Tell the story of your theorist’s life and work. The two goals of this draft are (1.) demonstrate your understanding of their theoretical work and (2.) build a connection between the biographic/historical details of their life and their theoretical contributions. These four elements should be woven together in your first draft:

Biography – Tell your theorist’s story! You will describe the formative events of their life. This includes family, education, work history, political involvement, etc. In particular, highlight aspects of their biography that might be relevant to their theoretical contributions.

Historical context – You will relate their biography to the historical context in which they live. What social and political events shaped their work? How might we understand your theorist as a product of their times?

Theoretical influence – What were the theoretical/philosophical perspectives and individual scholars who influenced your theorist’s work? How did previous ideas shape their theory? How does your theorist critique or build upon their predecessors? What theorists and perspectives did they disagree with? Compare and contrast their work with other scholars of the time.

Major theoretical works – Describe the major theoretical contributions of your theorist in some detail. You should select at least two primary sources written by your theorist and summarize their theoretical contributions. Your focus should be on theory, not empirical research. What are the central theoretical questions, concepts, and themes of their writing?