how to write history essay

how to write history essay

Effective Strategies for Writing a History Essay

1. Introduction to Writing History Essays

1) Think about your primary and secondary sources carefully. Continue to read critically and intensively. 2) Separate your notes into three related piles. 3) Identify your points. Get organized. 4) Be sure to synthesize. Write a programmatic sentence that will begin your essay and face the task of writing the first paragraph (which has a good chance to be the last you write). Write out the other sections of your essay, which will be your essay plan. 5) Add a conclusion early on, then keep revising it and develop your essay. Write the first draft. Revise by adding, rewriting, or deleting ideas in order to improve your work. 6) Proofread what you wrote. The final check for errors is an important part of the writing process. With the advent of electronic spell checkers, it is not hard to make your essay sound accurate.

History essays test a range of skills including historical understanding, interpretation and analysis, planning, research, and writing. To write an effective essay, students need a clear sense of purpose. They have to form a coherent argument and structure their writing accordingly. The first goal is to generate ideas about subjects of historical importance and then to identify good primary and secondary sources that might be used to explore and substantiate these subjects. Before even attempting to write a history essay, read carefully the instructions your teacher has given and approach your history essay as a research project. To succeed even in this preliminary phase, it is important to read history in a concentrated and effective way.

2. Researching and Gathering Sources

Before you begin your research, it is important to write down where you looked, how long you looked, and what you found. This not only aids you in finding the information later, but also gives you documentation for your sources. It keeps you on track. Summarize what you find, including short quotes. Take a lot of notes: Keep a notebook, index cards, or a word processor available to collect and store what you find. Your purpose should determine the amount and type of information you use. Avoid spending extra time on trivial, tangential, or irrelevant issues. Be organized, but don’t be rigid. When you read your sources ask yourself, “Does this subject have different perspectives or interpretations?” Writings of historians model different methods and techniques of interpretation, and reveal numerous perspectives on similar events, groups and people.

When researching, remember to keep an open mind. Use a variety of sources to make your work rich and varied. A bibliography should reveal good research, not a limited number of sources. Use primary sources as much as possible. These are authentic records that tell us about the past. They are created by those who have experienced the events or conditions under study. Some categories include manuscripts, propaganda posters, newspapers, periodicals, censuses, maps, photographs, sound recordings, and film. Always look at the source critically. Ask who created it, when it was created, and how the motive, status, or background of the creator might affect the reliability.

3. Structuring Your Essay

There are a number of variations that an essay can take, but a history essay is essentially “an argument”. This argument should consist of an introduction in which you state the question or problem that you have addressed but not actually answer it (so you have mapped out the “journey”), three or four paragraphs to actually outline your point of view and (if you so desire) a short paragraph in conclusion. The brief answer to a question should only occupy one paragraph. Each of your arguments in the following paragraphs will then primarily use the evidence detailed in your essay plan, and only then will you bring the historian’s view into your study. Note that successful historical writers first make a point and then use evidence and not the other way around. Always remember to keep the language coherent and simple and to not suck up to the “big wigs” by using complicated language, mostly because it’s irrelevant!

The next step once you have a quick plan is to structure your ideas. Most history essays are constructed by having an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, and essentially what you do is expand upon your essay plan. To do this effectively and to give greater coherence and weight to your essay, consider structuring things in threes. This could be done in the following ways: by having an introduction, three paragraphs in the body, and then a conclusion or by having an introduction, three paragraphs covering three different views of a specific issue, and then a conclusion. The principle that underlines this structure is to first preview the issues to be covered (introduction), then present them (body), and finally to sum up the arguments provided (conclusion).

4. Crafting a Strong Thesis Statement

When you are writing your thesis statement, think about where the evidence is going to lead you and if you need to qualify the statement. Remember that this statement will take a central role in your essay, so do not stray far from your thesis statement when writing, even when you develop further in your essay.

Example of a stronger thesis statement: T. Roosevelt’s domestic and foreign policies and their effects in the early 1900s had a profound impact on American history. This thesis statement is more focused. It is the “why” of your essay and it provides an answer. This thesis statement tells the reader what the essay is about and helps it to flow, since it emphasizes the place of T. Roosevelt in that history.

Example of a weak thesis statement: T. Roosevelt was a strong leader. This statement is too basic, just stating that T. Roosevelt was a leader is not enough.

Your thesis statement is the foundation of your essay. It is the answer to a specific question that can be discussed and supported with evidence. Your thesis statement should answer the question, “so what?” Why is your essay worth reading? Why does it matter?

5. Writing and Revising Your Essay

You will need to begin by the daunting task of critiquing your own work. This involves the awareness of what to look for and of what to do once you have found it. By a process of robust self-assessment, you will decide which points you consider of minimal consequence or totally irrelevant, as well as those phrases or sentences failing to offer the contribution in this part of the essay you demand from them. Upon writing your very last paragraph, cast your essay from you for a time, drawing on the strength of new perspectives, re-reading it carefully and critically, deciding on improvements, which you then make. After writing your second draft, you may find that sections of your essay need drastic revision, having initially been underwritten, and either overdeveloped or not included at all. The revision process may require large-scale eliminations, requiring more active writing.

Although your first draft of the essay will not be the final version ready for submission, it is nonetheless a significant milestone in the essay-writing process. Having diligently prepared for your assignment by undertaking the preliminary reading and organizing your ideas, you should find that you have an abundance of raw material on which to write. Once you have finished, set your essay aside for a day or two. When you read your first draft again, you will see it with fresh eyes. You will then notice not just genuine strengths, but also weaknesses requiring attention. The extensive planning you did earlier will enable you to focus, ensuring that you deal adequately with any points needing elaboration or revision.