Dr. Matt Kuefler

10. THE ACCURACY OF EXAMPLES

How do I guarantee the accuracy of details in the examples I use?

Verifying details from the historical source you are using is critical. Reread again the section, a paragraph or two, from which you are taking your example, to make sure of all of the facts there. Double-check such things as the spellings of names and the accurate recording of dates in your essay, where inaccuracies can slip in easily.

How can I guarantee the overall accuracy of the examples I use?

Overall accuracy is as important as the accuracy of details. This means not losing sight of the forest for the trees. Think about the historical source or sources you are using as a whole. Which incidents seem most important to the work as a whole? Is it possible to include these incidents or elements of them as examples? If you rely on some of the most central elements of a work as examples, you can be more confident that your thesis is proven by the overall work you are analyzing.

How can I guarantee the accuracy of the historical source I am using?

This is more difficult, since it is often assumed that a primary source should be accurate. But any historical writing has limitations, including missed or unknown information or biases (see Writing Tip #6). Most modern editors will try to indicate to readers when a historical source is inaccurate, in footnotes or endnotes or as part of an introductory essay. Your notes from class lectures or readings from secondary sources such as textbooks can often help to locate inaccuracies in primary sources. In most cases, it will not be necessary for you to do a lot of outside research to verifty the information found in primary sources. But you can always make allowances for the possibility of inaccurate information in a historical source by using a phrase that indicates to the reader that while you are assuming that information found there is reliable, it may not necessarily be so. Such phrases might include: "according to X, Y happened on such-and-such a date," or "X claimed that Y was true," or "X's account of the events surrounding Y includes the following details," or something that lets your reader know that you cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information that your source is providing.