LARP Help
Your LARP might be the first time you've had to incorporate primary and secondary sources into an English paper. You know a primary source is the work of literature you're analyzing, and secondary sources are quotations from experts that help prove your thesis. Use these secondary sources to support your argument.
Okay, but I’ve never done these before.
That’s fine – your teachers know that!
When I analyze my secondary sources, what should I avoid doing?
The biggest mistake we see in the Writing Center is when a student quotes a secondary source that is identical to the thesis statement. Conversely, sometimes the writer doesn’t explain how the quotation connects to the thesis.
What should I do instead?
Use sources that support your thesis (not ones that repeat it). Also, make sure you understand the secondary sources you’re using – they can be pretty complex – and fully analyze them.
Here's a sample. This paragraph has both a primary and secondary source in it. The analysis of the seconary source is in green. You might do things a little differently and put your primary source in one paragraph and your secondary source in another. Ask your teacher for advice!
Concern about the group’s opinion may guide a person to try harder to garner respect and, ultimately, acceptance. Ralph, though he is the elected leader, worries about how the hunters view him; if they do not view him with respect, how can he govern the island successfully? When he finally is invited to accompany them on a hunt, Ralph searches for their constant approval: “‘I hit him! The spear stuck in’… [Ralph] felt the need of witnesses” (113). This is Ralph’s first time being included in a hunt, and he seems very nervous leading up to his interaction with the pig. Hunting has never been something that Ralph showed interest in before, as his ideals have not aligned with the hunters’, and they are such a unified force that Ralph worries about fitting in. He wants to at least get a crack at the pig and, when he does, hopes for witnesses; if the others see his astounding deed, in Ralph’s opinion, the group may come to respect him; he has almost become one of them and no longer feels like a leader removed from those he governs. In his article the nature of conformity, psychologist Guandong Song suggests that “the subject acts consistently with the object, whose behavior or attitude is considered to be the guidance of his judgment and reasoning process in an uncertain psychological condition” (1368). When Ralph (the subject), joins the group of hunters (the object), he acts as they would on a hunt. He joins in the revelry of the chase and even displays great excitement when he gets his first spear on target. To Ralph, hunting is an “uncertain psychological condition,” a situation that is foreign to him. The group’s behavior and attitude while on the hunt serves as guidance to Ralph in pursuing acceptance within the group; if he acts as they do, he may garner respect even beyond the hunt. Showing concern over the opinions of a group in order to gain acceptance is a perfectly natural human response, as it prevents an individual from experiencing undue humiliation.
Ready to find your secondary sources? Check out the LMC website for some online databases.
Okay, but I’ve never done these before.
That’s fine – your teachers know that!
When I analyze my secondary sources, what should I avoid doing?
The biggest mistake we see in the Writing Center is when a student quotes a secondary source that is identical to the thesis statement. Conversely, sometimes the writer doesn’t explain how the quotation connects to the thesis.
What should I do instead?
Use sources that support your thesis (not ones that repeat it). Also, make sure you understand the secondary sources you’re using – they can be pretty complex – and fully analyze them.
Here's a sample. This paragraph has both a primary and secondary source in it. The analysis of the seconary source is in green. You might do things a little differently and put your primary source in one paragraph and your secondary source in another. Ask your teacher for advice!
Concern about the group’s opinion may guide a person to try harder to garner respect and, ultimately, acceptance. Ralph, though he is the elected leader, worries about how the hunters view him; if they do not view him with respect, how can he govern the island successfully? When he finally is invited to accompany them on a hunt, Ralph searches for their constant approval: “‘I hit him! The spear stuck in’… [Ralph] felt the need of witnesses” (113). This is Ralph’s first time being included in a hunt, and he seems very nervous leading up to his interaction with the pig. Hunting has never been something that Ralph showed interest in before, as his ideals have not aligned with the hunters’, and they are such a unified force that Ralph worries about fitting in. He wants to at least get a crack at the pig and, when he does, hopes for witnesses; if the others see his astounding deed, in Ralph’s opinion, the group may come to respect him; he has almost become one of them and no longer feels like a leader removed from those he governs. In his article the nature of conformity, psychologist Guandong Song suggests that “the subject acts consistently with the object, whose behavior or attitude is considered to be the guidance of his judgment and reasoning process in an uncertain psychological condition” (1368). When Ralph (the subject), joins the group of hunters (the object), he acts as they would on a hunt. He joins in the revelry of the chase and even displays great excitement when he gets his first spear on target. To Ralph, hunting is an “uncertain psychological condition,” a situation that is foreign to him. The group’s behavior and attitude while on the hunt serves as guidance to Ralph in pursuing acceptance within the group; if he acts as they do, he may garner respect even beyond the hunt. Showing concern over the opinions of a group in order to gain acceptance is a perfectly natural human response, as it prevents an individual from experiencing undue humiliation.
Ready to find your secondary sources? Check out the LMC website for some online databases.