Important Tips to writing a History Paper

Getting Started

• At first glance, writing about history can seem like an overwhelming task. History’s subject matter is extensive, encompassing all of human affairs in the recorded past —up until the moment, that is, that you started reading this

The Thesis sentenceThe thesis sentence is typically that ONE sentence in

the paper that asserts, controls, and structures the entire argument.

Your English teacher might frown on a thesis sentence that says, "This paper will argue X by asserting A, B, and C." Such a thesis would likely be seen as too formulaic. In a history course, on the other hand, a good thesis might be crafted this way.

So what makes a good thesis sentence?

1. A good thesis sentence will make a claim

You need to develop an interesting perspective that you can support and defend. This perspective must be more than an observation. "America is violent" is an observation. "Americans are violent because they are fearful“ is an argument.

Why? Because it formulates a perspective. It makes a claim.

So what makes a good thesis sentence?

2. A good thesis sentences will control the entire argument.

Your thesis sentence determines what you are required to say in a paper. It also determines what you cannot say. Every paragraph in your paper exists in order to support your thesis. Accordingly, if one of your paragraphs seems irrelevant to your thesis you have two choices: get rid of the paragraph, or rewrite your thesis.

The thesis is like a contract between you and your reader. If you introduce ideas that the reader isn't prepared for, you've violated that contract.

So what makes a good thesis sentence?

3. A good thesis will provide a structure for your argument.

A good thesis not only signals to the reader what your argument is, but how your argument will be presented. In other words, your thesis sentence should either directly or indirectly suggest the structure of your argument to your reader.

WILL THIS THESIS SENTENCE MAKE THE GRADE? (A CHECK LIST)

Here are some questions to ask yourself to ensure you have a great Thesis sentence

• Does my thesis sentence attempt to answer (or at least to explore) a challenging intellectual question?

• Is the point I'm making one that would generate discussion and argument, or is it one that would leave people asking, "So what?"

• Is my thesis too vague? Too general? Should I focus on some more specific aspect of my topic?

• Does my thesis indicate the direction of my argument? Does it suggest a structure for my paper?

• Does my introductory paragraph define terms important to my thesis? If I am writing a research paper, does my introduction "place" my thesis within the larger, ongoing scholarly discussion about my topic?

• Is the language in my thesis clear? Have I structured my sentence so that the important information is in the main focus? In short, is this thesis the very best sentence that it can be?

Structure & OrganizationWriting papers in college requires that you come up

with sophisticated, complex, and even creative ways of structuring your ideas. Accordingly, there is no simple formula that I can offer you that will work for every paper, every time. However, I can give you some things to think about that will help you as you consider how to structure your paper.

Structure & Organization1. Let Your Thesis Direct You ( If it is well-written, it will tell you which way to go with your paper )

2. Outline your paperThe task of your outline is to find your paper's "best structure." By "best

structure," I mean the structure that best supports the argument that you intend to make.

3. Constructing ParagraphsYou were probably told, that paragraphs are the workhorses of your paper.

Indeed, they are. If a single paragraph is confusing or weak, the entire argument might fail. It's important that you consider carefully the "job" of each paragraph. Know what it is you want that paragraph to do

Introductions

Your introduction is your chance to get your reader interested in your subject

Equally important to the tone of the introduction is that your introduction needs to "place" your argument into some larger context.

Your thesis sentence is found in your introduction

Conclusions• A good conclusion will do more than just

summarize your paper. Just as the introduction sought to place the paper in the larger, ongoing conversation about the topic, so should the conclusion insist on returning the reader to that ongoing conversation, but with the feeling that they have learned something more.

• Your goal in your final sentences is to leave your ideas ringing in your reader's mind. Give your reader something to think about. Make your thoughts stick.

Sources for Historical Analysis

Whatever the assignment, all historical writing depends on sources. Once scholars have located a topic and formulated a set of historical questions, they turn to sources to begin answering them. Sources essentially come in two varieties:

Primary and Secondary

Sources for Historical AnalysisPrimary sources: are materials produced in the time period

under study; they reflect the immediate concerns and perspectives of participants in the historical drama.

• Common examples include diaries, correspondence, dispatches, newspaper editorials, speeches, economic data, literature, art, and film.

Secondary sources: are materials produced after the time period under study; they consider the historical subject with a degree of hindsight and generally select, analyze, and incorporate evidence (derived from primary sources) to make an argument. Works of scholarship are the most common secondary sources.

Valid SourcesTexts• Books, (biographies, autobiography, textbooks,

encyclopedias) • Newspaper/Journal articles• Historical documentsWeb• Google scholar• Websites ending in .gov, .edu, .org • (not Wikipedia)

Do not Plagiarize!!!

Works cited/Bibliography Help!

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

• http://citationmachine.net/index2.php