[originally published on History Survey on 7/13/2007]

When I assign short papers in my classes, I specify which primary sources students must draw upon and what other sources they should consider. For example I recently gave the following assignment for Hist 033-10:

Analyze the image of women in early modern Europe. Use Heptameron and relevant documents from the sourcebook and class handouts. You might also draw on Lessing’s Nathan the Wise.

Heptameron was the main book we had read and discussed on the subject. Hence, I mandated its use in the paper. Our sourcebook also contained a wealth of information, so I asked students to draw on that. Still, I left open which sources they analyzed, because the book contained an embarrassment of riches. Lessing's book also contained interesting images, but its main emphasis lay elsewhere. Moreover, students had enough material anyway. That is why I made this book optional for the paper. To sum up, both Heptameron and the sourcebook were mandatory, but Lessing was optional. Nonetheless, one student ignored Heptameron. Worse, said student drew on very few of the other primary sources. The student's prose was clear and easy to read, but there was little substantial analysis in the paper, not least because it did not follow the directions and draw on the required sources.

I also offered the following essay choice in Hist 033-10:

Analyze the relationship between reason and faith in early modern European thought. Use Lessing’s Nathan the Wise and relevant documents from the sourcebook and class handouts.

One student decided to answer the question by devoting a little attention to Lessing and the rest to Rousseau, who would have been an appropriate author, if we had read him in our class. This need not have been a big deal for a long paper, but this assignment entailed only three pages. There was no room or time for additional material, especially not at the expense of the material assigned. Moreover, while the paper in question dealt with some important issues, it never offered concrete examples from the sources it discussed. Hence its analysis did not dig deeply enough.

I do not mean to pick on these two students, but that course is over, and I need some concrete examples. I suspect that the grades these students earned disappointed them, and it would be nice if other students learned from their mistakes. The moral of the story? Read and follow the directions.

One last thing: Do not even think about asking me who the two students in question are. I will never tell.