Salem Witch Trials Essay

This is a primary source essay on the Salem witch trials that must include two sources. The two sources that I have provided are court records from the Salem witch trials.The two primary sources you must use for this essay :http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n13.htmlhttp://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n63.htmlI. THE INTRODUCTION: The introduction for this paper should be one short paragraph (2-3 sentences). Its purpose is to: (1) set out the problem to be discussed; (2) define the sources you will use to explore the problem (4) state your thesis (what you want to learn from these sources).II. THE BODY: This constitutes the bulk of your paper. Here is where you analyze the primary sources, and see how they substantiate (or fail to substantiate) your thesis.A. Description of each primary source: You need to describe as much as you can about each of your primary sources. Who wrote them? When? Why? Where? Who is meant to read them? What is their purpose? What can you learn about the author? From the reader? From the community? What is missing?B. How the two primary sources are similar/different: In what ways are the sources different, the authors, the readers? Were they written in the same place, or in two different places? Were they written at the same time? Why were they written? Why were they kept? Explore how these sources are similar and different, and what that can tell us about eachC. What we can learn from the primary sources, when placed in context of our secondary source: Your secondary source (perhaps your textbook) gives you context for your subject (whether that is slavery, Jamestown, the Salem Witch Trials or the American Revolution). With that information in mind, what can you learn from the primary sources? What details do they tell you about life during that period? About the people involved? About the community, laws, social customs? Describe the information that can be learned from these sources by themselves, as well as in context of your secondary source.III. CONCLUSION: This is usually one paragraph long, and briefly recapitulates your thesis, with a summary of your findings. The first sentence of the concluding paragraph is a clear, specific re-statement of thesis. The conclusion should do more than simply re-state the argument. It also suggests why the argument is important in the bigger scheme of things, or suggests avenues for further research, or raises a bigger question.