Writing Guide for History and Art History

Part One: Reading and Writing Strategies

A. How to Read a Primary Source

B. Writing: Structuring Your Essay

C. Rhetoric And Discourse

D. The Scholarly Voice

E. Working With Sources

F. Citing Sources

G. Grammar

H. A Style Guide

I. Formatting Your Paper

Part Two: Types of Writing

A. Research Papers

B. Essay Exams

C. Book Reviews

D. Analysis of an Original Artwork

Part One: Reading and Writing Strategies

A. How to Read a Primary Source: Evaluation
Good reading is about asking questions of your sources. Keep the following in mind when reading primary sources. Even if you believe you can't arrive at the answers, imagining possible answers will aid your comprehension. Reading primary sources requires that you use your historical imagination. This process is all about your willingness and ability to ask questions of the material, imagine possible answers, and explain your reasoning. Evaluating primary source texts: I've developed an acronym that may help guide your evaluation of primary source texts: MAPER.

Motives and goals of the author
Argument and strategy she or he uses to achieve those goals
Presuppositions and values (in the text, and our own)
Epistemology (evaluating truth content)
Relate to other texts (compare and contrast)

Motives

Who is the author and what is her or his place in society (explain why you are justified in thinking so)? What could or might it be, based on the text, and why?

What is at stake for the author in this text? Why do you think she or he wrote it? What evidence in the text tells you this?

Does the author have a thesis? What -- in one sentence -- is that thesis?

Argument

How does the text make its case? What is its strategy for accomplishing its goal? How does it carry out this strategy?

What is the intended audience of the text? How might this influence its rhetorical strategy? Cite specific examples

What arguments or concerns does the author respond to that are not clearly stated? Provide at least one example of a point at which the author seems to be refuting a position never clearly stated. Explain what you think this position may be in detail, and why you think it.

Do you think the author is credible and reliable? Use at least one specific example to explain why. Make sure to explain the principle of rhetoric or logic that makes this passage credible.

Presuppositions

How do the ideas and values in the source differ from the ideas and values of our age? Offer two specific examples.

What presumptions and preconceptions do we as readers bring to bear on this text? For instance, what portions of the text might we find objectionable, but which contemporaries might have found acceptable. State the values we hold on that subject, and the values expressed in the text. Cite at least one specific example.

How might the difference between our values and the values of the author influence the way we understand the text? Explain how such a difference in values might lead us to mis-interpret the text, or understand it in a way contemporaries would not have. Offer at least one specific example.

Epistemology

How might this text support one of the arguments found in secondary sources we've read? Choose a paragraph anywhere in a secondary source we've read, state where this text might be an appropriate footnote (cite page and paragraph), and explain why.

What kinds of information does this text reveal that it does not seemed concerned with revealing? (In other words, what does it tell us without knowing it's telling us?)

Offer one claim from the text which is the author's interpretation. Now offer one example of a historical "fact" (something that is absolutely indisputable) that we can learn from this text (this need not be the author's words).

Relate: Now choose another of the readings, and compare the two, answering these questions:

What patterns or ideas are repeated throughout the readings?

What major differences appear in them?

Which do you find more reliable and credible?

B. Writing: Structuring Your Essay

Introduction

Introduce the problem
Define key terms
State the thesis
Stems from good question
Tentative answer is "hypothesis"
Refine hypothesis into thesis

The Body

How is the paper organized?
Paragraphs

Topic sentence (mini-thesis)
Argument supporting topic sentence
Transition to next mini-thesis

Arguing in paragraphs

Mini-thesis
Evidence
Analysis (what does evidence support?)

Conclusion

Re-state the thesis
Significance of thesis (why should we care about the problem?)

The Thesis: What Is A Thesis?
What is a thesis?

The thesis is the controlling idea around which you construct the rest of your paper. In a history paper, the thesis generally explains why or how something happened. Every word of your paper should support your thesis. Information you do not directly relate to your thesis will appear irrelevant. This means, of course, that in a paper with a weak or no thesis, much of the paper will appear to be irrelevant and unguided.

How do I present the thesis?

The thesis should be contained in a single sentence that is concise and grammatically correct. This is usually the last sentence of the first paragraph. More than one sentence may be necessary to establish the thesis. The remainder of the introductory paragraph should draw the reader's attention to the problem the thesis confronts, and define key terms that appear in the thesis.

What about theses in essay exams?

In an essay exam, the thesis is the one-sentence answer to the question posed; the remainder of the paper will prove the thesis.

The thesis is a scholarly argument. Most writing attempts to convince the reader of something. Even a poetic description of a rock is an attempt to convince the reader that the rock appears a certain way. A history paper takes a stand on a historical issue or problem, and attempts to develop a coherent and persuasive line of thought intended to convince the reader of the validity of that stand. Your thesis is the concise statement of your argument.

C. Rhetoric And Discourse
Rhetoric: The art of discourse; skill in the use of language.
Discourse: Continuous expression or exchange of ideas; formal and connected expression of thought.

Rhetoric is the art of argument. How does rhetoric operate in history papers? Here are some principles:

Good historical writing is always argumentative. Many historical narratives of Civil War battles published in popular magazines often do little more than relate the facts of a given action. As fascinating as such narratives may be, they neglect the basic enterprise of scholarship, for they fail to participate in discussion and debate. Instead, they merely relate (albeit perhaps with interest and verve) what they see to be a given set of facts.

Good historical writing is always interpretive. While historians strive to approach their subjects with objectivity, they do not strive to be without concern for a topic. The principles of truth-finding demand that we not allow our concerns to influence the conclusions we derive from our investigations. But that does not forbid us from having concerns in the first place. Such concerns provide the energy for scholarly investigation, and mean that any scholarship, no matter how "objective" it purports to be, will reflect a set of underlying concerns. Many scholars thus believe that there is no such thing as "Just the facts, ma'am."

Good historical writing is always about creating something new. There is little point in re-hashing the work of other scholars. Historians constantly seek to add to the body of knowledge, even if in only some small way. Their enterprise is about asking questions which demand answers which have not been offered before. Sometimes they ask old questions and find new answers, or they may ask questions which never have been asked.

Good historical writing almost always responds to debates in the field. Sometimes, this happens explicitly, as when a historian clearly challenges the interpretations of other historians. At other times, a historian's dialogue with others in the field is far less evident. In every case, though, good history is written with historical debates in mind.

Understanding the ways historians construct their arguments is essential to writing good history papers. Students often find it difficult to determine what their papers are really about, not because they don't know what their subject is, but because they don't know what their argument is trying to do.

D. The Scholarly Voice

• Clarity of language demonstrates clarity of thought. Your prose should be precise. Never assume that the reader will know what you're talking about; she or he never will unless you avoid all possible ambiguity. The meanings of every word and phrase must be crystal clear; if they are not, you have not explained sufficiently.
• Avoid referring to yourself explicitly ("in this paper I will examine") or implicitly ("it is interesting to examine").
• Your paper is about the people in your sources, not the sources themselves. Do not bring attention in your prose to your sources or the problems they present (this is what notes are for). Avoid phrases like, "In the collection edited by Ira Berlin, there is the story of a slave man who escaped to freedom." Instead, just tell me the story of the man; if you've cited properly, I'll be able to find your source. Avoid also phrases like, "This document shows that planters abandoned their land with great reluctance." Just say "Some planters abandoned their land with great reluctance."
• It is important to keep your "voice" distinct from the "voice" of your subjects. When working closely with the writings of a historical subject, it is easy to forget to identify the author of a thought. Often, YOU wind up looking like the author.
• For instance, in explaining William Lloyd Garrison's views on African colonization, your sentence should not read "Those who favored colonization were really hostile to the interests of all black people." This looks like your thought when it is really Garrison's. Identify it as such by adding, "According to Garrison," immediately before.
• Here is another example of incorrect use of voice causing confusion about the author of an idea:

"Black parents have complained about books containing the word 'nigger' being read aloud in class, therefore Huck Finn and other novels which use the pejorative term should be excluded from the classroom as racist." The implication here is that black parents think the book should be banned, but the sentence technically reads that the author of the paper thinks this. This re-write clarifies things: "Black parents have complained about books containing the word 'nigger' being read aloud in class,therefore they think that Huck Finn and other novels which use the pejorative term should be excluded from the classroom as racist."

• History takes place in the past. Use the past tense and avoid the present tense. Keep tenses consistent.
• A great scholar once told me that good writing is in the verbs. Use active verbs rather than the verb "to be" (and its conjugations), and minimize your use of adjectives.
  
  
• Make sure you define important concepts. If you argue that Jefferson was neurotic, make sure you define that term.
• When introducing a person, identify her or him completely. Only after first using "James Biddle, the president of the first national bank," should you refer to him simply as "Biddle."
• Avoid using rhetorical questions to introduce your subject, or for any other reason. Instead, provide the answer to the rhetorical question you wish to pose.
• Gendered language: Many times, gender neutral language is an advantage; sometimes it is not. "The plague killed half of Europe's mankind." Womankind suffered as well. On the other hand: "The Confederate solider had to provide his or her own rifle in the first year of the war" implies the presence of female soldiers, and there were none. Thinking about language invites more analysis: "All men are created equal." You might ask yourself if this meant all men and women, all men except slaves, etc.
• Gendered pronouns: Avoid overuse of male-gender pronouns when their referents are not necessarily male. You may wish to alternate use of "he" and "she" in your paper. Never use "s/he" or "he/she." It is often possible to make the noun to which a pronoun refers plural, thus obviating the need for a gender-specific pronoun ("their" is gender neutral; "his" is not).
• Vague terms and over-generalizations: Terms like "now," "then," "later," "before," "in this period" should refer to clearly-defined dates. "The people," "the masses," and phrases like "white power structure" are vague and generalized, as are "blacks" and "industrialists." Rarely can one generalization capture the nuances of history. Work for specificity; it is more accurate, and much more convincing. Avoid the article "the" that many writers us, for example: "the whites" or "the blacks." This may seem to objectify your subjects and introduce a distasteful tone.
• Strive for concision. In general, use as few words as possible, but as many as necessary. "His reasons for whipping her included such things as letting her husband enter the army." Why not: "He whipped her for letting her husband enter the army." Wordiness often results from overuse of adjectives, as in "Former slaves were happiest and most content when living with their fraternal and related families." This is redundant and wordy. "Former slaves were happiest when living with their families."
• Avoid the passive voice, as in "The bill was passed by Congress." Make active by identifying the subject of the sentence and placing it before the verb, as in "Congress passed the bill."
• Choose active verbs: Good writing springs from lively verbs rather than superfluous adjectives. Choose active verbs, and avoid whenever possible dull verbs, like "was." Ask yourself, what was the subject of the sentence doing?
• When writing on topics in American History, avoid personalizing your analysis by using words such as "we," "our country," and "in our culture." American history, like all others, varies enormously over time and place, and it is best to respect that variety in formal prose.
• Avoid parentheses. Instead, set off parenthetical phrases in commas. If this does not work, rewrite the sentence.
• There is almost no place for the verb "to feel" in a history paper. The phrase "I feel" is most often used when you are unsure of your evidence and argumentation. Any insight you believe worthy of inclusion in a paper should be stated with confidence.

· Do not refer to people in the paper by using their first names alone. In the first reference to a person, use the full name and clearly identify, as in "Joe Smith, Senator from Wisconsin, argued the Republican position."

• Avoid personal intrusions, such as "as stated earlier" or "as aforementioned" from your writing.
  
  A final note:
  
  It cannot be stressed enough that writing is the product of dialogues, both with yourself and between you, your professor, and your colleagues. Good writers constantly play with language and ideas, and constantly explore options and alternatives in their heads. Do not expect to write well without engaging in this process. Writing is re-writing. Good writers have simply internalized many of the rules and idioms that young writers have yet to learn. Yet nobody in the world -- not even the best writers -- can write well without editing. The editing process in the best writers occurs before pen is even put to paper. Allow yourself the time to rewrite, and edit your own work.

E. Working With Sources
This is a brief guide to problems you may encounter when using sources in your history papers. It is only an introduction. There are three guides which every writer of history papers should have and study. These guides provide more detailed information on the topics discussed in this handout. These are the ultimate sources of "correct" style and format, and you are responsible for following them.

Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. 3^rd ed. Boston: Bedford Books, 1996. An excellent guide to writing and style. A good source to turn to for information on writing errors I may point out, such as dangling clauses and passive voice.

Marius, Richard. A Short Guide to Writing About History. 2^nd ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. In addition to excellent material regarding the preparation of history papers, this guide also offers the best single source of information on formatting, citation styles, and technical matters.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6^th ed. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1996. A good general guide, useful especially as a reference for footnote and bibliography styles.

Presenting Primaries: Quote Vs. Paraphrase

What is the difference between quoting and paraphrasing?

When writing about your sources, you may either take the exact words from a document and place them between quote marks ("), or you may paraphrase the words in a document, in which case you do not put them in quotes.

To paraphrase a source (or part of a source) is to reproduce it in words and word orders substantially different from the original. When you paraphrase well, you keep the sense of the original but change the language, retaining possibly a few key words, but otherwise using your own words and sentence patterns. Often, the advantage of paraphrasing is to capture concisely the essence of a passage in your source that would be too long or uninteresting to quote verbatim, or is not important enough to your point to merit lengthy presentation.

To quote a source (or part of a source) is to reproduce it exactly. When you quote well, you keep both the sense and the language of the original, retaining its punctuation, its capitalization, its type face (i.e., roman or italic), and its spelling (indeed, even its misspelling). There are special rules for altering quoted material to fit properly in your sentences. We'll get to these in a moment. Quoted material is advantageous in that it lends considerable authority to your argument, and often captures the spirit or style of your topic in ways paraphrasing does not. Still, most students rely too heavily on quoted material. Use it only when it adds something tangible to your prose.

When taking notes, you must be very careful to make it clear whether you are quoting or paraphrasing. Either paraphrase or quote, but do nothing in between. These are your only options. Anything between the quotes must appear exactly as it does in the original. Do not put paraphrased material in quote marks. As a rough guide, if you copy more than three words in a row from a source, you are quoting: either put them in quote marks or paraphrase them. If you present the text of a source without putting it in quotes, you mis-represent yourself and commit plagiarism; if you put paraphrased material in quotes you mis-represent the text and commit plagiarism.

Note: To "quote" is to make a quotation, and hence a verb; a "quotation" is the thing between the quote-marks, and hence a noun. There is no such thing as simply a "quote."

F. Citing Sources

A citation is the part of your paper that tells your reader where your source information came from. This is one of the most important elements to your paper. In order to evaluate your argument, your reader must be able to consult the same source you used to develop your paper. Proper citing is crucial to making a credible and persuasive argument, and to conforming to professional standards of proof. Citations in history papers can take the form of footnotes or endnotes.

History papers should not use the parenthetic citation style common to literature and social science papers. These do not perform the other function of footnotes and endnotes, which is to provide space to clarify your use of complex data or arguments, expand on points you believe do not merit lengthy consideration in the body of your text, and to directly address the arguments of other historians.

What must be cited? You must acknowledge the sources of quotations, paraphrases, arguments, and specific references you may use. You need not cite sources to what most would generally consider common knowledge, like the fact that Lincoln won the Presidential election of 1860. But you must cite your source for any claim that appears to contradict common knowledge, like that Lincoln won the southern states in that election (since he wasn't even on the ballot in most southern states, this claim is controversial and must be supported). If you are in doubt about citing "common knowledge" information, err on the side of citing; even unintended failure to cite sources constitutes technical plagiarism.

Should I use footnotes or endnotes? Either of these is fine. Most history books are now produced using endnotes, which are commonly thought to provide cleaner looking pages. Most history professors, however, prefer footnotes, so they can quickly check sources. Especially if you have a computer word-processor, which makes the task easy, you should try to use footnotes.

Consult your handbooks, and especially Turabian, for proper citation styles.

G. Grammar

Here are some common grammatical problems that arise in history papers, listed with the correction mark for each, and the solution to the problem.

Mixed verb tenses ("tense")

"Bernal Diaz presented a positive view of the Spanish because he wants to protect himself from recrimination." (Put "wants" in the same tense (preterit): "wanted.")

Passive voice ("passive")

"The Aztecs were destroyed in droves, and finally defeated." (Identify the proper subject of this sentence and re-work, as in "The Spanish destroyed the Aztecs and droves, and finally defeated them.")

Run-on sentence ("run-on")

"Coffee contains caffeine furthermore, chocolate, tea, and cola also contain significant amounts of caffeine." (Add a semi-colon after "caffeine" to properly conjoin two independent clauses.)

Comma splice ("splice")

"Many industrialists thought workers lazy, as a result they paid their employees poorly." (Replace comma after "lazy" with a semi-colon to properly conjoin two independent clauses.)

Sentence fragment ("frag")

"The little town of Dayton, Tennessee, in the tumultuous 1920s, caught in the international limelight." (The sentence needs a verb for its subject, Dayton.)

Faulty pronoun reference ("ref")

"The Spaniard hated the Aztec because of their religious beliefs." (The referent for "their" ("Aztec") is singular; change "their" to "his.")

Subject-verb agreement ("s-v")

"The army required each one of the soldiers to carry their own entrenching tool." ("Their" is plural, yet refers to the singular "one," not "soldiers." "The army required each soldier to carry his own entrenching tool.")

Faulty predication ("pred")

"The belief in Manifest Destiny cannot conceive of Indians having rights." ("Conceiving" is a verb that "belief" is incapable of carrying out. Identify proper subject for the verb: "People who believe in Manifest Destiny cannot conceive. .")

Misplaced modifier ("mod")

"The slaves burned the farmhouse, furious at their masters." (The participial phrase "furious at their masters" cannot modify "farmhouse"; it must be placed immediately after "slaves.")

Dangling modifier ("mod")

"Arriving by boat in the New World, the weather was brutal." (The weather cannot arrive by boat in the New World; identify the proper subject for the first clause, as in "Arriving by boat in the New World, the Puritans found the weather brutal.")

Faulty parallel structure ("parallel")

"Ways of preventing blacks from voting included the Grandfather Clause and holding all-white primaries." (A noun, "Grandfather Clause," is listed in series with a verb, "holding." Re-work so both are the same, as in ". . . included the Grandfather Clause and the all-white primary.")

Colloquial ("colloq")

"Some critics try to straddle the fence between standard and revisionist interpretations of history." (Substitute non-colloquial phrase for "straddle the fence," as in "Some critics endorse elements of both standard and revisions interpretations of history.")

Word choice ("w.c.")

"One slave tells of how he was able to get a job after the war and earn enough money to travel to North Carolina to find his long separated mother." (His mother had probably remained in once piece; substitute "lost" for "separated.")

OTHER CORRECTION COMMENTS YOU MAY SEE

Source? What is your source for saying this? Add a citation telling your readers where this came from.

Evidence? What is the evidence that supports this argument? You need to incorporate primary or secondary source evidence.

H. A Style Guide

Contractions: Standard English does not permit words like "don't."

"Its" and "it's": "It's" is a contraction for "it is," and should not appear in a history paper. "Its" is the possessive form of "it," as in "The corporation gave its assent to proceed."

"However" is tremendously over-used. Avoid it if possible. It is only properly used to contrast one point with another. Therefore, it seldom belongs at the beginning of a sentence. If you must use a word like "however," "for example," or "nevertheless," place it in the middle of the sentence, and use a comma both before and after the word.

"Hopefully" is another heavily mis-used term. It does not mean "it is hoped"; it is an adverb which modifies a verb or adjective. "Hopefully, the truck will make it on time" is incorrect. "Hopefully, I await the truck's arrival" is correct. "Hopefully" should rarely if ever appear in your papers.

Students often use "therefore" to demonstrate a logical connection between two points. If the connection is clear, "therefore" is unnecessary; if it is not clear, "therefore" will not make it so.

To "beg" the question does not mean to raise it, or demand that it be asked, current improper usage notwithstanding. Begging the question is a form of logical fallacy, wherein a conclusion is assumed without proof. How do we know Darwin's theory of genesis was wrong and the Bible's is right? Because God created the world in seven days.

Avoid splitting infinitives and compound verbs, as in "The general ordered them to frequently march" ("to march frequently"). Also applies to compound verbs: "has often wondered" becomes "has wondered often."

Lead and led: Lead is only present tense. Led is the only correct past tense.

The word "unique" does not take modifiers. Either something is one or a kind, or it is NOT! You can not be more or less unique than someone else.

"Very" is overused. Many words cannot be qualified, so "very" is inappropriate ("very unique" is an error; something cannot be only somewhat unique.) A better word exists; it is your job to find it. As in: very tired (exhausted), very happy (elated), very unhappy (miserable).

Learn the difference between "fewer" and "less." Fewer refers to numbers, less to amounts, degree, or value. Try and convince your local grocers that their signs should read "ten items or fewer!"

The present tense of "lay" and "lie" are different words. You lay something down. You lie yourself down.

Things can only be different from one another, NOT different than each other.

Use "between" with two items or people and "among" with three or more.

A comma separates phrases; a semi-colon separates two otherwise complete sentences. A colon is used only for a list of items and illustrative quotations.

When referring back to a person, use "who," not "that." "Mary, who wanted to buy a new dress, went shopping." "People who shower, do not smell." Not, "people that shower, do not smell."

Be careful about noun-verb agreement. If the subject is plural, the other references, the adjectives, the verb must be in plural form. Students prepare themselves, not himself or herself.

Be aware of incorrect capitalizations--some writers capitalize unnecessarily, others do not capitalize when it is necessary. If in doubt, look it up in a dictionary or style manual.

If you need to hyphenate a word, be sure to divide it at a syllable break.

Use exclamation marks and italics only for emphasis, and then, very sparingly.

Do not abbreviate the names of states or the United States. Never end sentences with abbreviations.

Never use "etc." and "and so forth." These terms are vague.

Never use a slash ("/") to separate words. Instead of "Britain clearly dominated in terms of military/economic might," use "Britain clearly dominated in terms of military and economic might."

Numbers:

Spell out numbers which are less than three digits. If you use numbers, use Arabic numbers consistently.

Centuries:

Spell out centuries, and do not capitalize them. Hyphenate centuries only when they are adjectives: twentieth-century technology the twentieth century the mid-nineteenth century

Black people may be termed "African Americans." Note that this is not hyphenated unless used as an adjective, as in "African-American culture." "Black" may be capitalized, but I prefer that "white" not be (there is debate over these matters). In all cases, be consistent with capitalization. "Negro" is also capitalized. Like "colored," it is considered outdated and sometimes offensive; use these terms only in meaningful historical context and never as generic terms of reference. "Afro-American" may also be used, though its popularity has declined in recent years. To call someone "a black" is to objectify that person on the basis of skin color; I prefer "black person," which retains skin color as an adjective rather than a noun.

"Prejudice" is a noun, not an adjective. "Prejudiced" is the adjective. The following sentence is therefore incorrect: "Southern whites lynched blacks because they were prejudice."

Decades:

When referring to decades, there is no need for apostrophes between the date and the "s" which makes the decade plural. (There is no need, because in this case the apostrophe denotes neither possession nor a contraction. The 1940's saw massive use of bombers in warfare might just as easily be: The 1940s saw massive use of bombers in warfare.

Apostrophes are used in dates under only two conditions:

Before the date, they denote that you have omitted the first two digits of the date, as in: Inflation and the legacy of Watergate hovered over the decade of the '70s.

To denote possession: 1997's worst political scandal centered around the Democrats alleged improprieties in campaign fund-raising.

References to decades may be made using Arabic numbers ("the 1940s") or spelled out ("the forties") depending on the context:

The 1940s saw massive use of bombers in warfare.

During the 'forties, grain prices plummeted.

Possessives:
Singular noun: President Chamberlain's Bowdoin.
Singular noun ending in "s": President Sills's Bowdoin.
Plural noun: The women's salaries.
Plural noun ending in "s": The deans' luncheon.
Special case of singular noun ending in "s": Moses' laws; Jesus' parables. [religious figures only]
Note that only in the last two cases does the apostrophe appear without a concluding "s."

Part Two: Types of Writing

Research Papers

Of all of the assignments, this one presents the greatest challenge to undergraduate students. Doing good research and writing requires a serious effort, and it need not be as dreaded as some students make it out to be. The following guidelines are designed to demystify the process of creating a good research paper. Included are time-tested strategies to help you deal with some necessary steps in the process, and special insights.

A. Choosing Your Topic
B. Overcoming Writer’s Block and Procrastination
C. Narrowing the Topic
D. Research Question
E. Research Thesis
F. Research Methods and Resources
G. Outline
H. First Draft
I. Editing the Drafts

A. Choosing Your Topic
Some professors require you to write on a topic you select from a list of recommended topics, and many allow you to choose your own topic. Choosing an appropriate research topic is crucial to producing a quality research paper. Unfortunately, many students give little thought to their topic. To get started developing a topic, you should ask yourself the following questions:

Does the proposed topic relate to the course and the assignment? For example, does the topic stem from material covered in the texts or lectures?

Is the topic something that you can adequately cover in the required number of pages?

Is the topic something you (and possibly your professor) would find interesting, rather than something that is easy to cover?

B. Overcoming Writer’s Block and Procrastination
If you are having trouble finding an interesting and suitable topic, writer’s block may be the culprit. Frequently, students become frustrated because they cannot translate their general interests into a workable research topic (that should be narrow and particular). Here are three techniques for you to use in overcoming writer’s block:

1. Free writing is a technique that allows you to write your way into a topic by avoiding that part of your mind that refuses to write or that cannot think of anything to put on paper.

Try to write without stopping for a certain amount of time (e.g., ten minutes), or for a given length of paper (e.g., one page).

Put down any thoughts or words on paper and use these words to suggest other words or thoughts.

Keep writing even if it means writing the same word several times. Do not go back and read or revise what you have already written. Once you have finished (ten minutes or one page), review what you have written. Try to find out what interests you, as well as your perspective and position on issues.

2. Brainstorming is a technique that is a form of list-making that requires you to list everything that seems even remotely related to your topic.

The idea is for you to focus intently on the topic for a fixed amount of time and to push yourself to list every idea and detail that comes to mind.

Like free writing, the trick is to short-circuit the internal editor long enough to advance thinking and organization on a given topic.

3. Clustering is a technique that is a form of free association that combines writing and nonlinear drawing. Your cluster radiates out from your topic.

When you get an idea related to the basic topic, try to move beyond it by branching out and pursuing its implication.

As new ideas are generated from the branching out, you can continue with other branches.

The result should be a cluster of ideas, some of which are useful, and some of which are not.

C. Narrowing the Topic
You may be one of those students who at first chooses a topic that is too broad to cover in the semester schedule, or a topic that is too complex to be thoroughly covered within the allotted page requirement. If the professor says the topic is too broad, don't worry--this is a common problem that frequently plagues professors, too! Virtually all research must be refined not only during the research process but also during the writing process. The sooner you get comfortable with this fact, the easier and more enjoyable the whole research and writing process will be.

D. Research Question
Keep the following tips in mind:

The research question you develop should be a complete question consisting of one or two sentences. Generally, the shorter and simpler the research question, the better.

Your research question should be something you can answer systematically using sources (primary and secondary), reasoning and persuasion.

You should begin devising the research question at the same time they develop (and narrow) the research topic.

E. Research Thesis
The thesis is the most important and central idea or assertion that you wish to convey in the paper.
A good thesis should:

Narrow the topic to a single idea that you want to convey to the readers in the essay.

Clarify the purpose, position and attitude in the paper.

Be stated somewhere in the paper’s introduction because it tells readers why they are reading your paper.

Be a work in progress. Many students (and many writers for that matter) typically revise their thesis as they complete the research and writing stages. This is a good strategy for you to use.

You, as a writer, need a thesis because a working thesis helps you to stay on track during the research and writing process.

Reviewing the thesis reminds you of why you are pouring over primary documents in the first place.

F. Research Methods and Resources
You need to select the appropriate methods you will want to use to research a topic, address the question and argue your thesis.

Methods will include examining books, articles, and other written sources on the topic. At this point students should know the difference between primary and secondary sources.

Primary sources: historical documents (e.g., treaties), official reports or memoranda, hearing transcripts, interviews, etc.

Secondary sources: books and articles that often analyze primary sources.

To achieve a balance, the research should include a mixture of primary and secondary sources. Going beyond just a review of what other say strengthens an essay’s main argument.

G. Outline
Many student writers procrastinate and, as a result, experience false starts because they do not have a plan for writing drafts and continuing the research.

The key to staying on track is for you to develop and stick to a working outline. Outline styles vary and can range from loose and general to tight and specific.

An outline, regardless of the form chosen, helps you to:

clarify thinking

explore further patterns of thought

devise strategies to fulfill intentions of the research question and thesis.

H. First Draft
For most writers, getting the first draft on paper is the most uncomfortable step in the writing process. The reason for this is that writers expect thoughts to flow in a logical and clear manner, and often they do not. As a result, anything first put on paper usually falls short of expectations.

To overcome this problem, you must remind yourself that often you will need to develop several drafts before you complete the paper and that no one else will see the paper. The initial discomfort usually goes away once you have your initial thoughts on paper.

You may sometimes experience problems when the outline is an insufficient guide to what you want to say. If this happens, go back and add specifics to the outline. Use the outline to begin thinking about transitions and subheadings. At some point a very detailed outline actually resembles a first draft. What remains is a matter of filling in the blank spots to complete the first draft.

I. Editing the Drafts
The key for you to produce a quality research paper is to produce several drafts, with each succeeding draft being a refined version of the prior draft.

The necessary process of revision involves improving both the underlying meaning and structure of your essay as well as the mechanics of sentences and paragraphs.

The following checklist comes from The Little, Brown Handbook written by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron (New York, Harper Collins Publishers, 1992: pp. 53, 59).

For revising your essay's underlying meaning and structure, consider the following:

1. Does the body of the essay carry out the purpose and central idea expressed in your thesis sentence?

2. Are there adequate details, examples, or reasons to support each of your main points?

3. Does each paragraph relate clearly to the thesis sentence?

4. Does your introduction engage and focus your readers’ attention?

5. Does your conclusion provide a sense of completion?

6. For editing your essay’s mechanics, consider the following:

7. Are your sentences grammatical?

8. Are your sentences clear and concise/

9. Is your use of commas, semicolons, colons, periods and other forms of punctuation correct?

10. Is your use of capitals, italics, abbreviations, numbers and hyphens correct?

11. Do the words you use exactly convey your meaning and feeling?

12. Are your words spelled correctly? Be aware that spell check is not a foolproof way to determine this.

Essay Exams

Testing your knowledge using just short regularly scheduled quizzes and multiple-choice exams is a challenging task for an instructor. Interpretation of facts and demonstration of understanding usually requires that you express your ideas in writing. As a result, instructors may require you to take one or more in-class essay exam that may involve short-essay identifications or long essays.

A. Shorter In-Class Essays
B. Longer In-Class Essays
C. Take Home Essays (Thought Papers)
D. Sample Assignments/Instructions

A. Shorter In-Class Essays
Typically, short-essay identifications require you to define a term or concept and briefly discuss its significance.

You should try to be concise (to the point) and direct in your answer. In assigning a task like this, instructors want to determine if you can define (describe, name or identify a person, place, event) the term (word, expression, phrase). In addition, they want to know if you are familiar enough with the term to explain its significance (why it is important) in relation to larger course themes and topics.

Because history is about time and place, professors will advise students of their position on the use of absolute versus approximate dates; generally, an answer should reference time and place in some way.

Whenever you are in doubt about any instruction given you should ask the professor to clarify his expectations.

You can explain (give details, describe) the significance of a term in several ways:

Cite (refer to, name, quote) an example of how the term was used in a particular lecture, video, or reading.

Provide (offer, supply) an example of how the term is applied in a particular historical context (background, framework).

Compare (showing similarities) and/or contrast (differences) the term with another concept (idea, thought, impression).

Analyze (examine, investigate, evaluate) the idea’s meaning in order to point out conceptual ambiguity (vagueness) or multiple meanings depending on the context within which the term is used.

Often you will find short identifications difficult to do because you may have a problem settling on one concise definition, or because you do not know the term well enough to give a convincing statement about its significance. Take the time to define your term and be sure to address who, what, where, when and significance in your essay to get full credit.

B. Longer In-Class Essays
Longer essay questions typically require you to respond to a question(s) aimed at measuring their understanding of course facts, theories and themes. Generally instructors can determine how well you know the material. Instructors base student success on whether students can respond to the question by drawing on class readings, videos, and lectures. Students who provide their own analysis (or independent thinking) of course materials usually do better than those who simply restate material presented through lectures or in the readings. A longer in-class essay requires you to balance a discussion of facts, theories, examples and analysis.

C. Take Home Essays (Thought Papers)
Take home essays are comparable to longer in-class essays; however, they typically require you to provide more in-depth explanations because you have more time to answer the question(s).

D. Sample Assignments/Instructions
In all cases, be sure to follow the specific guidelines set forth by your instructor.

1. Essay

Pay particular attention to those emboldened words to use as guides for instruction:

An essay due on ___________ should not be shorter than 3 but not longer than 4 printed double spaced pages.

The essay has to focus on one of the following aspects of European history: forms of government; religion; philosophy and science; art and architecture, family life and the position of women.

The goal of the essay is to trace and explain change in three consecutive historical periods.

In order to understand what is meant by a historical period, students have to examine the titles and the periods covered by the video lectures as well as by chapters in the Course Reader.

The essay may cover any three consecutive periods from video lecture # ___ to # ___.

In your essay you have to describe how things were during the period chosen as the first; explain how and why they changed in the next two periods.

The essay has to be based on information contained in the textbook, the video lectures, and the reader.

On the last page of the essay should be a bibliography of the sources used.

Use parenthetical citations for the essay. This meant that you have to put the name of your source and the page number in parenthesis after the cited sentence or short paragraph.

Examples:

Women played an important role in the monastic missionary movement and the conversion of the Germanic kingdoms. (Spielvogel, 139).

The dowry was an important part of marriage arrangements during the Renaissance and in Alberti’s opinion it was better to be “certain and prompt rather than large, vague, or promised for an indefinite future”. (Reader, Alberti, 150.

The Industrial Revolution had a strong impact on family life – divorce rates rose steadily, birthrates declined but at the same time a new ideology about the family was created. (Stern, Video Lecture No. 8).

2. Essay Exam

Please answer one of the following questions. (Two questions are provided from which to choose).

The examination is an essay exam. This type of exam allows you to do your very best writing because it is expected that you will have the time to think about the question, use notes taken for the video lectures and class discussion, and materials from the textbook and reader.

The goal of this kind of test is for you to demonstrate that you understand the question and are able to synthesize (or integrate) the information in a coherent and readable form.

Essay should have a paragraph that introduces your main points.

For example, if answering a question: “Why did Egyptian Civilization last so long?” you could begin by stating: “Historians have given three major reasons why Egyptian civilization lasted thousands of years. These reasons include…….”

The body of the essay details the reasons stated in the introduction.

The conclusion sums up earlier points.

Be sure to answer the question asked. These essays call for specific information but NOT a laundry list of everything possible and remotely connected with the topic.

Re-read the essay for grammar and spelling.

Type and double-space the essay.

Due in class (hard-copy only, do not send as an e-mail attachment) on _________.

If short quotes or paraphrases are used, please cite the source (page from text or reader or video).

The essay should be between 4-6 pages in length.

3. Short Writing Assignment

Clearly state and then sustain a strong central argument throughout each answer. In addition to information presented in class, also incorporate information from the textbook, course reader, and reserve readings as evidence to support your argument.

When referring to these assigned readings please provide adequate citations in your paper such as [Spence, p. 405] or [Ebrey, "Peasants in the Cities," p. 489], but paraphrase or summarize as much as possible and avoid long quotations.

A few short quotations may be appropriate and effective.

Each essay should be approximately 5 pages in length, double-spaced, and typed using regular font (12 point) and margins (1 inch on all sides).

Paginate (number) and staple each essay before handing it in.

Instructor will read no more than 6 pages for each essay (12 pages total).

Answers will be graded on the basis of: (1) the degree to which they demonstrate an understanding of information presented in class and in assigned readings; and (2) the thoughtfulness, persuasiveness and clarity of their arguments.

Reaction or Response Papers

Some professors assign what they call a "mini-paper that responds to the week’s readings." Here are some useful comments/guidelines from one professor on her expectations for this assignment:

• Must be one to two pages long
• Will be evaluated for clarity and thoughtfulness. The more thorough the paper, the better the grade.
• The purpose of these papers is to encourage your active engagement with the readings and to provide a foundation for class discussions.
• Intended as writing exercises. You should become accustomed to expressing ideas in written form.
• Papers should address a question of the your choice. Here are some examples of questions you might address in a response paper:
• What was the most interest part of the reading? Explain why.
• Did something strike you as odd? Try to understand what it was doing there.
• Is there any part of the reading that was not understood? Use this writing assignment to try to figure it out.
• How does it relate to class discussion from a previous week?
• Compare some aspect of the current reading assignment with a previous one.
• Choose a quotation from the reading and analyze it closely.

Book Reviews

A. Writing a Book Review
One of the many ways historians carry on a conversation about their field of interest is through reviews of one another's work. The typical scholarly review is limited to between 500 and 750 words and so you should not be surprised if your professor limits you to a specific number of words. When you write a review of a scholarly work, you are expected to comment on such things as the author's argument, her presentation of the evidence, the quality of that evidence, and her writing style. It can be helpful to sample other historians' reviews in journals such as the American Historical Review, however, you should keep in mind that these reviews are written by experts who already know a great deal about the subject of the book they are reviewing.

You should also keep in mind that just because reviews are published in a journal does not mean they are examples of good historical writing. Sometimes the reviews in these journals are poorly written, sometimes the reviewer has an axe to grind, either with the author or over some point of interpretation. Some reviewers have a clear ideological bias, but in other cases you will have to deduce their bias from between the lines of what they have written. Finally, you should know that most faculty members have read the reviews of books in their fields, so they will know if you are plagiarizing from reviews already published elsewhere.

Although the book review is a flexible medium, most reviews generally contain certain elements.

B. The Book Review Format
For you to be successful in writing a book review you should follow the following recommended guidelines:

1. You must provide the bibliographic and publication information. At the top of the review include: author's name, title, the place of publication, publisher, and date of publication. Book titles should be in italics or underlined.

2. You must provide an outline of the contents of the book. This is the core of a book review and should be as objective as possible.

From your review, a reader should be able to get a good idea of what the book is about. Sometimes this can be gleaned from the book's own organizational structure (chronology, chapters, sections, etc.)

For works of fiction or (auto)biography, a summary of the book's content can be accomplished without a detailed plot summary.

Remember, a book review is not a book report! Rather, you should introduce major characters, themes, the setting, and the broad outlines of the story without falling into a tedious recapitulation of the plot.

For non-fiction, your review should indicate what major questions the book addresses, what ground is covered, what the major conclusions are, and so on.

3. Assess the book. This is where your opinion, both positive and negative (usually some of both), can be expressed. You should consider the following comments and questions:

• Discuss the general import of the work.
• What is the general significance of this book?
• How does the book fit into a wider scholarship on the topic? In other words, does the author revise a prevailing view of historical developments, does she support a prevailing trend in the other scholars' work?
• Why should it be of interest to the specialist or non-specialist?
• Let the reader know whether or not the book is worth reading and why.
• Is the topic interesting, important?
• Do the author's ideas change anything in your own thinking?
• Is the work controversial? If so, how?
• Does the work offer anything new--new perspectives, new insights?
• Why should we read it?

· As a reviewer, you can bring in knowledge from other sources to compare with the author's own interpretations, even though the author knows much more about the subject than you, the reviewer, does.

• Tell the reader whether or not as the reviewer you are convinced.
• Assess the quality of the writing, the skill of the argument, and/or the value of the evidence. Even if you like the book very much, you may still want to offer some suggestions as to how it might be improved. You might also show how it points to future questions that should be studied. You should use your own experience, level of familiarity with the field, and judgment in this part.
• You must remember the audience: on the most basic level, you, as the reviewer, are recommending whether potential readers should buy and read this book, look at it in the bookstore, or simply forget about it entirely.

· You may want to quote passages from the book to make particular points.

• Whenever you do so, put the citation in quotations marks and follow it with the page number in parentheses. For example: "Okagbue was a very striking figure, tall, with a full beard and a bald head." (Achebe, 78)
• If referring to another book for comparison, you must give the relevant information about the other book in parentheses after the author and book title the first time (and only the first time) it is mentioned. For example: In Jonathan Spence's Emperor of China (New York: Vintage Books, 1974), Spence notes that . . . .

· You must remember that book reviews are not just summaries!

• Like other forms of expository writing, book reviews present an extended argument (a thesis) that is effectively organized and supported by evidence.
• Your understanding and critique are equally (if not more) important as the basic information that you convey about the book.
• Just as in a research paper, your ideas must emerge clearly and persuasively.

Analysis of an Original Artwork (Sample Assignment)

A. Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to allow you to develop your skills through the analysis of an original work of art; a secondary purpose is to expand your awareness of the museum’s role in the display of art.

Write a two-to-three page, double-spaced, word-processed essay on one of the paintings from the list provided at the end of this assignment (not included here.)

Your paper must address the following and you must formulate an argument as to why you’ve chosen to discuss the aspects you have:

• The context of the object's display.
• A thorough analysis of one of the formal elements: line, shape, light/dark, space, color, or principles of design.
• Some discussion of the medium and technique employed in the work.

B. Choosing and Observing the Work:
Examine several of the works of art from the list provided. The paintings are all in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Most works are in the West Building; the 20th-Century paintings are in the East Building.

Formal Analysis: After locating and examining several of the works from the list (and check the accession numbers following the titles on the list below to ascertain that you’ve found the correct object), you must choose the one you wish to analyze.

Remember that this exercise is to be a formal analysis, not a description of subject matter.

Look carefully at the work.

Ask yourself questions about it and record your observations.

Looking at the work, you should try to ascertain which is the most important visual element. For example, if it is a painting involving large areas of color, then perhaps line is not particularly relevant to the student’s discussion.

You should concentrate on those elements that are of particular relevance to the specific work chosen and eliminate those that are not. You will undoubtedly discover that one visual element is linked to another (e.g. color helps to create a coherent composition).

It is fine for you to call attention to how these elements interrelate, but the paper must not focus on more than one of them.

Observation and Analysis: Consider that an essay is not just a list of observations: you must expand upon them by analyzing what the artist has done in order to achieve the observed effect or why the observed effect is important to the form (not the subject matter) of the work as a whole. Here are suggestions that you can use for getting at that kind of information.

• When you record an observation (e.g.: there’s a lot of red in this painting) ask why the artist did what he did to achieve the effect noted.
• What difference does it make to the form of the work?
• Medium and Technique:
• What do you notice about the medium and technique (this is more difficult to do when looking at slides or plates in the book)?
• Are there ways in which the medium or technique contribute to the visual element you have chosen to analyze?
• What about the painted or sculpted surface?
• What about the support (the canvas or panel)?
• Does the artist take advantage of the specific traits of the medium or does s/he seem more to resist them?

Museum Context: Now you must consider the way in which the work is installed.

What is its scale?

How is it placed?

How do things like the frame or lighting affect your perception of the work?

What is it displayed with?

How is the room arranged?

How do the nearby works affect your perception of your chosen work?

What does the label provide?

Reflection and Revisit: After spending some time analyzing your chosen work, you may wish to leave it and take a break.

Then return to the work to see if any new observations occur to you or if your initial observations hold up.

Start consolidating your material into some sort of organized format before you leave the gallery. If you return home with a disjointed list of observations, you may find it difficult to organize them later into a paper without having the object in front of you.

Sources

“Part One: Reading and Writing Strategies” from Bowdoin College History Dept.

PERMISSIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students
(Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College, August 2000). Permission is granted to distribute or reprint this guide strictly for educational purposes under fair use guidelines, provided that acknowledgment is given to Patrick Rael, Department of History, Bowdoin College. These guides were developed over several years, and represent knowledge contributed by several teachers. In particular, Nicola Denzey, Betty Dessants, Susan Tananbaum, and Elizabeth Hutchison contributed ideas and permitted me to reproduce portions of their writing guides.

“Part Two: Types of Writing” from George Mason University Dept. of History and Art History