sources provide. An easy mistake would be to offer some general thoughts on the source, perhaps doing all of the above, but not to really answer this question. ( Log Out /  The exact schema of your assignment will depend on the nature of the source. Commentaries are meant to be used alongside the Bible text to offer deeper insight, explanation, illustration, and historical background. L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia . Rather, it’s: In what ways is it useful? That said, not every historian will use every kind of source. Over the course of your source commentary, there are five things you need to make sure you do. For this reason you might read less than usual, but that wider reading is still important. Instructions Listen to some further instructions about the analysis of historical documents as a mp3 file. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Consider the limitations of the source. Saying so can often mask the need to ask how. How 'Writing Unseen Commentaries' will help you If you are an International Baccalaureate student following the Language A (English) Literature course, the Help Book will be invaluable to you as you prepare for the important Literary Analysis or Literary Commentary part of the final written exam. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Do you think primary and secondary sources are defined differently for students in high school? This means asking three questions, each of which will mean drawing upon your wider reading: 4. ( Log Out /  You should craft a clear and specific thesis statement about the novel, poem, or play you are evaluating. There are standard rules for how to write a thesis statement, a topic sentence, a blended quotation, etc. Put your source in context. Maybe next time. Would you say this is the same as what’s expected at A Level? I have needed other sources to discover that their shipmates were burned beyond recognition at Jutland (“of course I’ve lost heaps of pals”) or where they were marching from and to (“I got interrupted by a job of work”) or that they were sitting next to a man killed by a shell (“I had the narrowest of close shaves”). How to write a Commentary Approaches to Literary Criticism IB A1 Paper 1 “Your task is not so much to discuss what is being said, rather it is to discuss how it is being said.” Theme (The) – also Topic & Subject • What is the subject and concern of the text? More than naming it, this means identifying the type of source it is. A campaign speech or the posthumously published diaries of the same politician, for example. However, for the historian seeking to understand how university students were taught History in the early twenty-first century, it fits. They usually devote themselves to analyzing for bias and discussing a text's prehistory and literary traditions, as well as seeking to place the text in a historical … It would be unrealistic to expect one source to provide the answer to every question. For example, the introduction and conclusion might be far more brief than for a standard essay. I too try to explain the difference between primary and secondary sources with examples, but try to link it to an overarching theme in my study skills teaching – that the trick in so many cases is matching your sources with the question they can answer, and that not all historians are asking the same questions. They are important as indicating the character of the Hebrew text used. IDENTIFICATION: Start by identifying and locating the text in its right literary and historical context. The Bible, like any book, is a product of its time. In the History programmes at Exeter Uni, we have several source-centred modules from year 1 onwards. Cultural-historical context . Examples from Straub's article Straub's example of Directive commentary But I think it’s ok for them to be suspicious. If they’re paying enough attention to be suspicious then they’ll carry the idea with them into future classes and trips to the library when they’re handling primary/secondary sources after the class ends. Answer the question: How useful is this source to historians? In the future, this blog post will be of little use to the historian interested in explaining the outcome of the 2015 general election. History consists of making arguments about what happened in the past on the basis of what people recorded (in written documents, cultural artifacts, or oral traditions) at the time. Beside the wonderful examples and explanations presented in Richard Straub's and Summer Smith's articles, I have included links to some of my own commentary and the papers on which those comments were based.. You don't need a question heading unless you would find it useful to give you an angle on the source(s). Knowing the culture and history surrounding your passage is important for understanding it. Each week we discuss pieces of primary text, so essentially this exercise replicates on paper the type of analysis you routinely conduct in class. Likewise, quantitative or visual sources need to be handled appropriately. Make sure you polish the literary commentary for style, grammar, and spelling before handing it in so it is at its best. More than that and the danger is you end up just writing a standard essay that draws heavily on primary sources. It is doubtful whether any of them were committed to writing before the Christian Era. You can refer to the online versions of the sample documents (cite as 'Coursework document X, p.y) or go back to the originals. Thanks a lot, George! Most people believe that history is a "collection of facts about the past." Thanks. By the way, I have a question for you, and for the forum. Sometimes they will put Hebrew and Greek in the footnote, but not in the main body of the text.