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

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.

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

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.

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.