Writing a History Essay

This brief guide brings together advice, guidance, and ideas on writing from several of the History Departmentís faculty. Special thanks to Professor M. E. Plummer, whose writing guide provides the basic structure and content for this guide.

This guide is broken down into four sections:

- Introduction

- Preparation: Reading, Research, and Organization - Writing and Structuring essays

- Proofreading and editing essays

Introduction

As most students quickly discover, demonstrating and improving critical thinking skills is one of the major goals of a university education. Expectations of ability increase as a student proceeds from general education courses into upper level and major courses. The only way to improve these critical skills is practice begun early in a university education. That is one of the core goals of the Western Civilization (History 119 and 120) general education requirement.

This writing guide is designed to help students work on improving research, writing, and critical skills and on presentation of their ideas. If you have any difficulty at any stage of the writing process, visit one of the resources available to you. Remember, however, that you are responsible for your paper. No one will (or should) write your paper for you. Before you avail yourself to any of the resources listed below, read all the assigned readings associated with your writing topic, brainstorm about how to complete your writing assignment, and, generally, have a some good ideas about how to attack your writing assignment.

1. Discuss work and questions with your instructor during his/her office hours. However, you must have done the reading and have prepared questions before you make an appointment. If you cannot meet your instructor at those times, do not hesitate to make an appointment or send an email with your questions. He/she is always willing to help you (and is a much better resource than your roommate!).

2. Work with a writing tutor assigned by the Writing...