Writing a Historical Paper or Essay

The following points discuss a number of issues involved in writing something which conveys an argument. These points relate to both papers you are assigned to write—everything from a 3-pager to your 15-20 research project for HIST 4000—and essay exams.

A separate section provides examples of student work (answers to an essay exam question) with commentary.

A. Before You Start Writing

1. The Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is an essential part of any piece of historical writing. Also referred to as a ‘proposition’ or an ‘argument’, it gives, usually in one sentence, the main point of the paper. As a rule, it should appear in the introduction, often towards the end of the first paragraph of the essay. A well thought out thesis makes your writing easier (and your professor’s reading easier) by directing the flow of ideas through the paper.

a. What is a thesis?

It is an arguable proposition, written in response to your assignment, which can be proved using specific evidence and which reveals the structure of your paper.

1. An arguable proposition…

• It is, in essence, a statement whose truth you intend to prove in the essay; a statement about which you can make a reasoned argument or case.
• It is not ‘what the paper is about’, it is what you are going to prove about ‘what the paper is about.’
• It is not a question you will address in your paper; it is the answer to that question.
  It is not a generic and broad statement; it is specific and to the point.

2. ...written in response to your assignment…

• If the assignment poses a question, your thesis should answer it.
• If the assignment tells you to ‘discuss’ topic X, your thesis should make a statement about the topic.
• If the assignment tells you to compare and contrast, your thesis should be a statement of comparison.
• If the assignment asks you to explain ‘why’ something happened, your thesis should offer an explanation.

3. ...which can be proved using specific examples…

• It is your interpretation of what went on in the past; what you think happened or how you think we should understand what happened.
• It must be specific, not vague.
• It must be about things in the past which can be known.

4. ...which reveals the structure of your paper.

• It provides a blueprint to the paper.
• It provides the skeleton or frame on which to build your argument.

b. The parts of a thesis.

It is sometimes helpful to think of a thesis as having two parts: a topic part and a comment part. The topic part states the topic of your paper; the comment makes the arguable proposition at the heart of your thesis. In the examples below, these parts are separated by a slash mark.

› Although both international warfare (the 100 Years War) and religious instability (the Avignon Papacy) contributed to the transformation in medieval society that occurred in the fourteenth century, / the fundamental cause of this transformation was the black death because of how it affected social relations in the countryside, the development of urban areas, and contributed to the growth of strong centralized monarchies.

› Roosevelt’s ‘packing’ of the Supreme Court to ensure the survival of his recovery programs / was a crucial moment in the growing split between republican and democratic ideologies of government in the U.S.

Note that both examples have the following characteristics:

• The statement of the topic is followed by an argument
• The language is specific and direct.
  The topic is limited and focused.
• The argument stated can be proved using examples.
• The argument presented is a realistic problem of historical interpretation. (Readers could disagree with you--but they won’t once they finish reading your brilliant case.)
  The thesis statement requires that the essay have a certain structure.
• In the first, the essay has to give some information about the late medieval crisis but the three main sections of the paper must prove that the listed characteristics had a significant impact on social change during this period in history.
• In the second, the essay has to describe the packing of the court; it then has to prove why this action was so important in the political split.

This formulation is based in part on Andrea Lunsford and Robert Connors. St. Martin's Handbook. New York: St. Martin's, 1989.

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2. The Outline

a. Outline anytime

You can use an outline before you write, while you are writing, and after you’ve written a draft.

• If you make an outline before you write, it can work as a blueprint of how you want to construct your argument.
• If you get stuck half way through a paper, an outline can help you step back and see where you are going.
• If you make an outline of a finished draft, it can function as a x-ray that helps you see the structure of your argument clearly. Such an outline will help you be more objective about your writing, and enable you to judge whether your paper actually captures what you intended to say.

b. Focus your outline on content, not form

Outlines don't have to fit the kind of formula (heading, sub-heading, sub-sub-heading) that you learned in eighth grade. (But they can!)

• An outline is basically an organized list of your main points.
• An outline helps you see how those main points are linked together. (If you write a good thesis, you should be able to get the very basic outline of your paper from that sentence.)
• For this reason, use full sentences when you outline. Merely writing headings is too vague if you are trying to clarify your thoughts because they won’t help reveal the structure of the paper. Building on the over all thesis, your outline, could consist of the thesis statements for the sections and/or paragraphs of the paper. This sequence of statements will show how one thought or line of reasoning leads to another.

c. Use outlines to organize your thinking

An outline can be a quick and effective tool to organize what you’ve written.

• If you think the structure of your paper is unclear or confused (or your professor said it was), try writing an outline of your ideas either based on what you've actually written or on the ideal shape you'd like your paper to have.
• If you can produce an outline whose structure makes sense, then you can revise by shifting parts of your draft to correspond to the outline. In other words, the outline can give shape to the writing you've already done.
• If the outline is clear and coherent, the paper that will result from your adding, deleting, or moving parts should also be coherent.
• If outlining leads you to discover that there are outline headings that don't correspond to anything in your paper, you'll know what you have to write next.
• If outlining leads you to discover that there is material left over in your draft that doesn't fit anywhere in the outline, you'll know what you have to throw out.
  

This information was provided by the Writing Center at Princeton University

B. Writing the Paper

1. The Introduction

An introduction is the first paragraph (or paragraphs) of any written work. In most short papers—under 10 pages—the introduction will be no more than a paragraph. Longer works—a research paper or professionally published article—may have an introductory section.

a. The job of your introduction is to:

• Capture the reader’s attention.
• Give background on your topic.
• Guide your reader to your thesis.

b. When to write the introduction:

There are three basic ways to write an introduction:

• You can write the introduction after you write the body of your essay.
• You can write the introduction before you write the body of your essay.
• You can rough out the introduction first and then focus and revise it once you have written your essay.

c. What to put in an introduction:

There is no single right form for an introduction to take, but one common form that many writers use is the following:

• The introduction begins with a broad statement about the main idea. This statement might suggest background or the general category to which the thesis idea belongs but it should not be so broad as to distract your reader.
• The next sentences are more specific, moving closer to the actual thesis of the essay.
• The final sentence of an introduction often contains a fairly specific version of the main idea; it is the thesis statement.

BUT, not all introductions need follow this format, you need to decide what the introduction has to accomplish.

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2. The Body

The body of your paper—everything between the introduction and the conclusion—will consist of paragraphs in which you develop the argument promised in your thesis. In writing the main part of your paper, two qualities are essential: focused paragraphs and clear transitions.

a. Paragraphs

• Like your paper, each paragraph should have a thesis statement. Clearly this will be a much more focused thesis which can be proved within the paragraph.
• Structure your thesis around few specific examples which demonstrate the point you want to make. (If you’ve done your outlining (see above) and note taking (see below) well, you can write a paragraph from an outline which has a thesis statement and brief notes about the examples to be used.)
• In some instances, you paper will have natural divisions into sections, in which case you will have paragraphs which function as ‘mini-introductions’ laying out the thesis of that section of the paper.

b. Transitions

• Make sure the transitions between paragraphs (and sections) flow naturally so the reader can follow your argument. If your thesis (and the outline you developed from it) is clear, this should happen anyway.
• Good transitions build off what has gone before (without excessive repetition of that material), and lead in a new direction.
• In most historical writing, transitions appear at the BEGINNING of the paragraph in which the new topic is introduced.

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3. The Conclusion

Conclusions are often the most difficult part of an essay to write. You have to be interesting without being redundant. Note that some short papers MAY NOT NEED a conclusion, particularly if you have written a good clear introduction.

a. A conclusion should or could

• Stress the importance of the thesis statement,
• Give the essay a sense of completeness, and
• Leave a final impression on the reader.
• Answer the question "So What?"
• Show your readers why this paper was important. Show them that your paper was meaningful and useful.
• Create a new meaning. You don't have to give new information to create a new meaning. By demonstrating how your ideas work together, you can create a new picture. Often the sum of the paper is worth more than its parts.
• Raise interesting questions.

b. A conclusion should not

• Summarize. Instead, use the conclusion to synthesize (draw conclusions)
• Don't simply repeat things that were in your paper. They have read it. Show them how the points you made and the support and examples you used were not random, but fit together.

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C. Bibliography and Citations

D. Plagiarism