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Study a few articles, reading like a writer. What do you learn about language, structure, visuals, word choice, citations, corroboration

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The official website for BBC History Magazine and BBC World Histories Magazine

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Check out a few articles. What do you notice when you read like a writer? Notice language, structure, visuals, word choice, citations.

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News and analysis of major events in history

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How to Write History That People Want to Read

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How to Write History That People Want to Read

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Read the introduction to this book on amazon.com

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How to Write History that People Want to Read

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Drawn from decades of experience, this is a concise and highly practical guide to writing history. Aimed at all kinds of people who write history -- academic historians, public historians, professional historians, family historians and students of all levels -- the book includes a wide ...

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Bowdoin College Writing: How to write about history

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Bowdoin College Writing: How to write about history

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For all who have taken history courses in college, the experience of writing a research paper is etched indelibly in memory: late nights before the paper is due, sitting in pale light in front of a computer monitor or typewriter, a huge stack of books (most of them all-too-recently acquired) propped next to the desk, drinking endless cups of coffee or bottles of Jolt cola. Most of all, we remember the endless, panicked wondering: how on earth was something coherent going to wind up on the page - let alone fill eight, or ten, or twelve of them? After wrestling with material for days, the pressure of the deadline and level of caffeine in the body rise enough, and pen is finally put to paper. Many hours later, a paper is born - all too often something students are not proud to hand in, and something professors dread grading. "Whatever does not kill us makes us stronger." While Nietzsche may sometimes have been right, he likely did not have writing history papers in mind. On the contrary, I sometimes wonder if students' bad experiences writing papers does not drive some them away from history. How can we make this process less traumatic, more educational, and ultimately more rewarding for all concerned?

The assignment of preparing a research paper for a college-level history course is an important one which should not be neglected. In no other endeavor are so many history-related skills required of students. Just think of the steps required:

First, students must find a historical problem worth addressing. This is done most often by reading and comparing secondary history sources, such as monographs and journal articles. Simply finding relevant secondary materials requires its own particular set of skills in using the library: searching catalogs, accessing on-line databases, using interlibrary loan, and even knowing how to pose questions to reference librarians. Reading these sources, determining their arguments, and putting them in conversation with each other constitute another broad set of skills which are enormously difficult to master.

Second, having developed a historical problem, students must find a set of primary historical sources which can actually address the question they have formulated. Once again, this is no easy task. It requires another array of skills in using the library. Students must know how to message the on-line library catalog, and perhaps even (gasp!) use the card catalog. They must be willing to explore the stacks, learn to use special collections, travel off-campus to new libraries, or interview informants. This kind of primary source research demands a diligence and persistence rare in these days of easy Internet access.

Finally, students must put all this information together and actually produce knowledge. They must craft a paper wherein they pose a clear historical problem and then offer a thesis addressing it. In a well-structured, grammatically correct essay, they must work their way through an argument without falling into common historical fallacies. They must match evidence to argument, subordinate little ideas to big ones, and anticipate and pre-empt challenges to their argument.

Phew! It is little wonder that college history students, especially first-years and non-majors, can find the research paper assignment so traumatic. It doesn't help that history professors often have trouble teaching the essay-preparation process. This is understandable. History professors often represent that portion of the undergraduate population that "got it"; we are the students who somehow, often in spite of our professors, learned how to "do history." Having received the information virtually through osmosis, we often do not understand how we think about the history-writing process, let alone how to teach it. By and large, we follow the advice of shoe companies and "just do it."

Most students do not have it so easy. Many do not have the innate passion for the past which propelled history teachers over their steep learning curve. Many do not have learning styles which make them likely candidates for the "osmosis" technique many of us used. These students deserve every opportunity to succeed, and it is important that they do. Even those with little apparent interest in the past need to approach what they read with a critical, analytical eye. In this age of information overload, they need to know how to pose critical questions, uncover the data which can answer their queries, and present their findings to themselves, their employers, and to the world at large.

This set of guides was prepared with these thoughts in mind. In it, I have compiled a wide-ranging set of materials I share with my students at Bowdoin. Not all of the ideas here are my own: some are fairly standard bits of wisdom, others were offered by a very talented and generous group of colleagues, including Betty Dessants, Nicola Denzey, Liz Hutchison, and Susan Tananbaum. I have divided the material into several categories: there are chapters on reading primary and secondary historical sources, the nature of historical arguments, the research process, structuring history papers, writing papers, working with sources, and editing and evaluating our own historical writing. The last chapter includes handouts to accompany a presentation I give on the writing process. You'll find many of the ideas repeated in several sections - such as what makes a good thesis. The more I teach, the more it seems that good reading, writing, and evaluating and are deeply linked. I hope that this holistic approach comes through.

Please incorporate these guides into your own teaching or writing as you see fit. You may freely reproduce any part of this website for your students - I ask only that you properly cite the source. For those who wish to share parts of this guide with students, you can create .pdf versions of each handout, which may be printed out and xeroxed free of charge. And please let me know how the guides could be more useful. I would be happy to know what works for you.

Patrick Rael
Brunswick, Maine
July 2004

Preparing History Papers: the Short Version

Avoid Common Mistakes in Your History Paper

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Reading, Writing, and Researching for History:

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For all who have taken history courses in college, the experience of writing a research paper is etched indelibly in memory: late nights before the paper is due, sitting in pale light in front of a computer monitor or typewriter, a huge stack of books (most of them all-too-recently acquired) propped next to the desk, drinking endless cups of coffee or bottles of Jolt cola.

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University of Toronto offers advice for writing like a historian

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University of Toronto offers advice for writing like a historian

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Primary Sources and Secondary Sources

What is a Primary Source?

A primary source is a document that was created at the time of the event or subject you've chosen to study or by people who were observers of or participants in that event or topic.

If, for example, your topic is the experience of workers in the Chicago packinghouses during the first decades of the twentieth century, your primary sources might be:

Chicago newspapers, c. 1900-1920, in a variety of languages.

A short film, such as an actualité, made during the period that shows the yards.

Settlement house records and manuscripts.

Novels about the packing yards, such as Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906).

U.S. census records concerning neighborhood residents for 1900 and 1910.

A mechanical conveyor system, used to move carcasses from one room to another at the time and place you are researching.

Autobiographies of meat packing executives, workers, etc., published even many years later.

Maps that show the location of the packing house plants, made during the period you are studying.

Music, such as work songs or blues ballads, made or adapted during the time you are researching.

oral histories of packing house employees' experiences, though a historian's comments on those oral histories would be a secondary source.

The medium of the primary source can be anything, including written texts, objects, buildings, films, paintings, cartoons, etc. What makes the source a "primary" source is when it was made, not what it is.

Primary sources would not, however, include books written by historians about this topic, because books written by historians are called "secondary" sources. The same goes for historian's introductions to and editorial comments on collections of primary documents; these materials, too, are secondary sources because they're twice removed from the actual event or process you're going to be writing about. So while a historian's introduction to Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle (1906) is a secondary source, the novel itself, written in 1906, is a primary source.

What are Secondary Sources?

Once you have a topic in mind, you need to find out what other scholars have written about your topic. If they've used the same sources you were thinking of using and reached the same conclusions, there's no point in repeating their work, so you should look for another topic. Most of the time, though, you'll find that other scholars have used different sources and/or asked different questions, and that reading their work will help you place your own paper in perspective.

You want to move past just looking for books in the library. Now that you're doing your own history research and writing, you should step up to the specialized bibliographies historians use for their own work. Don't stop looking for secondary sources until you begin to turn up the same titles over and over again. Put those titles you see most frequently and those that are most recently published at the very top of your list of things to read, since they are likely to be the most significant and/or complete interpretations.

After you've located and analyzed some primary sources and read the existing secondary literature on your topic, you're ready to begin researching and writing your paper.

Remember: when lost, confused etc., ask a reference librarian! They are there to help.

[adapted in part from Peggy Pascoe's site at the University of Oregon]

Questions to Consider When Reading Primary Historical Documents

1. When and by whom was this particular document written? What is the format of the document? Has the document been edited? Was the document published? If so, when and where and how? How do the layout, typographical details, and accompanying illustrations inform you about the purpose of the document, the author's historical and cultural position, and that of the intended audience?

2. Who is the author, and why did he or she create the document? Why does the author choose to narrate the text in the manner chosen? Remember that the author of the text (i.e., the person who creates it) and the narrator of the text (i.e. the person who tells it) are not necessarily one and the same.

3. Using clues from the document itself, its form, and its content, who is the intended audience for the text? Is the audience regional? National? A particular subset of "the American people"? How do you think the text was received by this audience? How might the text be received by those for whom it was NOT intended?

4. How does the text reflect or mask such factors as the class, race, gender, ethnicity, or regional background of its creator/narrator? (Remember that "race" is a factor when dealing with cultural forms of people identified as "white," that "men" possess "gender," and that the North and Midwest are regions of local as well as national significance.)

5. How does the author describe, grapple with, or ignore contemporaneous historical events? Why? Which cultural myths or ideologies does the author endorse or attack? Are there any oversights or "blind spots" that strike you as particularly salient? What cultural value systems does the writer/narrator embrace?

6. From a literary perspective, does the writer employ any generic conventions? Use such devices as metaphor, simile, or other rhetorical devices?

7. With what aspects of the text (content, form, style) can you most readily identify? Which seem most foreign to you? Why? Does the document remind you of contemporaneous or present-day cultural forms that you have encountered? How and why?

Asking a Good Historical Question; Or, How to Develop a Manageable Topic

When writing a historical research paper, your goal is to choose a topic and write a paper that

1. Asks a good historical question

2. Tells how its interpretation connects to previous work by other historians, and

3. Offers a well-organized and persuasive thesis of its own.

Let's take this one step at a time.

1. Asking a good historical question:
A good historical question is broad enough to interest you and, hopefully, your classmates. Pick a topic that students in the class and average people walking down the street could find interesting or useful. If you think interracial relationships are an interesting topic and you find the 1940s to be an equally fascinating time period, come up with a question that incorporates both these interests.

For example: "How did white and African-American defense plant workers create and think about interracial relationships during World War Two?" This question investigates broad issues-interracial romance, sexual identity-but within a specific context-World War Two and the defense industry.

WARNING: Avoid selecting a topic that is too broad: "How has war affected sex in America?" is too broad. It would take several books to answer this question.

A good question is narrow enough so that you can find a persuasive answer to it in time to meet the due date for this class paper.

After selecting a broad topic of interest, narrow it down so that it will not take hundreds of pages to communicate what happened and why it was important. The best way write a narrow question is to put some limitations on the question's range. Choosing a particular geographic place (a specific location), subject group (who? what groups?), and periodization (from when to when?) are the most common ways to limit a historical question. The example above already contains a limited subject group (whites and African-Americans) and a short time period (WWII, 1941-1945); simply adding a place, such as "in the Bay Area" or "in Puget Sound" further narrows the topic: "How did white and African-American defense plant workers in the San Francisco Bay area create and think about interracial relationships during World War Two?" is a much more manageable question than one that addresses all defense workers.

WARNING: Avoid a question that only looks at one specific event or process. For example, "What happened on Thursday, Dec.12, 1943 at the Boeing bomber plant in Albany, California?" is too narrow. Perhaps there may have been several important events that day, including a fight over an interracial relationship. However, this question does not position you to explore the larger processes that were taking place in the plant over time, nor why they are important for understanding sex, race and gender in American history.

A good historical question demands an answer that is not just yes or no. Why and how questions are often good choices, and so are questions that ask you to compare and contrast a topic in different locations or time periods; so are questions that ask you to explain the relationship between one event or historical process and another.
Examples (why and how, compare/contrast, explanatory):

"Why and how did Latina women in Texas challenge their traditional sexual identities in the 1960s?" or "Why and how did captivity narratives define interracial romance in colonial America?"

"Gay liberation over time and space: The Stonewall Uprising and Harvey Milk assassination protests compared;" or "Sex and gender after the war is over: The contrast between the post-World War One and World War Two eras."

"Go West, Young Woman: the rise of the popular newspaper, western boosterism, and the origins of women in professional journalism;" or "Sit-coms, kitchens, and Mom: TV and the redefinition of femininity and domesticity, 1950-1975."

A good historical question must be phrased in such a way that the question doesn't predetermine the answer.

Let's say you've decided to study the Tillamook Ku Klux Klan. You're fascinating by the development of the Klan, and repelled by its ideas, so the first question you think about asking is "Why was the Klan so racist?' This is not a good historical question, because it assumed what you ought to prove in your paper that the Klan was racist. A better question so ask would be "What was the Klan's attitude and behavior toward African Americans and immigrants, and why?"

2. Connecting your interpretation to previous work by other historians:
Once you have a topic in mind, you need to find out what other scholars have written about your topic. If they've used the same sources you were thinking of using and reached the same conclusions, there's no point in repeating their work, so you should look for another topic. Most of the time, though, you'll find that other scholars have used different sources and/or asked different questions, and that reading their work will help you place your own paper in perspective. When you are writing your paper, you will cite these historians-both their arguments about the material, and also (sometimes) their research findings. Example: "As Tera Hunter has argued concerning Atlanta's laundresses, black women workers preferred work outside the homes of their white employers"(and then you would cite Hunter in a footnote, including page numbers).

3. Offering a well-organized and persuasive thesis.
Think of your thesis as answering a question. Have your thesis answer a "how" or "why" question, rather than a "what" question. A "what" question will usually land you in the world of endless description, and while some description is often necessary, what you really should focus on is your thinking, your analysis, your insights.

Consider the following questions when reviewing your thesis paragraphs:

Does the thesis answer a research question?

What sort of question is the thesis answering?

The thesis paragraph usually has three parts: (1) the subject of your paper, (2) your argument about the topic, and (3) the evidence you'll be using to argue your thesis.

Is the thesis overly descriptive? Does it simply describe something in the past? OR,

Does the thesis present an argument about the material? (This is your goal.)

Is the thesis clearly and succinctly stated?

Does the thesis paragraph suggest how the author plans to make his or her argument?

Examples of Thesis Statements: From Bad to Better

"Dorothy Richardson's The Long Day is a provocative portrayal of working class women's lives in the early part of the twentieth century." This is a weak thesis for a paper, since it is overly vague and general, and is basically descriptive in nature. The thesis does not suggest why or how Richardson's book is "provocative."

"The narrator of Dorothy Richardson's 1905 work, The Long Day, exemplifies many ideas and perspectives of the early twentieth century's new feminism." This is a bit better, since the author is actually suggesting that there might be an argument about early twentieth-century feminism. But note how the language is still vague. What ideas and perspectives? To what effect does Richardson's work deal with these ideas?

"While The Long Day's narrator exemplifies many tenets of the new feminism, such as a commitment to women's economic independence, her feminist sympathies are undermined by her traditional attitudes towards female sexual expression." OK. Now we are getting somewhere! This is a solid thesis. Note that the language is specific (commitment to women's economic independence, as example). Also, the author has detected a contradiction in the text, a tension that the paper can fruitfully analyze. It could be strengthened further by suggesting HOW Richardson's sympathies are undermined by her traditional attitudes.

How to Document Your Sources

In history courses, you should use the traditional endnote or footnote system with superscript numbers when citing sources. Do not use parenthetical author-page numbers as a general rule. Exceptions include: short discussion assignments; five page analytical papers where you have been assigned the specific texts that you are analyzing.

The preferred guide for citations in history is The Chicago Manual of Style. The University of Wisconsin's writing center page offers a helpful introduction to the traditional method of citing sources laid out in The Chicago Manual. Also visit U of T's advice file on documenting sources for a concise overview on the traditional method.

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A primary source is a document that was created at the time of the event or subject you've chosen to study or by people who were observers of or participants in that event or topic. If, for example, your topic is the experience of workers in the Chicago packinghouses during the first decades of the twentieth century, your primary sources might be: Chicago newspapers, c.

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Mrs. Smoot's website for learning to write like a historian

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Mrs. Smoot's website for learning to write like a historian

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Writing Like An Historian - Mrs. Smoot's Website

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University of Richmond's guide for writing like a historian

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University of Richmond's guide for writing like a historian

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Principles of Historical Writing: Thinking Like an Historian
( printable version here)

As Richard Marius and Melvin E. Page attest in their book A Short Guide to Writing About History, "history and writing are inseparable." How would we know of past events if it they had never been documented? Even the stories and myths of ancient cultures, many of which relied heavily on the oral tradition, were subject to intense transformations after years of repetition. Writing, therefore, is what propels information and ideas into permanence, or what are customarily referred to as 'the annals of history."

A representation of the Gutenberg Printing
Press, 15th century, which forever revolutionized the
dissemination of information.

Still, writing about history requires careful scrutiny. This is not to say that historical writing is particularly difficult or complicated, but it does require thought processes that some may be unaccustomed to. Indeed, unique questions must be considered, and the first step to answering such questions involves thinking as an historian. Outlined below are seven principles of historical thinking and writing that, if followed, will ensure that your mind is on the right track.

1. Take the time to think and prepare
2. Place yourself in the times
3. Careful consideration of evidence and viewpoints
4. Focus your topic
5. Be open to the possibility of having to change your topic
6. Mind your audience
7. Avoid restating others' ideas--add personal value

When preparing to write for a history course, do not simply rush into the writing process! Dr. Hugh West, chair of the history department, finds that many students underprepare for their writing assignments. When considering an idea or ideas that you'd like to explore, think ahead. Ask yourself, is my proposed idea or argument feasible? What obstacles might I encounter during the writing process? Should I research more about my topic?

As you consider such questions, be sure to organize your thoughts on paper before you begin writing. Different strategies work for different people--some prefer writing complete and detailed outlines, while others prefer 'blocking' their ideas together in a web of interrelated concepts. However you would like to approach this, be sure to write down new and useful ideas as you think of them. Don't let them escape your immediate attention by turning to another point...write them down!

On the home page of this writing handbook lies a quotation from Francis Parkman which stresses the importance of being aware of the contemporary context of the time period about which you are writing. For example, when rationalizing or explaining the actions of past individuals, it is important to take into account the standards of thinking and prevailing ideologies of the times. As Parkman suggested, a writer must become a "sharer or spectator of the action that he describes."

Be sure to keep in mind the essential questions

Who? Who were the principal actors in a given event or time period?

What? What was being acted upon? What was at stake?

When? When did it occur? More importantly, in what order did things occur? What events led to others?

Where? Where did it occur? What groups of people were involved and where did they reside?

Why and, more importantly, How? These are the classic and ultimate questions that historians ask. Why and how did things happen as they did? In the words of Dr. John Treadway, the analysis of history is analogous not to a simple description of 'the watch', but of the 'watch mechanism'.

This principle also concerns the use of voice. In general, when writing in history, the use of the past tense is preferred.

Evidence is what legitimizes your prose. In acquiring such evidence, be sure to:

Consider a variety of resources, including both primary and secondary sources

Always consider opposing viewpoints. Consider which arguments could be used against yours, and how you can refute them.

Avoid being selective; be open to whatever discoveries you may find when acquiring evidence; don't pass up an argument simply because it does not follow your previous ideas.

Document evidence as you acquire it...you never want to have to go back through your paper after the fact and search for the page numbers for which you need citations.

Explain the significance of the evidence that you present. Dr. West notes that the use of evidence in history differs from the social sciences--it is often spotty, does not speak for itself, and requires careful explanation.

The consideration of evidence, and the best ways of approaching it, will be discussed in further detail in the next section.

There is such a wealth of knowledge throughout history that focusing your topic is essential to performing reasonable historical analysis. Often, historians utilize specific, focused research to answer broader topics.

For example, you might be interested in researching Winston Churchill, but entire books have been published analyzing Churchill's life and actions. Instead, you might narrow your focus toward Churchill's leadership during World War II. Even then, you may find that your topic is too broad. You might narrow it even further by focusing on Winston Churchill and his policy towards a particular country or region in World War II. You might be surprised to find the wealth of information that would be available to you.

In the course of performing your research, keep in mind that you may have to refocus or realign your topic or thesis as you delve further into sources. If you find evidence that seems to contradict the argument that you intend to make, it would be better to alter your argument to take that new information into account than it would be to ignore it and move forward with your original argument.

This principle is particularly true in cases where personal biases might tend to dictate one's aims in writing. Attempt to rid yourself of partial or biased opinions when approaching a topic for research. Dr. Treadway stresses that the goal of a historian should be to tell, ostensibly, what happened objectively. Objectivity, therefore, is of paramount importance when considering evidence.

Historians must keep their audience in mind when writing. In the case of undergraduate students, in particular, keep in mind that you are writing a paper to be turned into a professor who has likely outlined very specific expectations. If you are ever unsure of something regarding an assignment, contact the professor, don't simply assume that one way is to suffice over another. Keep the following ideas handy when "minding your audience":

Often professors will frown upon a simple 're-telling' of an event or time period. Unless specifically stated otherwise by the professor, your analysis and interpretation should take precedence over your re-telling of a sequence of events.

Despite the above point, always be certain to define particular terms. Although you are often writing for a professor that will be familiar with such terms, you will reinforce the logical progression of your paper by defining important terms and ideas as you write.

Pay particular attention to your professor's expectations for citing and referencing sources; improperly cited work can result in allegations of plagiarism and, if accused at the University of Richmond, to be brought before the Honor Council.

While the consideration, and sometimes reiteration, of the thoughts and ideas of other authors is extremely useful, a history student should always strive to add a personal element to their argument. This may seem like a daunting task... you may ask, "how am I to come up with an idea which professional historians have not yet written of?" Yet this process is not as difficult as it may seem. Take the time to acknowledge the arguments that others have made, but also look for new connections, relationships, or subtleties that may be relevant to the topic about which you are writing.

Dr. Eric S. Yellin offers particular advice with regard to this principle:
"Be creative. Look over your sources and then find interesting or surprising connections among them. Never regurgitate or summarize: look for the hidden truth or the unusual thread. Historical interpretation can be a creative endeavor if you learn to combine facts and evidence with imagination."

Other Disciplines | Writer's Web | Copyright Info Writing Center | Make an Appointment | Library | History Department

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Writing in the Disciplines: History - Principles of Historical Writing: Thinking Like an Historian

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Principles of Historical Writing: Thinking Like an Historian ( printable version here) As Richard Marius and Melvin E. Page attest in their book A Short Guide to Writing About History , "history and writing are inseparable." How would we know of past events if it they had never been documented?