Professor Chester

HIST 4339

How to Do Well on this Paper

Content and Organization

Articulate your argument clearly.

Explain the significance of your topic—answer the “so what?” question.

Make sure your argument is not obvious, i.e. that another observer looking at the same evidence could argue a different case.  Acknowledge these alternative arguments and demonstrate why your interpretation fits the facts best.

Offer a roadmap and lay out your argument in the first paragraph.

Offer your analysis of the events/individuals/institutions you’re examining; don’t simply describe what happened.

A paper with these characteristics . . .                                  . . . will fall into this range

Clear, thoughtful, non-obvious argument, stated at outset                   A

Acknowledgement and analysis of alternative arguments

Excellent analysis

Excellent grammar and style

Complete, properly formatted citations

Effective structure (e.g. argument, roadmap, analysis of evidence, conclusion)

Clear argument                                                                                     B

Leaning towards description rather than analysis

Good grammar and style

Minor problems with citations

Lack of clear argument                                                                         C

Lack of adequate analysis

Problems with grammar and style

Problems with primary sources (if applicable)

Significant problems with citations

No argument                                                                                         D

Major problems with grammar and style

Major problems with primary sources (e.g. no primary sources)

Lack of any identifiable organization                                                    F

Writing Tips

Outline your paper in order to lay out how each point of evidence relates to your argument.  Incorporate this clear progression into your final paper.

Form an editing group with other students.  Read each others’ papers for content and for grammar; give each other feedback.

Visit a writing tutor.

Citation

Use footnotes (rather than endnotes or parenthetic citation).  Footnotes provide the DNA of historical scholarship, showing where you got your information.  Include a bibliography as well.

Book (Footnote Format): Salman Rushdie, The Ground beneath Her Feet (New York: Henry Holt, 1999): 83.

Book (Bibliography Format): Rushdie, Salman.  The Ground beneath Her Feet.  New York: Henry Holt, 1999. [pages normally not cited in bibliography]

Article (Footnote Format): Judith Lewis, “‘‘Tis a Misfortune to Be a Great Ladie’: Maternal Mortality in the British Aristocracy, 1558-1959,” Journal of British Studies 37 (1998): 45.

Article (Bibliography Format): Lewis, Judith.  “‘‘Tis a Misfortune to Be a Great Ladie’: Maternal Mortality in the British Aristocracy, 1558-1959.” Journal of British Studies 37 (1998): 26-53.

Public Document Online (Footnote Format): U.S. Census Bureau, “Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin, 1987 to 1999,” Health Insurance Historical Table 1, 2000, http://www.census.gov/hhes/hlthins/historic/hihist1/html (accessed June 29, 2003).

Public Document Online (Bibliography Format): U.S. Census Bureau.  “Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin, 1987 to 1999.”  Health Insurance Historical Table 1, 2000.  http://www.census.gov/hhes/hlthins/historic/hihist1/html (accessed June 29, 2003).

Cite all secondary accounts in addition to primary sources.

Do not cite class lectures as secondary accounts.

Divide your bibliography into primary sources and secondary accounts (if applicable).

For more information on citation format, see The Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian.

Grammar and Style (Avoiding Common Problems)

Double space your paper.

Write for an intelligent Martian.  Don’t assume your reader has any background information.

Avoid passive tense (e.g. not “the paper was written” but “I wrote the paper”).

Shun repetition.  Think of another word to use rather than repeating the same word or phrase.

Specify what “this” is (e.g. not “this angered Churchill” but “this policy angered Churchill”).  Your writing will be stronger as a result!

Be attentive to value-laden terminology and consider whether a neutral term is more appropriate (e.g. avoid the word “natives” in favor of “indigenous peoples”)

Pay attention to proper use of “which” and “that,” as well as “who,” “whom,” and “that.”

Review “affect” vs “effect.”

Avoid split infinitives (e.g. “to boldly go . . .”)

Be sure that verb and subject agree.

For a superb resource on grammar and style, see Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, which contains classic writing advice like “Omit needless words.”

Final Steps

Spell check and proofread before you submit!

Number each page.

Include your name, the course number, and the date on the first page.

Staple your paper.