Tips for Reading and Writing in History
Tips for Reading
:
1) Take your time. While reading can be quite pleasurable, it will take time to
understand the author's main arguments. Do not wait until the last minute to read.
2) Highlight and/or take notes. I recommend doing both. Mark the author's most
important points. Keep asking yourself why did the author write what he/she
wrote.
3) Make use of the author's chapters and divisions within chapters. Identify the major
themes of each section.
4) Review what you read. You will not understand the author's arguments completely
with just one reading. More than likely, you will need to study them several times.
Tips for Writing an Essay:
1) Content
A) Read the assignment carefully. Make sure you understand what the professor
wants you to do.
B) Break down the assignment into parts. Identify the author's arguments. Find
examples of the arguments. Think about whether you agree or disagree with the
arguments and explain why. Find supporting evidence for your opinions.
2) OrganizationA) Your essay should be divided into three distinct parts: an introduction, the body,
and a conclusion.
1) In your introduction (generally one paragraph), you should introduce your
main arguments in your essay and present a clear thesis statement.
2) In your body (at least three, but generally more than three, paragraphs), you
should define and analyze your arguments. You should provide specific
examples and/or quotes to support your assertions.
3) In your conclusion (generally one paragraph), you summarize your main
arguments and reiterate your thesis statement.
B) Before writing your paper, make an outline that is divided into the above parts.
C) Make sure your paper has a persuasive thesis and each paragraph contains a
clear theme.
D) Keep your paragraphs to reasonable lengths. Paragraphs that are either too
short or too long are not normally effective. A good rule of thumb is to keep
your paragraphs to an average of about ten lines.
E) Use quotes sparingly and avoid long ones (over five lines). Only quote when
you cannot say it better. If you do quote, make sure you cite where it
originated. For examples of how to write citations in both bibliographies and
endnotes/footnotes,
CLICK HERE.F) Make sure you include page numbers.
3) Grammar and Punctuation
A) With very few exceptions, the best essays in this class will be the ones that
undergo several revisions. In your revisions, check for grammatical errors,
organizational problems, and the persuasiveness of your arguments. A poorly
written essay will be graded accordingly.
B) Common errors to avoid when writing history papers:
1) When identifying the title of the book, place it in italics.
2) Do not use personal pronouns like I, we, and our.
3) Avoid using passive voice. For example, rather than saying, "The game was
won by Texas Tech," state, "Texas Tech won the game." A simply rule if you
are having problems with passive voice is to avoid using forms of the verb "to
be."
4) Do not use slang.
5) Do not use contractions.
6) Be careful with verb tenses. Generally in history papers you will write in the
past tense since the events or issues being described happened in the past.
However, when identifying your opinions or the opinions of the author you
may use the present tense.
7) Avoid run-on sentences and sentence fragments. Make sure you can identify
the subject and the verb in each sentence.
8) Make sure the words you use mean what you want them to mean. A
thesaurus is an effective tool but should be used carefully. Keep a dictionary
close by when writing your paper.
4) Final thoughts
A) Take pride in what you write. Imagine you are writing the essay for the person
you admire most.
B) Your professor is your best resource. If you have any questions and/or problems
at any stage of an assignment, it is your responsibility to seek his/her assistance.
C) Have somebody proof read your paper for grammar and punctuation errors.
Also, ask them whether your arguments are persuasive.
D) Texas Tech has a Writing Center that is available to all students at no cost. The
center is located in 310 English Building. You can contact the center at
742-2476 and http://english.ttu.edu/uwc/owl/.