How to Write a History Thesis
If youre writing an argumentative essay, the answer should pick a side and take a position on the issue.Top Ten Reasons for Negative Comments on History Papers
I must thank my lucky stars for giving me an opportunity to work with . They have responsive staff, superb services, and to top it all, produce high-quality dissertations to their new and returning customers. I am honored to be one of them! Learn to use several research techniques. You cannot count on a good research paper coming from browsing on one shelf at the library. A really pertinent book may be hidden in another section of the library due to classification quirks. The Readers Guide (Ref. A13 . R4) is not the only source for magazine articles, nor the card catalog for books. There are whole books which are listings of other books on particular topics. There are specialized indexes of magazine articles. Modern History Journals are indexed in the Social Studies and Humanities Index (Ref. A13 . R282) before 1976 After 1976 use the Social Sciences Index (REF A13 . S62) and the Humanities Index (Ref. A13 . H85). See also Historical Abstracts (Ref. D1 . H5). Reference Librarians would love to help you learn to use these research tools. It pays to browse in the reference room at the library and poke into the guides which are on the shelves. It also pays to browse the Internet. How to write a good history essay? This question bothers a lot of students who get such an assignment.
For over two centuries, Norwich University has played a vital role in history as Americas first private military college and the birthplace of the ROTC. As such, the university is uniquely positioned to lead students through a comprehensive analysis of the major developments, events, and figures of the past. If you dont need to restrict the meaning of your sentences subject, then dont. (Napoleon was a man who tried to conquer Europe. ) Here the relative clause adds nothing. Rewrite as Napoleon tried to conquer Europe. Unnecessary relative clauses are a classic form of wordiness. Students will learn to use interdisciplinary methods from the humanities and social sciences to probe the sources of the past for answers to present questions. They will learn to draw comparisons and connections among diverse societies across a range of historical eras. They will further learn to convey their findings through writing that is clearly structured, precise, and persuasive. Your professor may ask you to write a book review, probably of a scholarly historical monograph.
- How to write an essay
- Types of essays
- The main types of essay
- Argumentative
- Expository
- Narrative
- Descriptive
- Compare and contrast
- Literary analysis
- Rhetorical analysis
- Personal statement
- Statement of purpose
Explore Norwich Universitys online Master of Arts in History program. Start your path toward writing a compelling history thesis and taking your talents further. What are the steps to write a history thesis? The process of developing a thesis that provides a thorough analysis of a historical eventand presents academically defensible arguments related to that analysisincludes the following: Your professor can spot a one-draft wonder, so don't try to do your paper at the last moment. Leave plenty of time for revising and proofreading. Show your draft to a writing tutor or other good writer. Reading the draft aloud may also help. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, and a few may slip through no matter how meticulous you are. But beware of lots of mistakes. The failure to proofread carefully suggests that you devoted little time and effort to the assignment. Tip: Proofread your text both on the screen and on a printed copy. Your eyes see the two differently. Dont rely on your spell checker to catch all of your misspellings.
Historians, however, need the flexibility of the full footnote. Try to imagine this typical footnote (pulled at random from a classic work of German history) squeezed into parentheses in the body of the text: DZA Potsdam, RdI, Frieden 5, Erzgebiet von Longwy-Briey, Bd. I, Nr. 19305, gedruckte Denkschrift für OHL und Reichsleitung, Dezember 1917, und in RWA, Frieden Frankreich Nr. 1883. The abbreviations are already in this footnote; its information cannot be further reduced. For footnotes and bibliography, historians usually use Chicago style. (The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. ) On the Writing Centers website you can find a useful summary of Chicago citation style prepared by a former history major, Elizabeth Rabe 04 (Footnotes). RefWorks (on the librarys website) will convert your citations to Chicago style. Dont hesitate to ask one of the reference librarians for help if you have trouble getting started on RefWorks.
(If ewe ken reed this ewe kin sea that a computer wood nut all ways help ewe spill or rite reel good. ) You may (or may not) know what youre talking about, but if you see these marginal comments, you have confused your reader. You may have introduced a non sequitur; gotten off the subject; drifted into abstraction; assumed something that you have not told the reader; failed to explain how the material relates to your argument; garbled your syntax; or simply failed to proofread carefully. If possible, have a good writer read your paper and point out the muddled parts. Reading your paper aloud may help too. Here you have a long compound introductory clause followed by no subject and no verb, and thus you have a fragment. You may have noticed exceptions to the no-fragments rule. Skilful writers do sometimes intentionally use a fragment to achieve a certain effect. Leave the rule-breaking to the experts.
Always pay attention to cause and effect. Abstractions do not cause or need anything; particular people or particular groups of people cause or need things. Avoid grandiose trans-historical generalizations that you cant support. When in doubt about the appropriate level of precision or detail, err on the side of adding too much precision and detail. With so many sources availablesome of which may provide conflicting findingshow should a student research and write a history thesis? How can a student create a thesis thats both compelling and supports a position that academic editors describe as concise, contentious, and coherent? Key steps in how to write a history thesis include evaluating source materials, developing a strong thesis statement, and building historical knowledge. Imagine that you study history of the USA, namely its development during the 19th century. You are to write a paper on the topic Why did the North and South Fight in the Civil War? You may create the following thesis: The northern and southern states fought the war for different reasons. This is a poor thesis statement, as it does not provide any additional data. Avoid the common solecism of using feel as a synonym for think, believe, say, state, assert, contend, argue, conclude, or write. (Marx felt that the bourgeoisie exploited the proletariat.
Both sentences are grammatically correct, but the writer of the second sentence appears foolish. Note carefully the distinction between that (for use in restrictive clauses, with no comma) and which (for use in nonrestrictive clauses, with a comma). Vague statements and empty generalizations suggest that you haven't put in the time to learn the material. Consider these two sentences: During the French Revolution, the government was overthrown by the people. The Revolution is important because it shows that people need freedom. What people? Landless peasants? Urban journeymen? Wealthy lawyers? Which government? When? How? Who exactly needed freedom, and what did they mean by freedom? Here is a more precise statement about the French Revolution: Threatened by rising prices and food shortages in 1793, the Parisian sans-culottes pressured the Convention to institute price controls. This statement is more limited than the grandiose generalizations about the Revolution, but unlike them, it can open the door to a real analysis of the Revolution. Be careful when you use grand abstractions like people, society, freedom, and government, especially when you further distance yourself from the concrete by using these words as the apparent antecedents for the pronouns they and it.
The B-2 bomber wouldnt fly on its maiden flight but it was just a software problem. The new Denver airport was months late opening and millions of dollars over budget because its baggage handling system didnt work right but it was just a software problem. This spring, the European Space Agencys new Ariane 5 rocket blew up on its maiden launch because of a little software problem. The federal governments major agencies from the IRS to the National Weather Service are beset with projects that are years late and hundreds of millions of dollars over budget, often because of simple software problems. Software is getting more and more common and more and more important, but it doesnt seem to be getting more and more reliable. Thats the culture: the on-board shuttle group produces grown-up software, and the way they do it is by being grown-ups. It may not be sexy, it may not be a coding ego-trip but it is the future of software. When youre ready to take the next step when you have to write perfect software instead of software thats just good enough then its time to grow up. Beware of the word literally. Its commonly misused, and you almost never need it in historical prose. Literally means actually, factually, exactly, directly, without metaphor.
Here are some questions you might ask of the book. Remember that a good review is critical, but critical does not necessarily mean negative. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor is it a suggested outline. Of course, you can ask these same questions of any secondary historical work, even if youre not writing a review. Your professor will gag on this one. Events take place or happen by definition, so the relative clause is redundant. Furthermore, most good writers do not accept transpire as a synonym for happen. Again, follow the old rule of thumb: Get right to the point, say what happened, and explain its significance. You dont need any filler about events and transpiring. Everything in the past or relating to the past is historical. Resist the media-driven hype that elevates the ordinary to the historic. (A three-alarm fire last night destroyed the historic site of the first Portuguese-owned dry cleaners in Cleveland. ) Reserve the word historic for the genuinely important events, persons, or objects of the past. The Norman invasion of England in 1066 was indeed historic.
Some common primary sources are letters, diaries, memoirs, speeches, church records, newspaper articles, and government documents of all kinds. The capacious genre government records is probably the single richest trove for the historian and includes everything from criminal court records, to tax lists, to census data, to parliamentary debates, to international treatiesindeed, any records generated by governments. If youre writing about culture, primary sources may include works of art or literature, as well as philosophical tracts or scientific treatisesanything that comes under the broad rubric of culture. Not all primary sources are written. Buildings, monuments, clothes, home furnishings, photographs, religious relics, musical recordings, or oral reminiscences can all be primary sources if you use them as historical clues. The interests of historians are so broad that virtually anything can be a primary source. (See also: Analyzing a Historical Document) 4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.
- Note major points.
- Categorize ideas supported by the theories.
- Arrange points according to the importance and a timeline of events addressed by the thesis.
- Create effective headings and subheadings.
- Format the outline.
Historically, historians have gathered annually for a historical convention; so far, none of the conventions has been historic. You are now ready to check for basic rules of good writing. This is when you need to check the diction, that is, the accuracy and suitability of words. Eliminate unnecessary passive or awkward noun constructions (active-voice, verbal constructions are usually more effective); improve the flow of your transitions; avoid repetitions or split infinitives; correct apostrophes in possessives and such. Make the style clear and smooth. Check that the start of your paper is interesting for the reader. Last but not least, cut out unnecessary verbiage and wordiness. Spell-check and proof-read. Primary research sources are the building blocks to help us better understand and appreciate history. It is critical to find as many primary sources from as many perspectives as possible. Researching these firsthand accounts can provide evidence that helps answer those what, how, and why questions about the past, Ulbrich says.
Emmeline Pankhurst felt that British women should be able to vote. ) The use of feel in these sentences demeans the agents by suggesting undisciplined sentiment rather than carefully formulated conviction. Concentrate on what your historical actors said and did; leave their feelings to speculative chapters of their biographies. As for your own feelings, keep them out of your papers. (I feel that Lincoln should have freed the slaves earlier. ) Your professor will be delighted that the material engages both your head and your heart, but your feelings cannot be graded. If you believe that Lincoln should have acted earlier, then explain, giving cogent historical reasons. Avoid quoting a secondary source and then simply rewording or summarizing the quotation, either above or below the quotation. It is rarely necessary to quote secondary sources at length, unless your essay focuses on a critical analysis of the authors argument. (See also: Writing a Book Review) Your professor wants to see your ability to analyze and to understand the secondary sources. Do not quote unless the quotation clarifies or enriches your analysis.
The careful writer would never say, Roosevelt literally swamped Landon in the election of 1936. One imagines Roosevelt (in his wheelchair no less!) dumping the hapless Landon off a pier in the Everglades on election night. The swamping was figurative, strictly a figure of speech. The adverb literally may also cause you trouble by falsely generalizing the coverage of your verb. London was literally destroyed by the blitz. This suggests that the whole city was destroyed, when, in fact, only parts were destroyed. Rewrite as The blitz destroyed parts of London. Now youve qualified properly (and gotten rid of the passive). Your professor may ask you to analyze a primary document. Here are some questions you might ask of your document. You will note a common themeread critically with sensitivity to the context. This list is not a suggested outline for a paper; the wording of the assignment and the nature of the document itself should determine your organization and which of the questions are most relevant. Of course, you can ask these same questions of any document you encounter in your research.
When in doubt, do not quote; instead, integrate the authors argument into your own (though be sure to acknowledge ideas from your sources, even when you are paraphrasing). If you use a lot of quotations from secondary sources, you are probably writing a poor paper. An analysis of a primary source, such as a political tract or philosophical essay, might require lengthy quotations, often in block format. In such cases, you might need to briefly repeat key points or passages as a means to introduce the authors ideas, but your analysis and interpretation of the texts meaning should remain the most important aim. (See also: Using primary sources and Use scholarly secondary sources. ) Your professor may allow parenthetical citations in a short paper with one or two sources, but you should use footnotes for any research paper in history. Parenthetical citations are unaesthetic; they scar the text and break the flow of reading. Worse still, they are simply inadequate to capture the richness of historical sources. Historians take justifiable pride in the immense variety of their sources. Parenthetical citations such as (Jones 1994) may be fine for most of the social sciences and humanities, where the source base is usually limited to recent books and articles in English.
In order to understand how to write a good thesis statement for history papers, it is necessary to know what it serves for. A thesis statement: Just as history is more than a collection of facts about past events, an effective history thesis goes beyond simply sharing recorded information. Writing a compelling history thesis requires making an argument about a historical fact and, then, researching and providing a well-crafted defense for that position. This software is the work of 260 women and men based in an anonymous office building across the street from the Johnson Space Center in Clear Lake, Texas, southeast of Houston. They work for the on-board shuttle group, a branch of Lockheed Martin Corps space mission systems division, and their prowess is world renowned: the shuttle software group is one of just four outfits in the world to win the coveted Level 5 ranking of the federal governments Software Engineering Institute (SEI) a measure of the sophistication and reliability of the way they do their work. In fact, the SEI based it standards in part from watching the on-board shuttle group do its work.
Obviously, you should not just stop abruptly as though you have run out of time or ideas. Your conclusion should conclude something. If you merely restate briefly what you have said in your paper, you give the impression that you are unsure of the significance of what you have written. A weak conclusion leaves the reader unsatisfied and bewildered, wondering why your paper was worth reading. A strong conclusion adds something to what you said in your introduction. A strong conclusion explains the importance and significance of what you have written. A strong conclusion leaves your reader caring about what you have said and pondering the larger implications of your thesis. Dont leave your reader asking, So what? Use as many primary sources as possible in your paper. A primary source is one produced by a participant in or witness of the events you are writing about. A primary source allows the historian to see the past through the eyes of direct participants.
Top Ten Signs that you may be Writing a Weak History Paper
The main thing is to fully examine the research question. Make sure you clearly understand its formulation. Think what methods are the most appropriate. It is very important to write a strong first paragraph which should introduce your topic well and arouse readers burning interest. When composing this paragraph, you need to show that you are well aware of the subject. Here, you need to mention the main terms and definitions you are going to deal with. You may divide your research question into the smaller ones. Each of them will be discussed in a separate paragraph. Finally, the vital thing is to formulate a sound thesis statement presenting the main argument, i. e. the key point of your essay. It is a fundamental aspect of any paper. The first sentence has a nonrestrictive relative clause; the dates are included almost as parenthetical information. But something seems amiss with the second sentence. It has a restrictive relative clause that limits the subject (World War I) to the World War I fought between 1914 and 1918, thus implying that there were other wars called World War I, and that we need to distinguish among them.
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