How
to StudyHow
to StudyPreparation is crucial. In this course, you have the advantage of knowing pretty much what to expect on the essay portion of the exams. Instructors will frequently provide some potential topics, and you should be able to determine which topics have been given particular attention in the text and in lectures. This will provide you with the opportunity to reread the assigned readings, class notes, and relevant Internet materials dealing with the topics. If you will have taken the time to make use of materials on the Web site then you should be well prepared. Using the Internet as an educational tool may be new to some of you, but over the next few years, you will probably see more and more courses including supplementary materials on the Internet. Early preparation will give you sufficient time to discuss any problems of fact or interpretation you might have encountered.
Instructors generally expect to see a number of things in a well written essay. These include: appearance; organization; specific factual information; analysis or interpretation; summary remarks. In history essays, remember to address what happened, when it happened, why it happened, why was it significant, and what resulted.
Appearance: Instructors no not appreciate careless or sloppy presentation of written work. Neither should you present pages of even well written work as line after line without paragraphs. Try to adhere to some simple rules. Write legibly (in ink), write in formal sentences (subject--verb--object) and in clear paragraphs, leave the left margin on each page free, mark the number of the question you are answering and avoid slang. Essays should be formal. Unfortunately, some of you may have had teachers in high school who allowed you to turn in essays lacking a clear thesis, specific details, and a developed argument. Such problems will not result in a satisfactory college level essay.
Minimum requirements call for correct grammar and spelling. A good essay will have coherent expression. Some instructors may tolerate spelling errors, but grammatical errors will generally reduce the clarity of an answer. If your writing includes grammatical errors, it would be in your best interests to learn how to eliminate them. You will write numerous essays while you are in college, both in class and out.
Organization: Essays should have a beginning, a middle, and an ending. History essays require students to consider facts, explanation, and interpretation set in some historical time frame. Address the question and try not to ramble off into irrelevant material. Answer each part of the question in order without confusing the chronology. Although I do not put a great deal of emphasis on memorizing dates, you need to understand the order in which things occurred to be able to compose a coherent essay.
Each paragraph should include a topic sentence. A topic sentence lets
the reader know precisely what the paragraph is about and is usually placed
at the beginning of the paragraph. Include as many paragraphs as the separate
themes you will be introducing to answer the question.
Topic
Sentences
Factual Information: In college essays, you are expected to offer the reader enough information to enable him or her to understand what you are writing about. Even though you will be writing essays which will be read by instructors, do not assume that the reader understands what you intend to say and will fill in the blanks in your argument. Assume that you are writing for someone who is unfamiliar with the topic and that you must explain your ideas clearly.
When you mention someone's name for the first time, tell the reader who that person is: DO NOT write "Bismarck said . . . ." but "Bismarck, the Prussian Prime Minister, said . . . . or Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck said" ; not "The Reform Act of 1832 . . ." but "The English Reform Act of 1832. . ." Questions about historical events or about an individual's accomplishments should begin by identifying the person or persons involved in the events by nationality, status, or title before describing his or her involvement in the events. Questions dealing with historical events ( the causes of the French Revolution or the events which contributed to the Industrial Revolution) should pay close attention to the political, economic, and social causes, the period and geography as well as to the personalities involved in those events. Don't stop there; explain the results of the event -- were there political effects, social repercussions, economic effects . . . . Usually, students will be able to extract most of the necessary factual information from the text, but lectures will often explore topics in more detail, and you will find the materials on the Internet to be valuable if you choose to use them. If you choose to do the minimum amount of work necessary to get by, that is your choice. Don't complain if the results are unsatisfactory. Take good notes and don't miss class unless absolutely necessary. Remember, teachers in college classes expect students to be responsible for ALL the material in the textbooks, lectures, discussions, assignments, etc unless the teacher notifies the class to skip a specific piece of information.
Analysis & Interpretation: This is frequently a difficult task. An effective essay must go beyond simply listing facts. History involves interpreting the meaning of events and how they relate to one another; it involves making judgments about the significance of events, and it sometimes involves making judgments about reliability of sources. You may not have had much experience doing this in high school, but you will need to do this in your college classes. You may will not have sufficient experience to provide detailed analysis, so you will need to pay close attention to the lectures, Internet materials, and the text when they offer interpretation. Historians attempt to find patterns and establish an understanding of history through the study of documents and artifacts left by people of other times and other places. That is what you will be expected to do.
Conclusion: Explain the results, consequences, and significance of the event. That will help provide the essay with the structure and coherence necessary for an effective answer. Try to proofread your essay before you hand it in. Instructors tend to remember students who rush to leave class early. If you have extra time, use it to check your answers. It is careless to leave multiple choice answers blank or to leave words out of essays.
Remember: Never present the work of others as your own. (i.e., copying from the textbook or Internet sites) Essays should be entirely of your own composition.
For writing effectively in English, you may get help from the MLA
Handbook for Writers, the Little, Brown Handbook, or
the Harbrace College HandBook.
Evaluating the quality of written work: An "A" paper is expected to
be clearly written and well organized. It should contain a
perceptive, original, argument supported by a well chosen variety of
specific examples. Instructors expect the essay to
demonstrate that the writer has put substantial thought into the essay
topic, synthesized the readings, discussions, and lectures, and
formulated an independent argument.
A typical "B" paper is a solid work containing some insight that demonstrates
that the writer has thought about some of the
issues raised in the course. It may not be as thorough as an "A" paper
and may have missed one or more important points. Other
"B" papers give evidence of independent thought, but the argument is
not presented clearly or convincingly. The writing should be
well organized and well developed.
A paper which receives a grade lower than "B" offers a summary of ideas
and information already covered, provides a less than
thorough defense of the writer's independent argument, does not respond
to the assignment adequately, contains frequent
errors, unclear writing, or poor organization, or presents some combination
of these problems. Such a paper may seem to be
incomplete. Frequently, ideas are not well organized or thoughtfully
presented. The paper may lack focus.
Three
Parts Of A History Paper: Introduction
Constructing
a Thesis
Presenting
the Thesis
Three
Parts Of A History Paper: The Body
Three
Parts Of A History Paper: Conclusion
A
Style Guide
Tips
on Grammar, Punctuation and Style
