Advanced Google Search Revisionist History

Research Assignment 1: Revisionist History

Purpose:The purpose of this assignment is to gather sources to help you look at your historical event, figure, or period through a new lens.

● Skills: You will be developing the following important research skills to help you as you move forward in your academics and profession.

• ○ Using google more effectively
• ○ Using the library databasesTask: For this assignment, you will do the following

• ● You will ultimately need 2 sources for your upcoming writing assignment
• ● These sources will be helping you explore an alternative perspective on your historicalfigure, event, or period.
• ● You will use the tools provided in class to find your research.
  • ○ One of your sources should come from an advanced google search
  • ○ One of your sources should come from a library source
• ● After finding your sources, you will create an accurate MLA citation for each source.
• ● You will then create an academic precis for each of your sources

○ Refer to the information at the end of this document regarding creating an academic precis

What Is A Rhetorical Precis?

Understanding, the audience, purpose, and moves in a text, are important to understanding the position of the text in a larger discussion. This understanding can also help you more clearly understand how a text can help you.

In academics, this clear understanding of a text is often demonstrated through a rhetorical precis.

Rhetorical Precis:”Précis” is French for “specific” or “precise.” It’s also a particular kind of writing. When you write a précis you have to exactly and succinctly account for the most important parts of a text. If you write a successful précis, it is a good indication that you’ve read that text closely and that you understand its major moves and arguments. Writing a précis is an excellent way to show that you’ve closely read a text.

Disclaimer:There are different kinds of précis for different contexts. A legal précis is different from what we’re talking about here. Some précis are longer or shorter than others. If you are writing a précis as a course assignment, be sure to follow your instructor’s guidance on what this should consist of and how it should be formatted.

A precis, is an effective research and pre-writing tool that can help you ensure clear understanding of a text before using it in your own work.

Precis Format:

A rhetorical précis, as developed by Margaret K. Woodworth and described in her 1988 article “The Rhetorical Précis” (published by Rhetoric Review), consists of four dense but direct sentences.

1. The first sentence identifies who wrote the text, where and when it was published, and what its topic and claim are.
2. The second sentence explores how the text is developed and organized.
3. The third sentence explains why the author wrote this, her purpose or intended effect.
4. The fourth and final sentence describes the “for whom” of the text by clarifying who theintended or assumed audience of this text is.