Reading, Writing, and Researching for History

Reading, Writing, and Researching for History

A Guide for College Students

Patrick Rael Associate Professor of History Bowdoin College Brunswick, Maine

Copyright 2004 all rights reserved prael@bowdoin.edu

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

a. Introduction b. Preparing History Papers: the Short Version c. Avoid Common Mistakes in Your History Paper

2. Reading

a. How to Read a Secondary Source b. How to Read a Primary Source c. Predatory Reading d. Some Keys to Good Reading

3. Historical Arguments

a. Argument Concepts b. Analyzing Arguments c. How to Ask Good Questions d. What Makes a Question Good? e. From Observation to Hypothesis

4. Research

a. Research Papers b. The Research Process c. Research Basics d. Keeping a Research Journal

Reading, Writing, and Researching for History

Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College, 2004



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5. Structuring Your Paper

a. Structuring Your Essay b. The Three Parts of a History Paper c. The Thesis d. History and Rhetoric

6. Writing Your Paper

a. Grammar for Historians b. Formatting Your Paper c. A Style Sheet for History Writers d. The Scholarly Voice: Crafting Historical Prose

7. Working with Sources

a. Presenting Primary Sources in Your Paper b. Citing Sources c. Advanced Citation

8. Editing and Evaluation

a. Paper-writing Checklist b. Peer Evaluations c. Frequent Grading Comments d. Generic Evaluation Rubric for Papers

9. The Writing Model

a. Samples for Presentation b. Sample Road Map

Reading, Writing, and Researching for History

Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College, 2004



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1.a.

Introduction

For all who have taken history courses in college, the experience of writing a research paper is etched indelibly in memory: late nights before the paper is due, sitting in pale light in front of a computer monitor or typewriter, a huge stack of books (most of them all-too-recently acquired) propped next to the desk, drinking endless cups of coffee or bottles of Jolt cola. Most of all, we remember the endless, panicked wondering: how on earth was something coherent going to wind up on the page ? let alone fill eight, or ten, or twelve of them? After wrestling with material for days, the pressure of the deadline and level of caffeine in the body rise enough, and pen is finally put to paper. Many hours later, a paper is born ? all too often something students are not proud to hand in, and something professors dread grading. "Whatever does not kill us makes us stronger." While Nietzsche may sometimes have been right, he likely did not have writing history papers in mind. On the contrary, I sometimes wonder if students' bad experiences writing papers does not drive some them away from history. How can we make this process less traumatic, more educational, and ultimately more rewarding for all concerned?

The assignment of preparing a research paper for a college-level history course is an important one which should not be neglected. In no other endeavor are so many history-related skills required of students. Just think of the steps required:

First, students must find a historical problem worth addressing. This is done most often by reading and comparing secondary history sources, such as monographs and journal articles. Simply finding relevant secondary materials requires its own particular set of skills in using the library: searching catalogs, accessing on-line databases, using interlibrary loan, and even knowing how to pose questions to reference librarians. Reading these sources, determining their arguments, and putting them in conversation with each other constitute another broad set of skills which are enormously difficult to master.

Second, having developed a historical problem, students must find a set of primary historical sources which can actually address the question they have formulated. Once again, this is no easy task. It requires another array of skills in using the library. Students must know how to message the on-line library catalog, and perhaps even (gasp!) use the card catalog. They must be willing to explore the stacks, learn to use special collections, travel off-campus to new libraries, or interview informants.

Reading, Writing, and Researching for History

Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College, 2004



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