Writing History

Writing papers is a little different from one subject to another. History arguments are not crafted the way literary essays would be, nor would either be written like a science lab report or a math proof. The following explains the expectations of writing history papers according to the Harvard History Guide and College Board Advanced Placement courses. Both of which are attainable by most secondary students.

Conventions of History Writing

Adapted from the Harvard Writing Center

- Write in the past tense.

- Avoid vague generalizations.

- Paraphrase if you can, quote if you must.

- Provide necessary context.

- Use a responsible, consistent citation style.

- Write in a formal academic voice.

- Proofread your work, always.

Harvard Writing History WBH.pdf

Before we get more specific about how to write, let's take a look at how to read.

Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

You've probably spent the better part of your early education learning how to read. Now it's time to focus on improving your reading to learn skills.

Copy of Harvard article on Reading.pdf

Evaluating Sources

It's as simple as asking questions. The hard part is asking the right questions. This takes an ability to learn from failure. When we ask questions about a source to learn about how valuable or limiting it is in relation support our argument, we have to answer those questions. When answers those questions become a struggle, it's time to reformulate the question or look at a different source. This is where critical reading skills explained above come into play.

Origin, Purpose, Value, Limitation (OPVL)

History papers focus on writing arguments.

This is a circle map. Use it to organize your argument and the evidence you find.

Thesis Statement Format

Although _____________ [alternative] is ____________ [main part of the question], __________ is the best [enter a superlative] ______________ because ....

Exemplar Thesis Statement

"While cultural forces contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of economies played the key role in driving its decline."

Writing History

Conventions of History Writing

- Write in the past tense.

- Avoid vague generalizations.

- Paraphrase if you can, quote if you must.

- Provide necessary context.

- Use a responsible, consistent citation style.

- Write in a formal academic voice.

- Proofread your work, always.

Before we get more specific about how to write, let's take a look at how to read.

Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

You've probably spent the better part of your early education learning how to read. Now it's time to focus on improving your reading to learn skills.

Evaluating Sources

Origin, Purpose, Value, Limitation (OPVL)

History papers focus on writing arguments.

This is a circle map. Use it to organize your argument and the evidence you find.

Thesis Statement Format

Exemplar Thesis Statement

Strong thesis statements are ...

Weak thesis statements are ...

- argumentative, debatable

- specific

- original, goes beyond class discussion

- can be supported with textual evidence

- answers the prompt

- clearly and concisely stated