Writing Workshop 1

1. Writing Workshop 1 Using Primary Documents from our study of the Holocaust to practice Variation of Sentence Structure

2. What is a Primary Document? A Primary Document is an original document created by the person who experienced the event or time period. These sources offer an inside view, a personal, firsthand account of a period of history. Primary documents have not been filtered by a third party through interpretation or evaluation. Examples include: ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS (excerpts or translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama, novels, music, art RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings The Diary of Anne Frank, for example, is a primary document. It is a firsthand account of an individual who experienced the Holocaust.

3. Secondary Sources Secondary sources, on the other hand, interpret, discuss, or analyze primary sources or documents. They do not offer a first hand account of an event, but often use primary sources as their source of information. Examples of secondary sources are: PUBLICATIONS: Textbooks, magazine articles, histories, criticisms, commentaries, encyclopedias A journal/magazine article which interprets or reviews previous findings A history textbook A book about the effects of WWI

4. Our Primary Document • For our first Writing Workshop, you will be asked to read a personal account of a Holocaust survivor. This is a primary document, a firsthand account of a time in history. • You will be reading the account of Bernard Mayer, who, like Anne Frank, was a victim of the Nazis in World War II. Unlike Anne Frank, however, Bernard survived the Holocaust and eventually moved to America.

5. Writing Workshop Instructions • As you recall, we have studied two ways of creating variety in sentence structure: • 1. Varying sentence length within a paragraph. • 2. Varying the openings of sentences. • Using these two methods, complete the following exercise. Whatever you do not finish in class will be due for a 20 point homework grade on Monday. • Instructions: • 1. Read the excerpt of Bernard Mayer’s account. • 2. On notebook paper, rewrite the three selected paragraphs of the primary document using a variety of sentence length and openings. The meaning of the paragraph should not be changed! Rather, you are practicing your ability to convey the same information in a different way. • 3. Turn in your homework with the correct heading in the top left corner.